Former AGA VP invests in sports betting startup

Sara Slane, former senior vice president of public affairs at the American Gaming Association, has invested in Simplebet.

US.- Sara Slane, former senior vice president of public affairs at the American Gaming Association, has invested in the sports betting startup Simplebet.

The business-to-business startup aims to expand what consumers can bet on through “innovative in-play micro-market products”, claiming it can create instant micro-markets using machine learning and automation.

Slane is an expert on the gaming and sports betting industry, and now runs the consultation firm Slane Advisory.

From August 2018, she effectively led the AGA after CEO Geoff Freeman stood down.

She is particularly known for the lobbying of Congress and the US Supreme Court to push forward the classification of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) as unconstitutional.

It was this that in turn led to the legalisation of sports betting across a number of states, most recently Virginia, which released its full draft of sports betting regulation this week.

She is amongst many other investors who contributed to the $35 million of private funds raised by Simplebet.