Footstock trading platform launches after “incredible” funding round
Crowdfunders pump £250k into mobile-based Footstock platform that aims to combine DFS, FIFA Ultimate Team and stats-based roulette
A new football gambling app has launched, pledging to combine the best elements of Football Index, Fantasy Premier League and FIFA Ultimate Team in one product.
The product, Footstock, is a new mobile product that went live on 12 April 2019 and is founded by German tech company WR digital GmbH.
Users can build up a collection of Premier League footballers by purchasing RNG player packs, or by searching the market for top-flight favourites like Mohamed Salah (current trading price £35) and Paul Pogba (current trading price £22.99).
Once a squad has been assembled, players can enter their squads into DFS-style tournaments based on real-life fixtures taking place, taking on other users for the prize pot.
A Footstock rewards section will also launch in time for the 2019-20 Premier League season, where users can win trophies and special coupons that allow for free tournament entries and cash prizes.
Prior to launch, Footstock decided to test out crowdfunding as a marketing tool with the aim of raising €5,000 but development was accelerated when investment in the firm reached €250,000.
“The quarter of a million that we managed to raise is quite incredible – that is 5,000% of our funding target and proofs that there is a real market and a real demand for our product,” said CEO and co-founder Tilmann Weischer.
Footstock CEO Tilmann Weischer
Footstock launched for the first time last year but was deemed too technical and “didn’t provide the feedback or the numbers hoped for”, according to Weischer.
Footstock has since undergone a series of significant changes, including the introduction of an online casino feature called Stat Roulette, which has proved hugely popular with users between matches.
Stat Roulette works in the same way as classic trading card game, Top Trumps. Users submit a player and the algorithm will compare a specific stat with another randomly-generated player.
If your player performs better in that specific stat, you get to keep the other card. If your player loses however, you lose the player.
“We don’t want to be too similar to Football Index,” Weischer told EGR Intel. “We are similar in that on both platforms you can trade players, but we want to be much more of a gambling platform.”
Footstock is designed specifically for use on mobile web browsers, although development on a new mobile app and a desktop-based web app will take place in the future.
The app was created and developed by Footstock CTO and co-founder Oliver Renner. Footstock also gained a licence to operate from the UK Gambling Commission.
The image rights and in-game data is provided by Premier League data partners Opta, the stats arm of Perform Group that was sold to Vista Equity Partners in mid-April.
Footstock has already started to build-up an avid community of players on Twitter. The product will initially be marketed via social media, as well as through the use of affiliates.
https://twitter.com/TomJMitcham/status/1122833256125218816
One advantage for the firm according to Weischer is that the concept can develop across different sports and leagues and into different countries – IPL cricket in the Indian market, for example.
Weischer added: “After this fantastic launch and amazing customer feedback, we want to form a strategic business alliance with strong partners to put our serious growth plans into action in the future.”