3 Penn State alums taking bet on fake gambling

[clevfan]

3 Penn State alums taking bet on fake gambling

10/24/2009
JOHN ANASTASI
The Associated Press

(AP) — PHILADELPHIA - Three Penn State graduates from southeastern Pennsylvania and Ohio are the brains behind FanGamb.com, where people can wager on college and professional football games without real money.

Justin Goldman, who says he dabbled in sports betting while in school, has built a company that he believes has created an exciting and perfectly legal and financially responsible gambling alternative.

FanGamb, which formally launched in September, combines the things he liked about various types of betting and nixed the things he didn't, including losing real cash.

At the business' Web site-www.fangamb.com-groups of friends can sign up for free, establish a league and, using fake money, bet on the outcomes of college and professional football games. Over the course of a season, winners separate themselves from losers, but no one is separated from their savings. The only thing at stake is bragging rights.

"Here you can get your fix without the downside," said Goldman, 27.

Goldman, who grew up near Feasterville, about 20 miles northeast of Philadelphia and west of Trenton, N.J., founded the business with Robert Shedd, a 24-year-old from nearby Yardley, about 30 miles northeast of Philadelphia and just across the Delaware River and Pennsylvania border from Trenton.

FanGamb got a shot in the arm over the summer when it was selected as one of DreamIt Venture's 10 portfolio companies. Every year, Philadelphia-based DreamIt Ventures takes applications from hundreds of early stage companies and selects 10 to provide with between $10,000 and $25,000 in seed money in exchange for a stake in the business-typically 4 percent to 8 percent.

"It was a big confidence booster for us," said Goldman, who added that the company received a $25,000 investment and DreamIt got a 6 percent stake.

Shedd, who met Goldman at Penn State but reconnected with him this year via a networking Web site, said he left his job at IBM to help Goldman with the Web site and company finances. A third co-founder from Penn State, Ohio native Alan deLevie, serves as a site developer.

"I was looking to get into startups again," said Shedd, who previously ran a small technology consulting firm.

He said he liked the idea of FanGamb because it allows groups of friends to pick and choose games to place their virtual wagers on, and vie for supremacy by amassing more faux cash than the other participants.

"You get the competitive aspect with the league-centric element and I think that's going to draw people in," he said.

So far, Goldman said, the league is approaching 1,000 users. Although they play for free, the business is designed to make money by offering players "premium" features-like expert picks and analysis of matchups-for a fee.

"This will drive you to perform better and get a leg up on your friends," said Shedd, who added that online advertising is also in the works.

Those elements are still being developed, said Goldman, who expects the site to begin generating revenue in the first quarter of 2010. Goldman pointed out their overhead is very low.

He and Shedd, who both now live in Philadelphia, maintain their site themselves and, using laptops, work out of their homes and downtown coffee shops.

[sylf]

Ive gotta wooden nickle that says this doesnt last long

[Eddylove]

This sounds like the scene from "Let It Ride" where someone says I don't understand that why you can't just watch horse racing without betting on it. "Without betting there is no racing".

[SwampHog]

Should've called it 3dorks.com