The Bloomberg Terminal for Sports Bettors - Evan Kirkham, Outlier #262

In this episode of the Sports Tech AllStars Podcast, we present Evan Kirkham, CEO and Co-Founder of Outlier.The conversation explores how Outlier is building a data-driven sports betting platform that charges bettors directly rather than taking affiliate fees from sportsbooks, why that single decision shapes everything about the product, and where the $11 million Series A company is heading next - including a data acquisition and a new live betting product.TakeawaysOutlier charges bettors a subscription fee instead of taking affiliate money from sportsbooks - a deliberate choice that keeps the product fully aligned with the userTaking affiliate fees from sportsbooks creates an incentive to funnel users rather than serve them - Outlier refuses to make that trade-offThe platform is essentially a Bloomberg Terminal for sports bettors, taking users from insight to analysis to bet execution in one seamless flow65% to 70% of Outlier's traffic is NBA, with prop bets driving 95 percent of overall usageThe US skipped the betting shop era entirely - everyone came to digital sports betting at the same time, which is why adoption has been so fastThe financialization of sports betting is the defining US trend - bettors will increasingly move in and out of positions like traders, with limit orders and automated executionThe market is bifurcating between serious data-driven bettors and casual fans who just want entertainment - most products are still trying to serve both at onceUK bettors have ingrained behaviors tied to legacy sportsbooks - breaking those habits is the core challenge of international expansionOutlier is acquiring a data technology provider and launching a net new live in-game betting productTo learn more, visit: https://www.outlier.betGet in touch with Evan Kirkham at: linkedin.com/in/evan-kirkham-581b1220 Hosted by ⁠Rohn Malhotra⁠ from ⁠SportsTechX⁠ - Leading source of Investment and Innovation insights in sports. As promised, here's your small surprise:Unlock your 30-day growth plan (worth €49) on the SportsTechX Intelligence Hub for free!Simply verify your company details and you get access to 1,500+ investors, programmes, initiatives and events in the sportstech ecosystem.Here's how to get set up and if you'd like a walkthrough of the platform, feel free to book a call here.More from SportsTechX:Explore the SportsTechX Intelligence Hub, an interactive database of over 8,000 sports tech companies, 8,000+ deals, 1,000+ investors, programs and events - HEREDownload the latest Global Sports Tech Ecosystem Report - HERESign Up for the Sports Tech Weekly Newsletter for more news, features & insights on Sports Tech - HERE Stay Connected and follow for more:LinkedInYouTubeSpotifyApple PodcastChapters00:00 Introduction02:59 What Outlier Is and Why It Calls Itself a Bloomberg Terminal for Sports03:28 Is Outlier for Casual Bettors or Serious Ones?04:08 The Match.com Model - Building a Suite of Data Products05:14 The Origin Story05:51 Game Lines vs Prop Bets08:40 Why Outlier Charges Subscribers Instead of Taking Sportsbook Affiliate Fees10:13 Subscription as the Core Business Model 12:10 Why Affiliate Models Serve the Sportsbook, Not the Bettor13:18 100,000 Monthly Active Users and the NBA Dominance13:48 Expanding Into Soccer and International Markets 16:00 Why the US Adopted Sports Betting So Fast Compared to Europe17:57 The Learned Behavior Problem in UK Betting Markets19:47 The Stale UK Market and the Opportunity for a Fresh Product21:13 The Financialization of Sports Betting23:20 The Bifurcation of Sports Betting: Serious vs Fun24:11 Prediction Markets, Cultural Betting and Responsible Gambling in Europe25:03 Betting as a Shared Entertainment Experience26:38 Why Sportsbooks Are Missing the Fun Segment Entirely27:12 What Is Next: Series A, CMO Hire, Data Acquisition and Live Betting Product29:18 Favourite Sporting Moment