Design core pages for a gaming site, work w open-minded startup

oquizo – this is the brand of the quiz game

We are a gaming startup company with cofounders sitting in Poland and the UK. We have significant experience in the industry, our previous jobs include: web & software development, web & management consulting and fmcg.
Our first project is oquizo – a skill gaming site that enables player to compete against each other and win cash prizes. To win cash prizes players have to deposit a stake so the game is not for free. Note that this is not gambling, it's a skill game.
What we want to achieve is to become a #1 company on the quiz gaming market.
We’re looking for a clever designer who would help us to achieve that. We enjoy being challenged, so if you have a great idea on how to make oquizo site better, we’re listening! We are really easy-going (but looking for a quality and timeliness).

In case of most skill gaming site audience is slightly skewed towards women. Our target audience is:
- age: 18-49
- education: college and no college groups above average
- risk taking: tendency to take risk slightly above average, like bingo players but not necessarily ’hard-core casino
gambling’ types, casual gamers.

for more info re audience, please have a look at:
- http://www.quantcast.com/king.com
- http://www.quantcast.com/amuso.com

Main competitors:
amuso.com
king.com – king.com offers 100+ games, we will compete directly with Quiz Queen only
mightyquiz.com – to some extent, as they do not offer cash prizes

What we requireis a website design, which:
- should have a light, clean professional and energetic look. Please remember that players put their money at risk here, so the page should be energetic, so let's avoid depressing designs :)
- should make users think the company / site is trustworthy (as they are supposed to risk their money)
- may resemble a tv show studio (think Who wants to be a millionaire)
- have rather darker colour palette, preferably dark blue
- should help us to differentiate from the competitors

Have a look at the attached screenshots illustrating website features. The main elements are:
- main page with direct access to the game, rankings, chatroom, activity feed, sign in & sign up fields etc.
- game screen – with question and 4 answers & 8 players avatars
These two pages are required.

What kind of design we like:
http://wp.tv
http://www.quizzenistgeld.de (check out those rings in the background)

What kind of desing we do not like:
http://king.com (too many items on the page, very silly colour palette etc.)

All design elements (esp. buttons, icons, boxes, windows etc.) should be reusable.

Please note we’re open for discussion, so if you have any other ideas, not necessarily in line with ours, do not hesitate to share. If you think that page layout should be changed, do not hesitate to share your POV.