Pro League Network, a company that provides betting services on niche sports, has raised $2.2 million from investors that include Roger Ehrenberg, who led the company’s first-seed round in August last year, Chris Grove, Kevin Garnett and a few angel investors.
Founded in 2022 by Bill Yucatonis and Mike Salvaris, PLN specializes in producing obscure sporting events and regulating them for betting purposes. The company produces niche sporting events like CarJuitsu, Slapfighting and streetball in its Missouri studios and streams them on social media. PLN regulates its sports for gambling, and its events are featured in sportsbooks across the country, including DraftKings and Bet365.
In the coming year, PLN plans to use the money to expand four of its sports markets, including CarJitsu, the World Putting League for professional mini golf, the SlapFight Championship, and the Str33t 3×3 pro baseball league in partnership with Kevin Garnett’s Big Ticket Sports. The company also plans to increase production by opening an additional studio on the East Coast.
“The portfolio appeals to them because they’re placing a bet on different properties,” Salvaris said about what attracts investors to the company. “If one does hit, there’s equity in those leagues. It’s a one-to-many bet when you’re investing with PLN.”
Along with differentiating itself from competitors, one of the company’s strategic milestones is to provide sports bettors with wagering options during periods when betting on mainstream sports is not available.
“We’re solving a problem. We’re targeting times a day and days a week that we know are a blemish for operators,” Yucatonis told Business Insider.
