Former Playtech directors close first funding round for jackpot marketing platform

BlueRibbon, the start-up marketing platform founded by former Playtech executives Amir Askarov and Dan Fischer, has completed its first funding round.

The company attracted investment from Velo Capital Partners and Ash Gaming-founder Chris Ash, who sold Ash Gaming to Playtech in 2011.

The new funds will be used to develop the BlueRibbon platform and scale the business.

Tel Aviv-based BlueRibbon launched in July and essentially enables operators to integrate various jackpot products into their sites to engage and retain players.

Amir Askarov, co-founder and CEO of BlueRibbon, said: “We are thrilled to have developed and launched a product that has been identified as innovative and ground-breaking by market leaders such as Velo Capital Partners and Chris Ash.

“BlueRibbon understands the industry landscape, the changes coming to regulated markets and the potential to drive huge growth in emerging jurisdictions such as the USA, and we look forward to working with new partners and to expand our offering in the coming months.”

Evan Hoff, Partner at Velo Capital, said: “The investment in BlueRibbon continues our mandate of backing proven sector entrepreneurs with business models that meet the challenges of an evolving industry.

“In this case we perceive a jackpot marketing platform to intersect very neatly with what players want and what operators need,” he added.

Jackpots have become increasingly important CRM tools around the industry, with the likes of William Hill placing them as the core feature of its Vegas site.