Real-money wagering is the latest way for developers on mobile to generate revenue, and Cashplay is one of the companies aiming to provide studios with the technology they need to make that happen.
As part of its plan to expand and reach gamers and creators around the world, Cashplay revealed today that it has closed a $3 million funding round from private investors. This brings the company’s total funding to $7 million. Cashplay has used the money to open new offices in San Francisco and to double its staff.
“The money from the newly secured investment has already been put to work, not only by expanding the business in terms of team size and depth, but also funding our global expansion,” Cashplay managing director Thomas Newman said. “The expansion of our operations in North America, Europe and Asia is exciting and the new talent we have acquired, along with the future growth we are starting to realize will help us do just that.”
Cashplay is already in more than 150 countries. And it just announced that it is teaming up to offer cash-gaming tournaments for the popular mobile app Timberman. Competitors in this market include companies like Skillz, which have offered real-money skill gaming on mobile for months.
That growth will likely bring more attention to Cashplay and better enable it make deals to get into more games. Free-to-player developers, especially on mobile, are looking for as many revenue streams as possible. Advertisements and in-game microtransactions work well for games that are already on the top of the heap, but slicing off a percentage of every bet made has the potential for smaller games to make more money.
In addition to the growth and funding, Cashplay brought in several industry veterans to improve its global marketing and relationships with developers.
Ryan Baird, previously business development manager at Upsight, is now Cashplay’s business development lead in the U.S.
“I didn’t make the decision to join Cashplay lightly,” said Baird. “there were other options in the real-money skill-gaming industry. I chose Cashplay because I feel strongly that this company has vision, experience, relationships, and products to excel at the nexus of e-sports and cash gaming.”