Start Me Up: BettorWatch Is Tackling Responsible Gambling One Person At A Time

The gaming industry is bustling with innovative entrepreneurs ready to gamble on great ideas. In the “Start Me Up” series, Casino Reports explores newer, smaller companies either making it big or showing the potential to do so.

When military veterans talk about their transition to civilian life, it’s often about finding a new way to serve. For Bryan Price, who spent eight years on active duty working in space programs and analytics, that path led him to an unexpected place: The front lines of problem gambling prevention.

Price is the CEO of BettorWatch, a Colorado-based company that’s taking a novel approach to responsible gaming — one that treats each gambler as unique as their own heartbeat.

“Different players have different metrics to their play,” Price explains. “For some people, they may be in the responsible bucket through wagering thousands of dollars, and other people, not the same case.”

The company’s journey began after Price left the military in 2021. He initially co-founded a daily fantasy sports platform with a high school friend, but quickly realized they were swimming with some big fish in an already crowded pond.

That’s when opportunity knocked. 

Through his relationship with Dan Hartman, then the division of gaming director in Colorado, Price learned about new regulations requiring operators to implement technology identifying problem gambling. New Jersey had passed similar requirements.

The pivot led to the creation of iProtekt, which developed a proprietary algorithm to analyze user behavior and identify problematic gambling trends. Earlier this year, iProtekt caught the attention of Discerning Capital, leading to its acquisition by the newly-formed BettorWatch.

Prevention first

Their flagship product, called iPulse, looks at player activity online based on predefined criteria to spot signs that aren’t indicative of responsible gambling. But rather than focusing solely on intervention after problems develop, BettorWatch is taking a more preventative approach.

“We want to provide the tools to the users so that they can continue to play responsibly,” Price said. “What we’re trying to do is facilitate a more sustainable environment so that people aren’t getting to the point of exhibiting problematic behaviors.”

This individual approach is key. Price compares it to a person’s unique heartbeat: “Some people may have a higher heartbeat, but they may be extremely healthy, and some have a lower heartbeat that may be extremely unhealthy.”

Their approach mirrors common personal finance apps that help people track spending across multiple accounts.

“There are apps out there that track your spending,” Price said. “You see that I’ve allocated 50% of my budget to rent or my mortgage and 2% goes to groceries and this percentage is for entertainment. That helps a lot of people really get a clear holistic view of where their money is going.”

Price sees similar concepts translating to the gaming industry.

“If there’s something that’s a little bit off, they could take that, recalibrate, and continue to have this form of entertainment that’s not problematic for them,” he said.

The company’s technology got a significant boost when it joined AWS’s partner network, giving them access to enhanced security checks, data privacy tools, and machine learning capabilities.

Looking ahead, Price sees BettorWatch serving as “connective tissue” in the gaming industry. 

“In a couple of years, I see us as being a major link between some of these players out there so that we can, as a group, really define what will help,” he said.

For Price, it’s about creating something that benefits everyone in the ecosystem.

“We want to supply things that would enable a more sustainable future for all of gaming,” he said. “It’s better for the player, better for the sports books, better for the states.”