SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Yolo Investments has reached its €100m target for its Fund II investment fund, signalling the closure of its fundraising campaign despite tough market conditions.
The figure comprises investment from a network of 23 external, totalling €50m in external capital, while the Estonian-based Yolo Group made up the rest of the €100m with a €50m pledge itself.
Tim Heath, GP at Yolo Investments, commented: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be closing our raise for Fund II having hit our target. This took place during challenging market conditions, with global VC fundraising facing significant more headwinds compared with previous vintages.”
Challenges that Heath is referring to include difficult economic conditions, with venture capital firms facing a hangover from start-ups being overvalued and an increasing difficulty to exit investments efficiently, as well as several legislation changes.
He continued: “But investors have looked at our previous funds’ track record and the strength of our ecosystem, and have strongly backed us.”
Structured as a Guernsey-registered limited partnership, Fund II is regulated by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC).
So far, Fund II has invested in 12 companies across various industries, such as social betting, cryptocurrency-fiat payments and fantasy sports operators. The company also plans to add a further 10 companies to its portfolio within the next year.
The current 12 firms in the fund include: Dabble, Forever Network, Boomfi, Coinmena, Pave, ParlayPlay, Mesh, Coverd, Kraken, Syfe, Meld and Digitt.
Heath continued: “We are humbled by that response as a real vote of confidence, not just in what we’ve built so far, but in where we’re heading next. We will continue to back more brilliant founders and help them scale faster, smarter and with the full power of the Yolo ecosystem behind them.”
Yolo first announced plans to launch Fund II back in December 2023, explaining it would be investing in gaming, blockchain and fintech industries, which can be seen amongst the companies it has invested in.
However, the company had made plans to invest in other technologies such as renewable energies, which it may look towards for the remaining 10 companies it plans to invest in over the next 12 months.
Navigating changes
As mentioned, the move comes at a time of challenging marketing conditions, with Regulation tightening across legacy jurisdictions. Yolo now continues to push for global growth for example by looking into more recently regulated markets such as the UAE.
Speaking to SBC News last year, Mark Robinson, Commercial Director at Yolo Investments, said: “Market conditions are tough. You need to be able to consistently move forward and keep ahead of the competition, particularly for these big conglomerates.
“It’s getting harder and harder to make money like these big businesses did in the past. I think that money probably came a little bit easier in the past.
“That’s a challenge now, and I think a lot of them have actually become a little bit lazy. Having a great brand, historical business is great, but you cannot rest on previous successes.”
