DiscoverThe Betting Startups PodcastEp. 187: Finding a forever home as a prediction market w/ Jake Benzaquen from ProphetX
Ep. 187: Finding a forever home as a prediction market w/ Jake Benzaquen from ProphetX

Ep. 187: Finding a forever home as a prediction market w/ Jake Benzaquen from ProphetX

Update: 2025-11-11
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Ep. 187 features Jake Benzaquen, Co-Founder and CEO of ProphetX, for a deep dive into the company’s latest evolution from regulated exchange to sweepstakes model, to now filing with the CFTC to operate as a fully regulated marketplace for sports event contracts.



Hear him discuss:



  • The journey from launching in New Jersey as an OSB to building a national presence under the sweepstakes model

  • Why ProphetX is now pivoting to the CFTC model and what it means for the future

  • Lessons from scaling a sports betting exchange across multiple states

  • How product validation and customer feedback shaped ProphetX’s direction

  • Building an RFQ (Request for Quote) system for parlays, and why it’s a game-changer

  • Why ProphetX will focus on sports-first markets, and why it's not launching with political or pop culture markets

  • The two primary reasons why they decided to launch without an affiliated trading arm

  • Competing with industry giants like Kalshi, Polymarket, and DraftKings through product innovation

  • The growing cultural influence of prediction markets

  • How distribution partnerships and B2B integrations will drive user acquisition

  • Jake’s reflections on seven years of startup grit, team growth, and finding motivation for the next phase


 


Catch the video version of this episode here.


 


Learn more 👇


 


➡️ ProphetX website


➡️ Jake Benzaquen on Linkedin


 


📩 Get the top headlines from the industry's most promising growth-stage companies every week—totally free! Subscribe to the Betting Startups newsletter here: https://news.bettingstartups.com/


 


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This podcast is presented by Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry. Since 2012, Optimove has served iGaming Operators from startups to industry leaders. Today, 4 out of the Top 5 US Operators Personalize Player Experiences with Optimove. iGaming operators know their growth journey begins and continues with Optimove, the #1 CRM Marketing solution for the iGaming industry.

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Ep. 187: Finding a forever home as a prediction market w/ Jake Benzaquen from ProphetX

Ep. 187: Finding a forever home as a prediction market w/ Jake Benzaquen from ProphetX

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