Business of Betting Podcast

On this episode of the Business of Betting Podcast, Jeff Edelstein sits down with Matt Kalish, co-founder of DraftKings and founder of Hardscope, to discuss his public criticism of Kalshi, the risks of exchange-style betting products, and why he believes prediction markets are being marketed incorrectly to everyday consumers.

 

Hear them discuss:

Why Matt’s first experience betting on Kalshi triggered concerns about pricing, liquidity, and customer transparency

The wager that sparked his deep dive into prediction market mechanics

How exchange-style betting differs from traditional sportsbook experiences

Why Matt believes retail users are competing against sophisticated Wall Street market makers and API traders

The ethical concerns around marketing prediction markets as “easy” or beatable for everyday users

Lessons DraftKings learned from the early daily fantasy sports boom and regulatory backlash

The similarities and differences between DFS-era marketing and today’s prediction market messaging

Why Matt believes companies should clearly position these products as financial markets—not casual sports betting apps

Concerns around transparency, enforcement, wash trading, and market surveillance

How traditional sportsbooks and state regulators may respond to prediction markets moving forward

Why operators like DraftKings and FanDuel can’t afford to ignore the prediction market space

Matt’s perspective on consumer product DNA versus Wall Street infrastructure culture

Why he believes recreational bettors prioritize entertainment and trust over pure trading mechanics

The future of creator-led marketing and why gambling companies still haven’t mastered the creator economy

Matt’s transition from DraftKings into building Hardscope and his interest in digital media and creator platforms

 

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On this episode of the Business of Betting Podcast, Jeff Edelstein sits down with Dan Zimmermann, co-founder and Chief Intelligence Officer of Betting Intelligence, to discuss the explosive growth of prediction markets and the weaponization of market data.

 

Hear them discuss:

How Dan transitioned from launching a consumer-facing app to founding a private firm focused on the underlying intelligence value of prediction markets

Why he defines "BETINT" as a new discipline alongside OSINT and HUMINT dedicated to interpreting behavior on gambling and stock platforms

How prediction markets have expanded far beyond sports to price complex real-world realities like the outbreak of wars and assassinations

Why current insider trading guardrails are largely an illusion against individuals with true non-public information who know how to conceal their identity

How bad actors and state operations can manipulate public sentiment using fake AI footage and bot farms to move market lines for financial profit

The phenomenon of "signal jamming" and how million-dollar volume walls are strategically placed to absorb and mask smaller informational leaks

How Betting Intelligence utilizes deep wallet forensics and a natural language AI interface to provide an information insurance layer for newsrooms and government agencies

Why Dan’s biggest fear is that massive institutional capital will eventually enter these platforms and price out everyday retail traders

 

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On this episode of the Business of Betting Podcast, Jeff Edelstein sits down with Megan Lanham, co-founder and CEO of Rithmm, to discuss the intersection of artificial intelligence and sports betting, the transition from elite coaching to tech entrepreneurship, and how predictive modeling is becoming accessible to the everyday bettor. 

 

  Hear them discuss:

Megan’s unconventional career path, moving from D1 basketball player and coach to running a pharmaceutical recruiting company before attending MIT and founding an AI startup.

The technical reality of Rithmm’s modeling, which utilizes machine learning to ingest billions of paid data points rather than relying on "fugazi" AI or basic scraping.

Why she left the world of Division I coaching, citing the "parochial" nature of campus life and a gut feeling that she needed to stretch herself beyond the university bubble.

The "serendipitous" origin story of Rithmm, including a chance meeting at a birthday party bar that turned a predictive modeling class project into a business.

What separates Rithmm from the competition, specifically its "intelligence layer" that allows users to build, back-test, and copy successful models via a community leaderboard.

The dynamic nature of the model, which must constantly recompute as lines move, players are announced out, and odds shift in real-time.

Navigating the ethics of collegiate sports, including why Rithmm refuses to offer player props on college athletes and Megan’s concerns regarding the risks to students.

New product innovations like "Scout," a proprietary AI layer designed to allow bettors to query complex models through voice and text to find the "why" behind a pick.

The reality of the startup grind, from sharing desks in garden-level offices to raising over $8 million in funding to scale the platform.

 

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On this episode of the Business of Betting Podcast, Jeff Edelstein sits down with Kevin Roth, meteorologist and founder of a leading weather analytics platform, to discuss the growing role of weather data in sports betting, the rise of AI-driven models, and how niche expertise can still stand out in an increasingly crowded market.

 

Hear them discuss:

How Kevin built a 13+ year career turning weather data into actionable insights for DFS players and bettors

The rise of AI-powered weather models and why access to raw data still creates a major edge

Surprising weather-driven outcomes in baseball, including how cold temperatures can outweigh strong winds

Why baseball is uniquely suited for weather modeling—and the challenges of applying similar models to football and other sports

His experience at RotoGrinders and Better Collective, and how layoffs ultimately pushed him to go independent

The balance between content, analysis, and personal life—and why he stepped away from hosting to focus on family

How understanding probability connects weather forecasting and sports betting mindsets

The realities of being a TV meteorologist, from early mornings to the unseen work behind broadcasts

New product innovations, including roof data tracking and simplified weather-based scoring systems

The shift from DFS to sports betting audiences and why betting is now the primary use case for his data

 

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On this episode of the Business of Betting Podcast, Jeff Edelstein sits down with Nigel Eccles, CEO and Co-founder of BetHog, to discuss AI-powered casino innovation, prediction markets, crypto payments, and the future of gambling product design.

 

Hear them discuss:

Why Nigel believes AI dealers could make up the majority of live dealer gaming within five years

How BetHog is using AI avatars and conversational interfaces to reimagine blackjack and online casino entertainment

Why product innovation—not marketing spend—is the biggest opportunity 

The case for voice interfaces, AI copilots, and rethinking sportsbook user experiences

How prediction markets compare to the early legal battles of FanDuel and DraftKings

Why Nigel sees major upside and major legal risk for sports event prediction markets

His view that crypto’s biggest gambling use case is payments, not speculation

Why the U.S. online betting market remains brutally difficult for new operators

How AI personalization intersects with responsible gambling and product ethics

 

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