New social betting app

Blue Ox Entertainment, LLC has launched a new iOS and Android social sports betting app titled Sidebets, according to a report in the business publication Forbes.

To comply with US law, the firm is unable to engage in real money activity and has to depend on virtual currency and the social and bragging interactivity that this involves on sites like Facebook and Twitter.

The SideBets Social BETworking app provides up-to-date real game lines, keeps a running tally of overall wins and losses, and is promoted with the slogan “Screw the Bookie, Bet Your Friends.” As such, it essentially appears to be based on a peer-to-peer betting exchange model.

Blue Ox Entertainment co-founder Jon Goldstein told Forbes: “Legally, we can’t be a broker of real money. However, a private bookie really is a perfect user.”

And as Goldstein admitted, SideBets has the potential to create real side bets outside of the app’s interface, because in essence it appears to be a personal sportsbook that uses betting lines from the leading bookmakers and features real–time scores to stay updated on all the games’ action.

Forbes reports that sports bettors can even form “groups” to make wagers with their friends, similar to the fantasy sports model.

Goldstein claims the app is popular: ”Out of all SideBets app downloads, we end up converting about 10 percent to active users, he says.

”Among those active users, about 10 percent are heavy users (over 20 bets per week).  We have had over 40,000 bets made by active users.”

SideBets’ revenue is generated by users purchasing virtual money for wagering against other users.