Insight VIRTUAL SPORTS Many governments are THE ITALIAN JOB
The power of introducing virtual sports to a market can be clearly demonstrated by the introduction of the product in Italy. From nothing, Inspired supported the development of a $1.5billion virtuals market, in less than a year.
It all started in 2009 when Inspired its first contract in Italy and set about discussing the technical and operational standards with ADM which they would publish ultimately in March 2013. In December 2013 Inspired secured approval from the Italian gambling regulator ADM to launch its virtual sports products into the Italian market. The biggest challenge was building a whole new market from a standing start. After all, players must be educated on new products and all countries need tailored solutions and gaming content.
Inspired quickly formed a team in Rome and invested in R&D to learn about the Italian player, to ensure that the content it was considering was relevant and engaging. Impressed by its success in the UK and its considered approach to the Italian market, Inspired signed contracts with all the main
land-based and online operators in Italy, including SNAI, Lottomatica, SISAL, Eurobet, Cogetech, Intralot, Gamenet, Microgame,
Sommettendo.it, and Betflag.
Inspired started by offering Italian players a huge range of its market leading virtuals and it also developed Rush Trotting especially for the Italian market after Inspired’s product team analyzed the most popular sports for live betting in Italy.
Inspired now supplies over 95% of the Italian virtual sports market. Its products are available to Italian players in over 7,000 betting venues and on all of the main websites. Inspired is now facilitating approximately €85 million a month in bets across the whole of the country. It is also the only provider that supplies virtual sports for mobile, which is a huge area of growth and is driving 30% of the online operators’ revenues.
Inspired is still growing its footprint and offering in Italy. So far this year it has signed new virtual contracts with Microgame and Betclic Everest Group, extended contracts with SNAI and Eurobet Italia, and Sisal launched a dedicated mobile app for its Inspired Virtuals called “Virtual Race.”
considering, or in the process of, establishing regulations to enable virtual sports in their
countries – even where there is no live sportsbetting market. It’s a win-win for players and governments alike – the
products are entertaining, social and low stake/high frequency
event schedules, and withdraw winnings. As we look ahead it’s probable that many more operators will be looking to launch mobile-first games and apps, and to further improve their omnichannel gaming experience.
NEW MARKETS Another key trend is the formation of new markets.
Continuing to keep up with the excitement of live sports can be challenging and plenty of innovation is needed to keep players entertained. It’s important that graphically, virtual sports stays ahead of the curve in using the latest motion capture and modeling methods. Our new Rush Football 2 has generated an incredible response on YouTube from players – proving that realism helps to attract new players.
In addition to game graphics, it’s crucial to add new formats and features to allow more betting markets and, therefore, more excitement and bigger potential prizes. Accumulator bets and betting on leagues is incredibly popular in live football, hence Inspired’s new Matchday product. It gives players the same thrill of watching non-stop matches whilst enabling bets to be placed during the season, all at the high-pace speed of a virtual sport.
DIGITAL GROWTH Far from reaching saturation, there are huge
opportunities within the virtual sports market – namely the growth in mobile and formation of new markets and game types.
One of the key benefits of virtual sports is that they
can bridge the gap between land-based and digital operations. Inspired has been supplying virtual sports content across all platforms for over five years and its customers are finding increased value in deploying Inspired Virtuals on multiple channels. Their players report that they love the simplicity, immediacy and flexibility of Inspired’s Virtuals, and the consistency of getting a high quality, premium experience no matter what medium they choose to use.
One of Inspired’s online customers reported a 200% increase in stakes since the introduction of virtuals on mobile, and a leading land-based operator reported that its Virtuals revenue doubled after the launch of mobile. This is set to grow even further – mobiles are fast becoming the player’s channel of choice. Mobile is especially important in emerging markets, as it enables operators to leapfrog old technology.
Such is the popularity of mobile that many operators have launched bespoke virtual sports mobile apps using Inspired content. Players can use the app to bet on a range of virtual sports, with events starting all the time. They also use the app to check the results of all virtual sports, review the
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As virtual sports are established and proven in the online and mobile space in Europe, particularly with major bookmakers and lotteries, it makes them very attractive to new emerging markets. Many governments are considering, or in the process of, establishing regulations to enable virtual sports in their countries – even where there is no live sportsbetting market. It’s a win-win for players and governments alike – the products are entertaining, social and low stake/high frequency, and governments can generate increased tax revenues to use for the common good of the country.
Inspired anticipates a popular take-up of virtual sports across retail, online and mobile channels as new markets open up, especially in Africa, AsiaPac and Latin America.
With new channels, technology and markets in the offing, it is no wonder that virtual sports are the safe bet for operators. We are proud of the role Inspired has, and continues to have, in this growing market – we look forward to shaking it up with many more innovations to come.
Steve Rogers, SVP Digital Games, Inspired
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