Sports Betting Projection Site, Sidelines.Io, Launched by Former Google Employees in Time for NFL 2019 Kickoff

Posted on: September 8, 2019, 04:10h. 

Last updated on: September 10, 2019, 01:47h.

Steve Bittenbender Read More
Expertise: Legislation, Sports Betting, Horse Racing.

A new online service launched this week, aimed at helping sports bettors make better decisions about the games they’re playing. Created by former Google staffers and gaming industry workers, Sidelines.Io strives to do that by pulling live data from sportsbooks and other sources and giving gamblers a chance to find the best value.

Two former Google employees have launched a website designed to helping sports bettors find the best odds for the games they’re considering. Sidelines.Io also features projection information and news about the games. (Image: Sidelines.Io)

CEO and co-founder Or Lifshitz told Casino.org that he’d worked with sports betting services in Europe for nearly five years, and during that time, he was intrigued why the United States did not have legalized sports betting across the country. As he saw the likelihood become greater, he created Sidelines.Io in 2017 to use mathematical tools to help novice players in fantasy sports.

One feature that Lifshitz said helps Sidelines.Io is that it’s connected to the major sportsbooks. By creating an account, a prospective bettor can see odds from such online sportsbooks as Caesars, DraftKings, FanDuel, MGM, PointsBet, and SugarHouse.

“Obviously, there are similar services, but I think that we are the first, and the only one that’s currently focused only on regulated operators and only in regulated states,” Lifshitz said. “The vision is to be the first click of all the new amateur, recreational sports bettors that are going to join the legal community.”

Finding the Best Odds

Currently, Sidelines.Io is focused on states where there’s legal competition for the sports bettor’s action, such as New Jersey.

We tried to go to states that have more than two or three operators that we can actually bring value to the users because we don’t want to just monitor those odds,” Lifshitz said. “I think it is important to understand that over this layer, those layers of odds, we also provide tips that analyze stats… and try to find opportunities where we feel that the risk is not calculated correctly.”

In addition to comparing odds, the site also lets people review projections, check stats, and read the latest news on each game listed. There’s also a forum that will allow people to post messages and chat about upcoming games.

Unlike some similar services, which may run thousands of simulations, Lifshitz said Sideslines looks to calculate outcomes based off the data points it receives, performing risks analysis similar to the sportsbooks.

“So, we’ve tried to do the same and find the place that we believe there is a gap,” he said.

Free-to-Use Service

There is no cost to register on the site for sports bettors. Lifshitz said the plan is to use affiliations with the online sportsbooks through targeted ads to generate revenue.

One thing Lifshitz learned from his former Google peers is “that there’s no such thing as beta.” That means the company will continue to refine and grow, adding more features in time. They’re also looking to add additional sports.

For now, Sidelines.Io displays odds for the National Football League, college football, and Major League Baseball games. National Basketball Association and college basketball games will be available once those seasons start in the fall.

The National Hockey League will likely get picked up at some point, Lifshitz added. Soccer’s a possibility, too, although that would be just for European markets.