Helsinki-based mobile gaming startup Sports Lion launched in time for Olympics its no-money sports betting application for iOS devices.
The free-to-play app allows users to bet against each other for Lion points on the outcome of their favourite sporting events.
We have seen a number of attempts also in Nordics to tackle this “casual betting” market, but so far with limited success. Also Sports Lion is yet to take off, reaching charts only in a few countries.
Besides one-off bets, the application features poker-like tournaments, where users compete for Lion points on a specific event. For example in the Rio Olympics, large Lion point prize pools are up for grabs in Men’s and Women’s European Football, Men’s and Women’s Basketball and Men’s and Women’s Tennis. The application also includes private Roaring pools, which allow users to track their Roaring against friends on a specific sporting event.
Their US focus is clear from naming one of the sports “European Football” – something we in Europe call football, and even Americans call it soccer.
“We want to provide a platform where sports fans from all over the world can connect and bet against each other in a safe, playful environment,” said Liinus Hietaniemi, CEO of Lion Group.
The team from Finland, Poland and India is currently seeking 500,000 to 1,000,000 euros, saying it would be used for Android version of the app, as well as marketing and scaling the business.
