London-based sports betting technology studio 20SHOTS has secured a further investment of £400,000, following the successful launch of the Fantasy5 free-to-play fantasy football jackpot game. 

The investment, which values 20SHOTS at £5m, has been led by Animal Capital, an LA-based venture capital fund that specialises in Gen-Z enterprise investments, and counts social media stars Josh Richards, Griffin Johnson and Noah Beck as advisors.

The new investment will be used to expand Fantasy5’s football catalogue to be rolled out for the Champions League, Europa League and other European top flights.

Further projects will see 20SHOTS begin work on new FTP games, to be developed using its proprietary built risk-management system and algorithmic trading software designed to analyse and manage fantasy football-style points predictions for a range of competitions.

Launched in 2019, 20SHOTS was founded by sports betting entrepreneur Jacob Kalms, who stated: “We’re pleased to welcome Animal Capital as investors as part of our most recent founding round which has raised £400,000 in capital

“Our growth model forecasts we will break the half a million player mark this season, with our scaling driving down the cost of acquisition for partners whilst maintaining our engagement, dwell and retention rates considerably above industry averages.

Kalms underlined the success of Fantasy5 as 20SHOTS first product launch, which is on track to break the 500,000 player mark  – credited as a huge success by BoyleSports as Fantasy5 first tier-1 betting partner.

20SHOTS eyes a further utility for its FTP catalogue as  UK-licensed operators make significant changes to their player marketing and retention strategies, in advance of new changes that will be brought in by the Government’s White Paper review of the gambling sector.

Marshall Sandman, Managing Partner of Animal Capital, said: “”In a crowded market of fantasy, FTP, and pay-to-play sports betting, 20Shots distinguishes itself with a best-in-class team and direction that has allowed the product to stand out distinctly and early. 

“Their flagship game Fantasy5 is an early hit, their B2B relationships are uniquely positioned to make this an exciting asset and their ability to resonate and be sticky with a younger audience are all reasons why we were excited to be on the journey.”