A New Paradigm in Fantasy Football Launches With Real Cash Contests On iOS - Blue Ox Entertainment Unveils SideDraft(TM) App

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich., Sept. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- For fantasy football fanatics sitting at 0-2 and wishing they could press re-set on the young 2013 NFL season, they now can – over and over and over again – with the launch of SideDraft™, the first, exclusively mobile app to offer real-money fantasy sports contests on iPhones and iPads.

According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA), more than 23 million Americans will play fantasy football in 2013. Blue Ox Entertainment developed SideDraft to provide this massive player base with a new way to socialize over fantasy football without having to commit to a season-long engagement with the same roster of underperforming players. Each week is a new draft with a hand-selected opponent and agreed upon cash payout.

The app's gameplay is simple. A player funds the account; then selects a head-to-head contest for a payout between $0 and $1,000; and lastly challenges one of their buddies to take part in the competition. With daily fantasy sports websites, fantasy teams are formed by picking players adhering to a salary cap. SideDraft is unique in that teams are formed by alternating six picks, thereby eliminating the chance that both participants select the same players. The app features a clean design, which keeps track of the fantasy scoring as well as the amount of money at stake. Whichever team's six players accumulate the most points wins the contest, the cash, and the bragging rights.

"It's not fun when every fantasy team ends up with Adrian Peterson, but that's what happens when you pick a roster through salary restrictions," said Jon Goldstein, co-founder and CEO of Blue Ox Entertainment. "We wanted SideDraft to take the most exhilarating part of fantasy football – drafting – and make it the most significant component of the game. " The best part about it? If you don't get your guy this time, there's always next week – or even against another opponent that same week."

With the increasingly popular daily fantasy sports websites, a common complaint is the difficulty to actually win a competition, with professional players, or "sharks," preying on these sites to take everyone else's money. SideDraft is designed for players to socialize with their friends by drafting and competing against one another, where winning is more realistic.

Players can conduct multiple competitions at once, allowing them to explore different strategies and fantasy players. There's minimal time commitment as the draft can be completed over hours or even days. After your opponent selects a player, you receive a push notification that it's now your turn. It perfectly blends the excitement of playing for cash with the skill required to excel at fantasy sports. Players can engage in weekly competitions instead of waiting for the end of the long football season to declare a winner. Fantasy diehards can even compete in a fantasy contest set exclusively around the time that they actually plan to watch football.

"America cannot get enough of professional football, much in part because of the explosion in fantasy football over the last decade," said Goldstein. "We created SideDraft to give the dedicated fantasy player a great way to socialize and compete with their friends without the time drain a season-long league requires. No one needs to worry about complex transactions or fictional monetary values of players. You just pick your team from the entire pool of players and you are all set. With the long fantasy season, some players might be out of it by Week 5. SideDraft allows them to get back into the action and use their knowledge to have fun and maybe even win some spending money."

SideDraft is available on iTunes at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sidedraft/id668703259?mt=8

About Blue Ox Entertainment
Blue Ox Entertainment is an application development firm that specializes in sports and fantasy betting related apps. The company's flagship application, SideBets, is an innovative peer-to-peer app that allows users to compete against each other for GFM. Re-launched with additional social features in September 2012, SideBets encourages friendly competition amongst individuals and groups. The company launched the football-focused SideDraft application in the fall of 2013. For more information, visit www.sidebetme.com.  

SOURCE Blue Ox Entertainment