INSIGHT
Having led the way in archive video virtual sports, Highlight understands what leagues and associations will accept and we work closely with our partners
cheering on their favourite teams from the vast amount of exclusive archive footage that Highlight owns.
Licence agreements between virtual sports providers with sports leagues and teams are becoming increasingly popular. What's driving this trend? How does the popularity of officially licensed content compare to the success of non-licensed content?
Highlight Games has driven this trend! If you’re sat at home on a Wednesday night in Barcelona, would you rather place a bet online on “El Classico” featuring the real stadia, players, archive and commentary wrapped around a game featuring LALIGA’s branding, club badges and official player imagery or a graphical game called the “Spanish league” that is imitating the real deal?
Because of this popularity, I expect that leagues and associations may need to become more vigilant about protecting their intellectual property and goodwill from use in unlicensed games.
Te other implication of owning exclusive rights is that the pool of footage available to newer, challenger games is more limited, which could have knock-on effects for the diversity of those games.
What impact does being licensed have on the development process? What scope is there for creative freedom?
Having led the way in archive video virtual sports, Highlight understands what leagues and associations will accept and we work closely with our partners to produce content that reflects their brand guidelines. Games always need approval and so we start this process from the outset but also hold freedom to innovate.
For example, we are currently working with our partners to develop a MotoGP Roulette game for casino and have just launched a new ‘Lotto-Goals’ product which is the first football-themed numbers game featuring archive video footage to launch across 2,100 LBOs in the UK.
What new sports simulations, game modes and interactive features are driving user retention and attracting new participants?
Last season Ladbrokes launched our ‘Lotto Goals’ instant win game into their online Fanzone. Te game is designed to retain player engagement in a live sports betting environment and has been so popular we are now looking at developing new and additional content for next season.
to produce content that reflects their brand guidelines. Games always need approval and so we start this process from the outset but also hold freedom to innovate.
VIRTUAL SPORTS HIGHLIGHT GAMES
Give us a global snapshot of virtual sports. Regionally, where is the popularity of virtual sports steady, and where is it rising exponentially?
Key European markets for virtual sports currently include Italy, the UK, Turkey and Greece. Highlight Games is proving instrumental in driving growth year on year in these territories by supplying bespoke content relevant to the local market. Africa is a major growth market and Highlight is growing its presence in this area.
Last season Ladbrokes launched our ‘Lotto Goals’ instant win game into their online Fanzone. The game is designed to retain player engagement in a live sports betting environment and has been so popular we are now looking at developing new and additional content for next season.
Much is said about opportunities in the US market but is hard to know the truth in this without financials to substantiate the hype. Highlight may one day be interested in deploying content in the US but right now there are bigger opportunities in other markets.
The 21-35 years demographic segment is expected to hold the dominating share of the virtual sports market over the coming years. Going forwards, is the priority to keep these players that are in their prime gaming years engaged as their disposable income rises, or to create games that will attract tomorrow's generation?
Highlight’s products tend to transcend all demographics in sports betting - we are seeking to create games with a lottery or casino feel.
2024 will see Highlight build new games featuring ATP Tennis, Ligue 1 football and
MotoGP racing. We also have additional archive footage from the 2022/23 season to cut and build into our existing games, while also reskinning new versions of instant win and Lotto Goals games
featuring our various football archives. Most importantly we will be launching LALIGA in Italy with our own regulated technology and platform.
Each year we refresh our archive with new footage from the prior year’s season – for example, in Italy players who are interested in the current teams and current players can see recent goals and action in our games. Our archives go back 20-25 years, so people like me who remember the football in the 90’s can enjoy the nostalgia of betting on goals from yesteryear.
What's next on Highlight Games' virtual sports content roadmap?
2024 will see Highlight build new games featuring ATP Tennis, Ligue 1 football and MotoGP racing. We also have additional archive footage from the 2022/23 season to cut and build into our existing games, while also reskinning new versions of instant win and Lotto Goals games featuring our various football archives. Most importantly we will be launching LALIGA in Italy with our own regulated technology and platform. Having renewed our Serie A rights we will soon be following our LALIGA SOCCERBET launch with a multitude of new Italian games. We have just appointed a new CTO and are laser focussed on becoming the most successful supplier of virtual sports and associated games in the market
WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS P125
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