That's what I figured. I wish there was some SaaS-ish fund/Kickstarter where multiple small investors could go together for this kind of thing for a nominal fee.
How betting on the performance of a company is any different from betting on the performance of an athlete or a horse just boggles my mind. Sure, in the short term the variance is lower, but it's still a fucking gamble. It's also the only legal way to gamble in all 50 states.