Inside BetHog: An Interview With Founder, Nigel Eccles

In an exclusive interview, Nigel Eccles, the co-founder of FanDuel and BetHog, shares his insights into the rapidly evolving (and competitive!) world of crypto gambling and how it compares with traditional online gambling. Drawing from his extensive background in the betting industry, Nigel discusses the inspiration behind BetHog’s launch in 2024, the challenges of merging crypto with gambling, and his ambitious plans to make gambling fun, transparent, and engaging for a global audience.

The Coin Republic — Question 1: Thanks for joining us today. There’s been a lot of buzz lately around BetHog, a crypto casino that you launched in November of 2024. Can you tell us why you wanted to build in crypto?

Nigel: Well, I got into crypto in 2020 because I was excited about the potential of building a new financial system that was outside the control of banks. Since then, crypto has only expanded with $3.7T in crypto assets held by millions of people across the world. 

Question 2: So, let’s get right into it. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of competitors. What makes BetHog different from all the others in the crowded crypto casino space?

Nigel: Yes, I think there are somewhere around 2,000 crypto casinos today. One of the funny things, though, is that of those 2,000 operators, maybe only 2 or 3 have publicly named founders. One of our key differentiators is that we are very public about who is behind the company. We want users to trust us, so sharing who is behind the product seems like an absolute minimum. Secondly, with that, we feel like there has been a real lack of investment in the product in the crypto casino. From day one, we have invested in creating a new and original product.

Question 3: In a land full of rug pulls and apprehension, how do you intend to build trust for a new product in Web3?

Nigel: Yes, it is a huge issue in crypto. One thing that is a real part of crypto culture is anonymity. However, the drawback is that there are very limited repercussions for bad actors committing fraud and financial crimes. So, a big part we want to bring to the space is an openness about who is behind the company and how we operate.

Question 4: What have you found most challenging about building BetHog that you didn’t encounter with FanDuel?

Nigel: Honestly, nearly everything was harder building FanDuel. It was harder to raise money, hire people to work on something that looked questionably legal, and harder to get approved by payment providers and banks. 

Question 5: Crypto users value speed and anonymity, which can be a double-edged sword. How does BetHog balance those aspects?

Nigel: So the biggest conflict there is how we handle withdrawals. Users naturally want speed (which is understandable), but that has to be balanced with checks by the company to counter fraud and abuse. I think we have managed to find a good balance on that question, but it is something we are constantly improving. 

Question 6: Let’s talk about casino games. You have over 3,000 games available from many of the top suppliers, including Pragmatic and Hacksaw, and you also built your own BetHog Originals. Why did you build BetHog Originals, and what can players expect from them?

Nigel: So we built our own originals as we wanted games that were unique to BetHog. We also thought we could really innovate on the existing titles. Crypto users want games that are super fast but also fun. We’ve delivered those. We are currently releasing a new title about once a month.

Question 7: Bonuses are a big part of what attracts players, and we’re all bombarded with wild promotions, some with a lot of hidden strings attached. What does BetHog offer, and why is it worthwhile for players?

Nigel: So, one principle we made clear in building the company is to have real clarity with our bonuses. We feel users are tired of bonuses with hidden or unclear terms. We work really hard to make sure all the terms are clear, on the sign-up page and in readable English. 

Question 8: There are also high expectations from players after signing up. What do you have available for them, and how do you plan to keep them engaged long-term?

Nigel: So, really two things. The first is continued investment in improving the product. We are in the process of dramatically improving our sportsbook. Plus, we roll out new games every month. The second thing is community, which we are really ramping up. 

Question 9: Casino seems to get priority treatment above sports betting, with not only BetHog, but most crypto gambling brands. Why do you think that is? And what can we expect from BetHog with sports betting?

Nigel: Initially, we focused mostly on the casino as we felt we could get to product parity there faster. However, with our new sports book launch, we feel we now have a tier one product. So, we are going to invest a lot more heavily there. We feel there is still a major gap between crypto sports books and US books like FanDuel. That is something we plan to fix over the next few years.

Question 10: If you were to pitch BetHog to a new player in just one sentence, what would you say?

Nigel: BetHog is an exceptionally well-built casino product with a tier one sports book and a crack VIP team that looks after their players.

You can find Nigel on X at @nigeleccles and check out BetHog at bethog.com.