August 14, 2024

CEO of OddsJam, Matt Restivo's Mission to Empower Players & Grow the Sportsbetting Industry

By: Jacob Fortinsky

This week on Linecraft I had the pleasure of sitting down with Matt Restivo, CEO of OddsJam. Matt has a wealth of experience in the sports betting industry. He previously served as the Chief Product Officer at Action Network before taking the reins at OddsJam. My conversation with Matt was packed with insights and advice for operators and bettors. His experience building multiple successful sports betting products combined with his in-the-trenches perspective as an active bettor makes him a must-listen.

In this episode, we dove into the key trends and opportunities shaping the sports betting landscape. What really struck me was his holistic view of the industry - from the nuts and bolts of building great products to the evolving regulatory environment to the mindset needed to succeed as a bettor. Matt has the ability to zoom in on the details that matter while never losing sight of the big picture.

A key theme throughout the conversation was the importance of education and empowerment. Matt and the OddsJam team are on a mission to change how bettors approach the market, arming them with the tools and knowledge to bet profitably. In a business where most operators are focused solely on acquisition and handle, it's refreshing to see a company so committed to the long-term success of its users.

Whether you're a seasoned industry vet, a casual bettor looking to up your game, or just someone fascinated by the business of sports betting, I guarantee you'll find a ton of valuable insights in this conversation.

Make sure to carve out some time to listen to the full episode with Matt Restivo here:

And if you don't have a chance to listen to the full episode, here are five valuable takeaways from our chat:

1. Educating bettors on profitable betting strategies is Oddjam's mission.

At its core, OddsJam is on a mission to change the way bettors think about their wagers.

"We want people to think about sports betting differently. And what I've found from arbitrage is that it’s a really, really easy way to help people see the sports betting world differently."

OddsJam's content and tools are all geared towards helping bettors understand and implement positive expected value (+EV) strategies like arbitrage betting. By focusing on education, they aim to "rewire the minds" of bettors and open their eyes to a more profitable approach.

2. Improving the mobile app experience is a key priority.

While OddsJam has seen great success with their web-based offerings, Matt acknowledged that their mobile app experience hasn't been up to par:

"I'm not satisfied with OddJam’s mobile app experience. And I don't think anybody in the company is. And clearly users aren't. So we're spending a lot of time really improving that."

Despite some industry skepticism about the importance of apps, Matt is a firm believer in providing a quality, user-friendly mobile experience. Expect big improvements to OddsJam's app as they make it a major priority moving forward.

3. Being relentlessly focused on costs is key as a bootstrap business.

As a profitable, bootstrapped company, OddsJam has to be incredibly disciplined when it comes to managing costs. Matt shared a peek behind the curtain:

"We spend an enormous amount of time focused on costs...every month we have what's called our monthly business review. It's led by our internal controller and we literally rip through the entire business down to every bank account and credit card transaction."

By keeping a hawk-like focus on every expense over $5 and conducting regular deep-dive reviews, OddsJam is able to operate efficiently and profitably without outside investment. It's a good reminder for startups that being lean and detail-oriented is critical, especially in the early days.

4. Sweepstakes betting opens up new market opportunities.

The rise of sweepstakes betting is creating new customer acquisition opportunities for companies like OddsJam. Matt explained the potential:

"It's great to get more exposure to younger people and in states that we typically couldn't reach them. and I think ultimately that will pay dividends down the line as these people turn 21 and, and enter, legal sports betting."

By introducing the OddsJam brand and offerings to bettors in states where traditional sports betting isn't yet legal, they can build valuable relationships that will pay off in the long run as those users age into the legal market. It's a smart strategy to drive sustainable growth.

5. Newly legal betting states still have room for growth.

While the initial burst of betting volume from newly legalized states tends to grab headlines, Matt believes there is still massive untapped potential in those markets:

"North Carolina is only three months old at this point... It took five years to really penetrate New Jersey. I think obviously that's going to happen faster. It's not 2018 anymore… But it does take time for people to really dip their feet in the water.”

Rather than a one-and-done pop, legalization is the start of a long growth ramp for operators. By getting in early and providing great products and education, companies can ride that wave for years as the market matures. Expect a lot more growth to come, especially as bigger states like California come online.

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What is Novig? How does Novig work?

Novig is the first prediction market for sports. We were tired of betting against sportsbooks that take 10% cuts of winnings and limit/ban winning users, so we built a peer-to-peer exchange where you compete directly against other users in the Novig community rather than against the house.

When you place orders on Novig, you are weighing in with your own knowledge, research, and opinions on sports events, so the odds on our platform reflect what the Novig market believes is the fair value of a given event. We are distinct from traditional sportsbooks in that we allow users to offer their own odds (ie, name your own price) if you don’t like the market odds, which you can do by placing a “Make Order” on the Order Slip.  

We have two different modes: Novig Coins and Novig Cash. Novig Coins are unredeemable and are used to play for fun, and Novig Cash is a virtual currency that can be used to enter sweepstakes for the chance to win cash prizes. No purchase is necessary for Novig Cash.

What’s the difference between Novig Coins and Novig Cash?

Novig Coins are used to play for fun. They provide the opportunity to express one’s predictions on sports events, win more Novig Coins, and compete against the Novig community. Novig Coins can be purchased in the Novig App, and they can be claimed daily or when one’s balance is below 100 Novig Coins. They are unredeemable and non-transferable. 

Novig Cash is a virtual currency that is used to participate in Novig's sweepstakes. Novig Cash is free to claim and Novig Cash won from gameplay can be used to enter additional sweepstakes or redeemed for cash prizes, subject to eligibility verification, minimum and maximum redemption limits, and all requirements in the Sweepstakes Rules and Terms of Use.

It can be collected for free as a bonus with purchases of Novig Coins or via one of our alternative methods of entry. No purchase is necessary to obtain Novig Cash. Please see our Sweepstakes Rules for complete details. 

What happens if I win Novig Cash?

If you win Novig Cash by participating in sweepstakes games, you may redeem the Novig Cash for real cash prizes, subject to minimum and maximum redemption limits, but you must verify your eligibility and comply with all requirements, in accordance with our Terms of Use. The current minimum redemption of Novig Cash is $20, and the current maximum redemption of Novig Cash is $5,000 for a single redemption and $10,000 per day, except in New York and Florida where the maximum daily redemption is $5,000.

What are sweepstakes?

Sweepstakes are promotional games with prizes for the winners. They are used to promote the sale of products — in our case, Novig Coins — and have been legitimately used by businesses in the United States for decades. 

Unlike traditional sports betting where you wager real money on sports outcomes, sweepstakes involve no real money gambling. A sweepstakes is a game of chance where participants can win prizes without any requirement to make a purchase. Participants use Novig Cash to play sweepstakes games for the chance to win prizes.

Why use Novig instead of traditional sportsbooks?

We are the platform where winners play. Our research indicates that players are over 10x more likely to win on Novig compared to our competitors. On other platforms, if you are consistently winning, you are likely going to get limited or frozen out entirely. At Novig, winners are welcome. 

We also offer faster in-game trading, more transparency, and a number of innovative features like Make Orders, liquidity screens where you can view multiple levels of the Order Book, position tracking, and a generous rewards program.

What markets does Novig offer?

We offer moneyline, spread, totals, and player prop markets in NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, NCAAF, NCAAB, NCAAW, and WNBA. In the coming months, we will expand our offerings to include other sports (tennis, UFC, golf, soccer) parlays, SGPs, and other exotic markets.

Is Novig legal?

What does it mean to “set your own odds”?

On Novig, you don’t have to just take the odds that the market is offering. You can set your own. 

For example, let’s say you want to put 1000 Novig Coins on the Cowboys to win against the 49ers and you see that the best odds are currently -330 for 49ers and +240 for the Cowboys. Instead of just taking the Cowboys at +240, you can change your Order type to Make on the Order Slip, and enter in whatever odds you’d like, say +300. 

Those odds are then offered to the rest of the Novig community so the 49ers odds would update to -300 and when another player on the app takes the other side, you will be notified that your order is filled and your payout would be 4000 Novig Coins, instead of 3400. If your order remains unmatched, it will be canceled automatically when the game starts, or you can cancel it from the Portfolio screen at any time and the Coins will be returned to your wallet.

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Novig is available to users 21+ across the United States, except in the following states: AL, CO, ID, LA, MI, MT, NV, and TN. Eligibility may vary month-to-month, and you are responsible for determining whether you are located in an eligible jurisdiction. For more information on eligibility and availability, see our Terms of Use and Sweepstakes Rules.

How does Novig actually make money?

It's a great question and one that gets to the heart of how we're different from traditional sportsbooks. Our revenue model is actually quite simple. We make money in two ways.

First, we act as a market maker on our own platform. That means in addition to letting users trade directly against each other, we're also providing liquidity and acting as a participant in the market. This helps keep markets active even when user liquidity is low and solves the “cold start problem” from day one. 

In other words, if you want to participate in a niche market where there isn’t any counterparty, we will serve as the counterparty. In the most liquid markets — like NFL moneyline markets — we expect the vast majority of trades to be directly peer-to-peer where we don’t take a cut, but in less liquid markets, we expect most trades will be against Novig, where we will have 1-4% spreads. 

Second, for our highest volume users - think professionals and hedge funds - we have a fee structure. But for the vast majority of users, we're not taking a cut at all. When two users play against each other, we're not touching the winnings. That means if you put up 100 Novig Cash and your buddy puts up 150 Novig Cash, the winner gets 250 Novig Cash, whereas on virtually any other platform the house would take 8-10% of the winnings, so you’d only get 230. 

This is a complete paradigm shift in the industry. We're the only platform in the world that doesn't take a cut from most of our users' winnings. It's a game changer, and it's at the core of our mission to build the fairest, most transparent platform possible.

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