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Bestport Ventures tops up Mfuse stake

Article Date:  Mar 18 2008 Nick Britton

Mobile gambling specialist Mfuse has raised £2.55 million in a funding round led by existing investor Bestport Ventures, which contributed £850,000. The round also introduced Mark Blandford, the founder of AIM-listed online gambling business Sportingbet, as a new investor.

As part of the deal, Blandford has joined Mfuse’s board as a non-executive director.

Mfuse, which provides technology that enables mobile devices to be used for gambling, will use the funding to expand its geographical reach and range of products. While the company’s focus remains on sports gaming, some of the proceeds will be used to develop a mobile casino offering.

Marcus Wareham, chief executive of Mfuse, says: ‘We feel that now is the appropriate time to scale up the business in order to cater for the inevitable increase in mobile phone activity as the capability of technology begins to catch up with user demand.’

Wareham adds: ‘Mark Blandford’s experience will be invaluable to us going forward.’

Bestport Ventures was founded in 2005 and typically invests between £500,000 and £3 million in UK-based companies. Its latest investment in Mfuse brings its total contribution to the business to £2 million.

Established in 2002, Mfuse sells its technology to companies including Ladbrokes, Sportingbet and Paddy Power.

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