Investment interest in British bookmakers has not fallen off despite a challenging year anticipated ahead, with growth equity fund Raine Partners leading a funding round in challenger brand Midnite.
Raine Partners is the growth equity fund of the Raine Group, an investment and strategic advisory, which leads the Series C funding round of Midnite alongside existing investors in the firm Play Ventures, Discerning Capital, Makers Fund and Big Bets.
Founded in 2015, Midnite has been scaling significantly since 2024, establishing itself as one of Britain’s main challenger brands looking to break the dominance held by legacy brands such as Sky Bet, William Hill, Ladbrokes Coral, bet365 and Betfred.
The Series C funding round saw $35m in capital raised, following a $100m credit facility secured in October 2025. Midnite has set goals of becoming the ‘Monzo of betting’, making comparisons with the fintech’s disruptive role in UK banking, and of becoming the first +£1bn British online betting unicorn since Sky Bet in the 2000s.
Midnite Co-Founder, Nick Wright, said: “We’re thrilled to have the continued support of some of the best investors in gaming. Our product-centric approach is what has got us to where we are today, and we will continue to place the experience of our players as our highest priority.
“This capital enables us to hit the gas and accelerate our growth strategy as we pursue tier-1 operator status, investing heavily in our product team to truly disrupt the industry with a challenger brand platform for a new generation of players.”
Proceed with caution?
For betting firms large and small, 2026 is coming with some big challenges for the industry – first and foremost, a topic everyone is familiar with right now, taxation.
Remote Gaming Duty (RGD) will go up from 21% to 40% in April,and will have a huge impact on the industry in general, but it is expected to have the biggest impact of all on small-to-mid sized companies, like Midnite.
It is also widely expected that operator marketing budgets will fall as a result, a commonly given margin being a reduction of 20%. Entain (Ladbrokes Coral), Evoke (William HIll, 888) and Flutter (Sky Bet, Paddy Power Betfair, Tombola) have all concurred.
For Midnite, this could be a problem, as the challenfer counts on marketing to promote its brand and product with the saturated field of UK sportsbooks. This has included sponsorships of football clubs and Triple Crown snooker, and a creative TV advertising campaign.
On top of financial burdens, there is also a chance of further regulatory and political change this year, with Labour backbenchers in particular keen to see further restrictions on the industry – though at the moment MPs seem more focused on retail than online gaming, perhaps satisfied that the new taxes have gone far enough.
Despite this myriad of factors, Midnite’s investors remain confident. John Salter, Co-Founder and Partner of Raine, said: “We’re pleased to deepen our relationship with Midnite as it continues to develop its product portfolio and grow at scale.
“The Midnite team has a clear vision, with the dedication and passion necessary to be an industry leader in product innovation. We look forward to seeing what comes next as Midnite paves the path forward for the next generation of players.”
There is the possibility that some investors view the challenges of 2026 as an opportunity rather than a hindrance. Following the Autumn budget in November, Entain projected that a potential positive for its company, as one of the UK’s biggest PLCs, would be that it could potentially secure market share as smaller firms exited the market due to financial pressure.
This would obviously include smaller firms like Midnite. However, maybe challenger brand investors think the opposite is true, and perhaps the tax upheaval will be an opportunity for smaller, outside-the-box thinking firms to seize market share from larger, older, and more out-of-touch PLCs.
“We’re excited to continue backing Midnite as they scale towards tier-1 status,” said Anton Backman, General Partner at Play Ventures.
“Midnite is a true first-mover in building social, rewards and live operations at the core of the gaming experience, combining operational excellence in real-money gaming with best practices from leading mobile game publishers.
“Our firm’s thesis is deeply rooted in the belief that these industries will continue to converge, and that Midnite is best positioned to capitalize on this opportunity.”