[1] - http://www.wsj.com/articles/mlbs-streaming-tech-unit-goes-pr...
Hey kids! Fill out this form along with thousands of others. If we fancy the way you fill it out and if you know how to play with computers dandily then we'll throw money at you like a sunday at the horsetracks.
Oh, some more pied piper hooli reference here and there to keep this cynicism timely and relevant.
>The Accelerator model gives you the opportunity to pitch investors, venture capitalists, influential industry leaders, and R/GA executives and clients at the end of the program during Demo Day. As a benefit of participating in the program, each company will receive $20,000 as well as work space, connections, and deep mentorship in exchange for 6% equity. In addition, companies accepted to the program have the option to accept a $100,000 convertible debt note. This provides even more resources for you to get your ideas off the ground.
I have no idea about the quality of RG/A's work, but we did share an office with them and it was always an entertaining recent college grad, hipster fashion show.
I do think the idea of sports focus is cool though.
However, until you get near the last question of the separate 'FAQ' page, there is no mention of equity exchanges or convertible debt financing, nor that $100K of the prize is optional and if chosen, require the team to take ongoing financial obligations to the sponsor(s).
I wrote a blog post on this topic as well:
Online sportsbooks... A security and fraud nightmare. http://justink.svbtle.com/online-sports-books-a-security-nig...
It's the one form of online gambling in the US that's relatively open, its carve out in the relevant laws was an explicit choice. It's got the support of the pro leagues and the broadcasters, so its lobby is pretty strong.
It's an extremely fast growing market right now. Two major players have the lions share of the market, but there's a lot of activity around the fringes.
