Start-ups to compete for $110,000 prize at SBC Summit Americas First Pitch competition

SBC has named five start-ups as finalists in the 2025 SBC First Pitch competition, a showcase for emerging businesses in the sports betting and iGaming industry. The event will take place on May 15 as part of the SBC Summit Americas at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale.

The finalists—Sidebetz, Wager Games, PromptBet.ai, Gamewagrs, and Staked AI—will pitch their products and business plans in front of a live audience and a panel of industry and investment experts. Each company will have three minutes to present, followed by a question-and-answer session.

The winner will receive a prize package valued at more than $110,000, including access to data APIs, promotional advertising, legal support, cloud services, and brand development tools.

“SBC has a long-running history of supporting emerging start-up businesses, and we are extremely excited to continue this tradition for the upcoming summit,” said SBC Advisor Sue Schneider. “Every year, the number of applications continues to grow, and with the addition of the Start-up sphere on the show floor, SBC Summit Americas has quickly become the go-to event for start-ups to gain incredible exposure, vital industry knowledge, and key networking opportunities to flourish in the region.”

The judging panel includes Paris Smith (Life Winning/Defy The Odds), David Fica (Land Vegas), Scott Secord (Cardinal Sports Capital), Kimberley Nixon (Open Venture Capital), and Quinton Singleton (Zero Labs). Jesse Learmonth, host of The Betting Startups Podcast, will moderate the event.

Finalists offer a range of technologies across the gambling and gaming sectors. Sidebetz has created a real-time odds engine for live poker streams. Wager Games combines short-form video with one-click bet replication. PromptBet.ai provides smart search tools for betting platforms. Gamewagrs enables users to place bets based on their own in-game performance. Staked AI offers AI-powered audio content creation tools for sports marketers.

The 2024 winner, 916 Gaming, develops interactive online casino games. This year’s First Pitch competition is open to all summit attendees.