Oulala.com, the daily fantasy football platform, has unveiled a new monetised version of its site, which is available to consumers in the UK and Malta for the first time.
Founded in 2013, Oulala allows users to create their own fantasy football team and compete against friends. Users can now compete against other players to win real money.
A football platform based on skill as opposed to luck, Oulala uses a unique scoring system, created using historical data provided by Opta. The platform is also believed to be the first to offer users the opportunity to make changes in real time as games are played.
Users can choose from multiple daily leagues and can choose players from many football leagues, including England, Spain, France and Italy.
Launched by Malta-based entrepreneurs Valery Bollier and Benjamin Carlotti, Oulala has secured more than £1.5 million in investment to date from business organisations and business angels, including the Ministry of Economy and Google – which rewarded Oulala as one of the most innovative start-up businesses of 2014.
The business is set to close on a further £7m round of investment within the next 12 months.
A current investor is British businessman Graham Martin, who is about to become a shareholder via Cardinal House Group.
Martin said: “The Oulala team has developed the next stage in fantasy sports entertainment so it was without hesitation for us to invest in this business, particularly given their leadership and that they are experienced innovators in our sector.”
He added: “Furthermore we expect to be launching Oulala Australasia before the New Year, in conjunction with various existing Asian media partners.”
Mr Bollier, founder and CEO of Oulala, said: “Today, football fans are looking for the opportunity to interact and adapt in real time; they want to develop and prove their skills and, ultimately, be brought closer to reality. This is precisely what we launched Oulala to do.
He added: “Our focus now is very much on increasing our user base and overall presence in new markets – the UK being perhaps one of the most important for us. Within twelve months we hope to close on a further £7 million investment, money which will enable us to drive these plans further forward.”