Edinburgh-based crypto casino and sportsbook BetHog, today announced an €8.5 million ($10 million) Series A financing and the launch of Sentient Studios – their new B2B provider that enables casino operators to deploy AI-powered dealers across their live online casino offerings.
The round was co-led by Will Ventures and RockawayX, with participation from PCV, 6MV, Bullpen Capital, and Advancit Capital, bringing BetHog’s total funding to €13 million ($16 million). The company plans to use the capital to expand its AI dealer technology on its own platform and accelerate adoption of Sentient Studios among global gaming operators.
“We’ve tested our basic AI dealer over the past 6 months and have discovered that it is 10X more popular than its live dealer equivalent. In addition, we’ve seen better retention and player satisfaction,” says Nigel Eccles, CEO and co-founder of BetHog.
In the context of BetHog’s new raise, relevant activity and funding include Midnite, a London-based sportsbook and casino operator that raised €30 million in January 2026 to scale operations, accelerate product development and support international expansion, and Minit Games, a Hamburg-based gaming discovery startup that secured €1.7 million in March 2026 to expand its team and speed up the technical rollout of its AI-driven short-form gaming feed.
The UK overlap is notable: Midnite is from the same country as BetHog.
In broader 2025/2026 context, EU-Startups also covered adjacent UK deals such as Iconic, which raised €11 million in December 2025 to develop on-device AI technology for gaming, and Yaspa, which secured €10.1 million in July 2025 to expand payment and identity services for regulated gambling.
Taken together with BetHog, these rounds amount to over €61 million, pointing to a funding pattern across operator platforms, AI-enabled gaming tools and gambling infrastructure rather than a single narrow niche.
EU-Startups has previously covered BetHog’s co-lead investors via Wondercraft for Will Ventures and VOYA Games for RockawayX.
“With Sentient Labs, we’re excited to bring this product to other online casinos where operators can launch and scale their own dealer experiences instantly, operate continuously, and create more personalised interactions for players,” adds Nigel.
Founded in 2024 by the creators of FanDuel, BetHog features a wide array of classic casino games, exclusive titles, and AI powered live dealer experiences. The casino is available in 14 languages and accepts deposits in 10 different crypto currencies.
They are regulated and backed by “some of the leading investors from sports, crypto and gaming“.
With today’s launch, BetHog aims to introduce a software-driven alternative to traditional live dealer supply models, giving operators greater control, flexibility, and scalability in how they deliver live casino experiences.
According to the company, today’s operators rely on third-party providers to supply live dealer tables, which can limit flexibility around capacity, localisation, and differentiation.
Sentient Studios reportedly removes these constraints by allowing operators to dynamically scale table availability, support a broader range of languages and player segments, and adapt experiences in real time without being tied to studio staffing cycles.
It operates on a pure revenue-share model with no setup fees, monthly minimums, or fixed-term contracts, lowering the barrier for operators to test, launch, and scale new live casino experiences.
The platform also enables a new level of customisation, allowing operators to create unique dealer personas, branded environments, and premium experiences that are fully owned within their product, rather than shared across a broader supplier ecosystem.
The launch builds on BetHog’s first AI-powered blackjack dealer, Sunny, first introduced in October 2025 and now available in 12 languages, which has become one of the most played games on the company’s platform.
BetHog plans to expand its AI dealer capabilities later this year with the addition of Baccarat and Roulette.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2026/04/crypto-casino-bethog-closes-e8-5-million-series-a-to-scale-ai-live-dealer-platform-from-the-uk/
