As the state of New Jersey, the American Gaming Association and others continue to battle for repeal of the federal law banning sports betting, three Washington, D.C.-area investors are joining to support WinView, a new application from a Silicon Valley startup that uses the principles of fantasy sports in a real-time competition.
WinView allows users to make minute-to-minute predictions on in-game events during sports games, competing against each other for small cash prizes. The WinView company was founded by Tom Rogers, a former television executive ho headed NBC Cable and TiVo.
According to a report in the Washington Post, Washington, D.C. professional basketball and hockey holding company Monumental Sports & Entertainment, Silver Spring, Maryland-based Discovery Communications and former Washington Post owner Graham Holdings are joining to invest $12 million in WinView.
“If I’m going to be looking at my phone no matter what, it might as well be related to the game I’m watching,” Zach Leonsis, whose family owns a majority stake in Monumental Sports, told the Post.
Leonsis said the game is currently one of skill, “but if regulation ever allowed for gambling, this would be a natural transition for the app.”
