Midnite secures $100m credit facility for UK growth
Midnite secures $100m credit facility, a move that underscores how growth-stage operators in the UK are rethinking capital strategy to scale efficiently in a competitive, regulated market. The London-based sportsbook confirmed an up to $100 million revolving arrangement designed to accelerate customer acquisition while protecting balance sheet flexibility, a signal that performance-tied financing is gaining real traction in iGaming.
The funding is provided via the House Advantage Fund, a specialised user acquisition financing strategy from Las Vegas investment firm Discerning Capital, alongside Singapore-based PvX Capital. Structurally, the facility is tied to marketing performance metrics, which allows Midnite to fund growth without resorting to further equity dilution and to preserve cash for product development and hiring.
Midnite’s chief executive Nicholas Wright framed the deal as a way to scale with conviction while keeping an eye on long-term product differentiation. In a statement, he said the partnership would allow the operator to “triple down on both performance and brand marketing campaigns, while preserving cash for innovation and expansion”. He added that the flexibility of the structure lets the team pursue strategy with fewer trade-offs.
“This partnership allows us to triple down on both performance and brand marketing campaigns, while preserving cash for innovation and expansion. The flexibility of the House Advantage structure means we can pursue our long-term strategy with greater conviction and fewer trade-offs.”
A financing model built for disciplined scale
The defining feature of this facility is its link to measurable marketing performance, a design that can reinforce rigorous LTV to CAC discipline and reduce the risk of over-spending in a crowded channel mix. By aligning capital deployment with results, Midnite can iterate campaigns quickly, pause when efficiency wanes, and allocate resources to the channels and markets that deliver profitable cohorts.
Discerning Capital’s managing partner Davis Catlin positioned the approach as a new benchmark for growth financing across online wagering. He argued that traditional venture capital or general-purpose credit often fails to map cleanly to user acquisition cycles in regulated gambling, which can create misalignment between spend and return. The performance-linked structure is intended to close that gap.
“By tying capital deployment to actual marketing performance, we unlock sustainable, aggressive scale without forcing operators into unnecessary equity dilution or onerous repayment structures. This credit facility for Midnite sets a new benchmark for how ambitious firms in our sector can finance growth.”
Why the backers matter
Discerning Capital is not a new name in Midnite’s story, it led the company’s $10 million Series B round in April alongside The Raine Group and Play Ventures, with additional participation from Venrex and Big Bets. Continued support in the form of a dedicated financing vehicle suggests a high degree of confidence in the operator’s route to Tier 1 status in the UK.
With PvX Capital participating, the facility benefits from additional institutional depth, which can be helpful when scaling acquisition at speed across cycles. For an operator seeking to build durable brand equity, a partner set aligned to measured, results-driven spend offers both capital and strategic clarity.
The UK ambition and what Tier 1 really implies
Midnite has been explicit about Tier 1 ambitions in the UK, one of the most mature and competitive regulated gambling markets globally. Tier 1 here implies trusted brand recognition, sustained share in key categories, and the operational resilience needed to handle high volumes across sportsbook and iGaming.
The operator’s recent trajectory supports this intent, the business has grown headcount from 60 to 150 employees over the past year, and it operates its betting and iGaming platform entirely in-house. With licences in the UK and Ireland, the company is positioned to leverage efficient capital into targeted growth without diluting its equity base.
From sportsbook to a broader content mix
Founded in 2018 by Nicholas Wright and Daniel Qu, who previously created the daily fantasy sports platform Dribble in partnership with Sky Bet, Midnite started with a UK sportsbook. In 2023, the company expanded into horse racing and casino, which widened the addressable audience and enabled more cross-sell opportunities across verticals.
Content depth has been a priority, and in 2024 Midnite partnered with Stakelogic to add slots and live casino games to its UK platform. Titles such as Tiki Tiki Hold ‘N’ Win and Speed Baccarat were included, an example of how curated third-party content can complement an in-house technology stack to increase player engagement.
Preserving cash for product and people
A core thesis behind this financing is balance sheet stewardship while scaling aggressively. The revolving credit structure funds customer acquisition, while cash reserves can be deployed to hiring and product development, two areas that tend to determine whether an operator can differentiate beyond promotions and paid media.
Midnite’s messaging emphasizes cash efficiency and optionality, the company highlighted that the facility removes the need for unnecessary equity dilution while enabling both brand and performance marketing. That combination is critical when competing for attention in a saturated market where creative, product velocity, and retention tools often decide long-term winners.
Why use credit over equity at this stage
Growth-stage operators frequently face a trade-off between speed and dilution. Equity raises can provide runway, but they also compress founder and early investor ownership, which can limit flexibility in later stages. A revolving credit facility anchored to performance can smooth cash flow, align incentives, and reserve equity for moments when strategic acquisitions, market entries, or platform overhauls justify dilution.
For Midnite, the calculus is straightforward, fund marketing that proves its return, keep cash for innovation, and maintain the equity base for future strategic decisions. The structure also signals confidence in the company’s ability to generate efficient cohorts, since repayment dynamics improve when campaigns deliver predictable returns.
Signals from recent milestones
Midnite has raised more than $35 million prior to this facility, and with the new arrangement in place, total capital now exceeds $135 million. That stack, combined with an in-house platform and a broadened content portfolio, offers a foundation for scaling responsibly in the UK iGaming market.
The push into horse racing and casino in 2023, plus the Stakelogic content additions in 2024, indicate a strategy focused on breadth and depth of offering. This ensures that new cohorts brought in through sportsbook can discover complementary experiences, which is often key to lifetime value expansion across seasons and events.
Marketing with a performance throttle
The facility’s performance-tied design encourages a granular approach to acquisition. Midnite can throttle spend into channels that show reliable payback, shift budget across creative and audience segments, and test brand investments while monitoring downstream retention. In practice, that could mean rapid experimentation paired with disciplined decisioning.
Brand and performance need to work in concert to reach Tier 1 scale. The company’s own framing suggests that resources will back both ends of the funnel, with attribution and incrementality insight guiding how dollars move between awareness and conversion. When done well, this creates a flywheel that enhances organic discovery over time.
What to watch next
Investors, partners, and peers will look for tangible signs that the capital is translating into efficient growth. Early indicators often include increased brand visibility in key UK media channels, improving acquisition efficiency on paid performance platforms, and deeper engagement within the existing customer base.
- Share of voice trends across sportsbook and iGaming in the UK,
- the cadence of product releases and feature updates on Midnite’s in-house platform,
- hiring momentum in marketing, data, and product, and how that supports execution.
Implications for the wider sector
If this structure delivers for Midnite, it could influence how other operators and suppliers approach growth financing. Tying capital to performance provides a framework that rewards efficient marketing and product that retains, which is particularly relevant in regulated environments where compliance and sustainable growth are essential.
As Davis Catlin noted, the approach aims to reduce reliance on traditional venture capital or general-purpose credit. For the sector, that could mean more specialized funds emerging to back operators with strong unit economics, better data, and mature attribution capabilities.
Risks and execution challenges
Performance-linked capital introduces accountability that can be unforgiving if execution stalls. Creative fatigue, rising media costs, or misallocated budget can pressure returns, especially during crowded sporting calendars when competition intensifies. Operators need agile testing, robust analytics, and strong CRM to weather those swings.
There is also the ongoing need to invest in responsible gaming tools and compliance frameworks in regulated markets. Sustained growth depends on player trust, and product innovation must move in tandem with safeguards, transparency, and data-driven monitoring that supports long-term customer wellbeing.
The bottom line
This financing is a calculated bet on efficient growth. With the House Advantage Fund and PvX Capital behind it, Midnite is aligning capital with measurable outcomes, reserving equity for strategic optionality, and leaning into a product and content roadmap that supports cross-vertical engagement.
If the operator executes, the combination of performance-driven spend, an in-house platform, and a diversified product suite can move it closer to Tier 1 status in the UK. The strategy is not without risk, but the structure reflects a broader shift in iGaming toward smarter capital that funds what works and pauses what does not.