Yolo Investments leads funding round for sports media Basketball Forever

Estonian Yolo Investments has led a €3,6M funding round for sports media company Basketball Forever. Also involved in the deal: US-based Andover Ventures, Astralis Capital Management, and several US and UK business angels.

Founded in Australia in 2011 by Alex Sumsky and Jaden Harris, Basketball Forever publishes breaking news, commentary, rumors, and culture connected to basketball games on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok. The company claims to reach between 40M to 60M views per month and is managed by a team of basketball players.

The company also offers free and real-money gaming. One of the games, V.O.A.T, challenges NBA fans with daily questions. Basketball Forever is a brand of Forever Network.

The startup will use the investment to expand into the North American sports betting market. In February 2024, the company partnered with the daily fantasy platform Dabble, which allows users to play real-money sports games. 

Founded by Tim Heath in Estonia in 2017, Yolo Investments focuses on seed- and A-stage investments in gaming and fintech. Tim Heath is also a founder and a board member of the Yolo Group, which operates gaming brands such as bitcasino.io and sportsbet.io. 

The Estonian investment firm recently launched a €100M Yolo Fund II L.P. to back online gaming, blockchain, fintech, and renewable energy. Yolo Investments plans to fund a total of 20-30 companies.