Sharp Alpha Advisors announced the closing of Sharp Alpha Fund II, an oversubscribed $25 million venture capital fund investing in early-stage sports, gaming, and entertainment businesses.

Existing investments in Fund II include C15 Studio, which recently emerged from stealth mode as the operator and distributor of Formula 1’s new streaming channel. Previous investments include Almost Friday Media, Jackpot.com, and Betcha (acquired by Vivid Seats).

The fund targets seed investments ranging from $1 – 2 million. Sharp Alpha also operates a co-investment vehicle that provides limited partners the ability to invest additional capital in select deals alongside the fund.

Managing Partner Lloyd Danzig was recently named to Business Insider’s Top Venture Capitalists in Sports and ELG’s 40 Under 40. He is frequently featured by CNBC, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

The fund is backed by public companies, US fnancial institutions, pro sports team owners, family offces, top venture capitalists, and funds of funds, among others.

According to Danzig, there is a signifcant opportunity at the intersection of sports, gaming, media, and technology. “The competitive entertainment category is experiencing exponential growth but at the same time is desperate for innovation that early-stage companies are best positioned to supply.”

The fund has exceeded its $25 million capital raise target and expanded the size of its deal team.

Commenting on current market conditions, Danzig explained, “we are entering the most favorable period in the last 15 years to bet on great founders.”

Sharp Alpha’s advisory board includes Keith Horn, founder of Loring Capital Advisors and former COO of Elliott Management and Global Head of Leveraged Finance at Merrill Lynch; Emanuel Pearlman, the former Chairman of Empire Resorts and board member at several public companies; Daniel Bernard, Founder and Chairman of Redwood International Sports; Roy Behren, the President and Chief Investment Offcer of a $5.2 billion asset manager; and Don Kornstein, the Vice Chairman of Caesars Entertainment and former executive at numerous successful gaming companies.

In addition to investment capital, the frm provides portfolio companies with a suite of resources and opportunities spanning fundraising, revenue generation, brand awareness, commercial strategy, fnancial planning, and product development.

SkillOnNet has today announced that it has signed a partnership with renowned global gaming content provider Playtech.  As part of this collaboration, SkillOnNet’s market-leading game content will now be accessible to players in Argentina through PlayUZU, an online casino platform powered by SkillOnNet.

As per the regulation where licensees must partner with a local gaming operator, last year SkillOnNet received a license to operate in Buenos Aires City and went live with popular spanish language brand PlayUZU and  gambling operator BuenosAiresSlots as its local licensing partner.

Since release PlayUZU.ar, which positions itself as a “fair” casino, has gone from strength to strength and with the additional integration  of Playtech games it means  thousands of players will now have access to a huge portfolio of award-winning games across multiple verticals.

Jani Kontturi at SkillOnNet said: “Playtech is one of the most reputable providers of casino content in the industry and has long garnered a reputation for being a Tier 1 supplier.

“Our entry into Buenos Aires has massively exceeded our expectations. Our transparent and “player first” approach has really appealed to players and therefore it’s important to keep offering the best games in the market and why I’m really pleased that we can now offer Playtech’s games to our Argentinian audience.”

Diane Crookes, Senior Commerical Director at Playtech said: “We have maintained a long-established relationship with SkillOnNet and this edition is a great endorsement of the collaborative nature of our relationship.

“We understand the importance of providing great, localised content and we are very excited to see how our games perform in Buenos Aires City and look forward to the next few months.”

Leading Latin American based sports betting operator Aposta Ganha has joined the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), strengthening the association’s presence in the region. The operator launched six years ago and is targeting further growth internationally, notably in Brazil where it will be seeking a licence and where all sports betting operators will be required to join a monitoring body.

Aposta Ganha will now feed into IBIA’s world-leading integrity monitoring network, joining over 50 sports betting companies who operate over 125 sports betting brands globally. Aposta Ganha entered the Mexican market earlier this year with its localised brand, www.apuestagana.mx, and will work with IBIA to combat corruption and match-fixing.

Hugo Baungartner, Aposta Ganha CCO, said: “We’re proud to partner with the IBIA who share our complete commitment to protecting the integrity of sports and the safety of betting customers. Through our association, alongside other leading businesses, we’re excited to play a key role contributing to the important work the IBIA continues to do.”

Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, said: “IBIA is delighted to welcome Aposta Ganha to our association of leading global sports betting companies. The operator further strengthens our position in the LatAm region and globally. Aposta Ganha’s decision to join IBIA is another vote of confidence in the association and the success of its approach to protect the businesses of its sports betting operator members from corrupt betting practices. Ensuring product integrity is of paramount importance and we look forward to integrating Aposta Ganha within our monitoring network.”

IBIA is a not-for-profit body that has no competing conflicts with the delivery of commercial services to other sectors and is run by operators for operators to protect regulated sports betting markets from match-fixing. IBIA’s global integrity monitoring network is a highly effective anti-corruption tool, detecting and reporting suspicious activity in regulated betting markets.

Through the IBIA monitoring network it is possible to track transactional activities linked to individual customer accounts. IBIA members generate more than $300bn in annual betting turnover (handle), accounting for approximately 50% of the global commercial regulated land-based and online sports betting sector, and in excess of 50% for online alone. IBIA recently released a report on the Availability of Sports Betting Products which includes a focus on the Brazilian market.