The US’s sports betting landscape is under the scanner right now as one of its biggest athletes, Shohei Ohtani, tries to unravel himself from a sports betting scandal just months after signing a USD $700 million contract. The ongoing investigation is centred on a $6.9 million transaction from his bank account to an illicit betting operation. But it is yet to be ascertained whether he is behind the payments.

In this backdrop, Australian RegTech company IXUP (ASX: IXU) has struck a deal with Las Vegas, Nevada-based sports integrity solutions provider U.S. Integrity, who recently announced a merger with Odds On Compliance (USI/OOC). 

The commercial partnership will leverage IXUP’s RegTech offerings and U.S. Integrity’s established presence in the North American market to pursue joint commercial opportunities. It will combine IXUP’s expertise in secure information sharing with U.S. Integrity’s solutions for preventing fraud and corruption in sports betting and gaming.

USI/OOC provides a range of technology solutions targeting the prevention of betting and gaming-related fraud and corruption, as well as consulting services in sports betting, iGaming and gambling regulatory compliance. Together, they have developed advanced technology tools such as the ProhiBet integrity monitoring dashboard, PlayBookAI regulatory search tool driven by AI, and an e-learning platform. With the merger of U.S. Integrity and Odds On Compliance, the combined entity now serves over 200 clients across various sectors globally.

IXUP and USI/OOC have agreed to evaluate joint commercial opportunities and jointly operate the resulting business opportunities. They anticipate that this partnership will combine their strengths in RegTech products, geographic reach, industry expertise, client networks, and operational proficiency, enhancing their chances of success in securing these opportunities. In case additional products or solutions are needed, both parties have agreed to work together to achieve the best commercial result, with any resulting intellectual property being jointly owned.

IXUP, an Australian technology firm, has developed software enabling secure sharing and analysis of sensitive data through advanced encryption technology. Additionally, it holds the exclusive contract with the Commonwealth Government of Australia via the Australian Communications and Media Authority for the development and operation of the BetStop – National Self Exclusion Register.

During H1 FY24, IXUP revenues surged by 836% to reach $3.3 million. However, the Company still incurred a net loss after tax of $6.5 million which was still a major improvement on the $21.4m loss for the previous corresponding period. 

To address potential opportunities, the parties plan to determine the commercial revenue split based on their respective contributions, starting off on a case-by-case basis. This arrangement is set to roughly equate to a 50/50 division of revenue between the parties.

Last month, IXUP announced the launch of a partially underwritten Entitlement Offer, aiming to raise approximately $4 million. The offer was at $0.015 per share.