Betfred has incorporated Sharp Gaming, rebranding it as Betfred Technology, and appointed the supplier’s founder as the new chief information officer (CIO).
Sharp Gaming was established in May 2020 under Andrew Daniels, the founder of UK agency Degree 53. The venture received initial backing from Betfred founder Fred Done, who invested £25 million (€29.3 million/$31.3 million).
Sharp Gaming has concentrated on offering operational services for sports betting and gaming businesses. A significant part of this work involved creating a new platform for Betfred. According to a LinkedIn post by Daniels, the platform includes player account management, sportsbook, and gaming aggregation for websites and apps, and is now fully functional.
Daniels also revealed in his post that Betfred's total investment in the project has exceeded £100 million. “It was a much bigger and more complex job than I ever thought possible,” Daniels stated. “However, all the hard work was worth it on Grand National Day, which we sailed through.”
With the platform fully operational, Daniels expressed optimism about the future, stating that this migration marks the beginning of a new chapter for Betfred. As part of this transition, Sharp Gaming will now operate as Betfred’s Technology department. “As we embark on this new chapter for Betfred, we bid farewell to the name Sharp Gaming,” Daniels announced. This change took effect on April 29.
Daniels, who had been the CEO of Sharp Gaming, is now the group CIO at Betfred. He acknowledged the efforts of his team, who worked tirelessly since December to ensure a successful migration. “Here’s to the next chapter of innovation, growth, and success at Betfred,” he added.
Sharp Gaming operated independently of Degree 53, which Daniels sold to Bally’s Corporation 18 months after Sharp Gaming went live. In October 2021, Bally’s anticipated that the acquisition would enhance its online offerings and mobile platform integration. Degree 53 continues to be part of Bally’s.
Daniels founded Degree 53 in August 2013 after serving as head of mobile development at Betfred for over two years. Prior to that, he was a senior developer at IGT, following its acquisition of start-up Million-2-1, where Daniels had been working as a developer.