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Balderton Capital is wagering on Open Vantage Ltd., the creator of London mobile-phone gambling service betNOW. The firm, known until last summer as Benchmark Capital Europe, has invested an undisclosed amount as betNOW plans its launch in the U.K. The startup did not say whether any other investors participated in the round.

Licensed under the U.K.'s Gambling Act of 2005, betNOW will allow users to place wagers on sporting events via SMS text messages, acting as an intermediary between gamblers and third-party wagering services. The service caters to football, tennis, golf, auto, horse and dog racing enthusiasts -- specifically those in the U.K., according to a company statement, although it's not clear whether people elsewhere can use it. (Bets can be collected at U.K. post offices.)

While TechCrunch expresses surprise that Balderton would want to involve itself with an industry that "has a taint to it" and is historically tied to organized crime, as a business betNOW seems to be fully transparent and above-board. Obviously there's plenty of money to be made in online gambling, whether in gray markets or fully legal ones. (Just ask PartyPoker founder Ruth Parasol, if you can find her.) And, it seems, Balderton is hedging its bets just a tad -- the firm also holds a stake in the U.K.'s largest online gambling company, Betfair. - Paul Bonanos

See betNOW's press release (via PEHub)
See TechCrunch's post about Balderton's investment in betNOW

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