INSIGHT VIRTUAL SPORTS - PRAGMATIC PLAY
How have virtual sports evolved in the last three years?
Since we entered the virtual sports space, we have gone from strength to strength as the vertical enjoys the benefits of continued technological advancement. In three short years, we’ve added six games, with three more in development, and now the growing popularity of our products has seen us take more than 10 million bets since the beginning of the year, with more than 50,000 unique players per month.
How has the position of virtual sports within Pragmatic’s portfolio changed in that time?
It has been one of rapid growth. Moving to a cutting-edge game engine has greatly enhanced the graphical quality and realism, which has been incredibly important to move to an even higher level of product.
Our virtual sports portfolio is integrated with more than 700 customer casinos now, and through the integration of virtuals with our new sportsbook product, there’s further opportunity to gain growth through synergy.
What differentiates Pragmatic Play's virtual sports apart from others in the market?
We pride ourselves on delivering a fresh look at existing core virtual sports, with the highest quality rendering and realism, while also looking to put our own unique spin on classic titles.
Our best-in-class tech allows us to have a hyper-realistic visual product, that allows for real-time rendering, giving a striking product enjoyed globally. In addition, we bring a broad range of betting markets to the table, that aren’t usually found in your typical virtual products.
How is Pragmatic Play looking to build upon its virtual sports portfolio? How can the overall offering be improved?
In a space driven by technology, such as new visual aids, rendering times and even lightweight products to work perfectly on mobile data, there is always room for improvement. Te pace of product development is increasing, providing the possibility to add new games or variations.
Tere is also the opportunity to bring localised content, delivering virtual sports that are popular in different parts of the world, through the additions of new leagues or venues, giving a new layer of immersion to players.
Our updated roadmap is a clear indicator of this, while we’re striving to bring more leagues to bear in our football titles, expanding the appeal to an even wider base.
Will virtual sports ever provide a similar standard of visuals to the latest generation of video games, or is the architecture simply not there?
P68 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS “A key facet is the
improvement of the player experience, which is the main goal we continuously strive towards. We aim to do this
through the visual believability and quality of the video,
improving information sharing with players over competitor history and statistics, and increasing the variety of bet markets.”
We are already using the latest state-of-the-art gaming engine to create real-time rendered scenes in our games, but the big difference between Virtual Sports and a gaming console is the distribution of video.
On a console video is via a dedicated hard- wired monitor, while we have to encode the video and deliver over a global Content Distribution Network (CDN). However, the quality is getting closer and closer to the consoles, and we’re seeing constant improvements to graphics cards, and CDN, so the gap becomes ever smaller.
Irina Cornides Chief Operating Officer, Pragmatic Play
“Since we entered the virtual sports space, we have gone from strength to strength as the vertical enjoys the benefits of continued technological advancement. In three short years, we’ve added six games, with three more in
development, and now the growing popularity of our
products has seen us take more than 10 million bets since the beginning of the
year, with more than 50,000 unique players per month.”
Are virtual sports solely striving for ultra- realism, or can virtual sports offer greater variety than that? Does realism necessarily have to be the goal?
One of the main appeals of virtual sports is that it provides an experience as close to realism as possible, so the players belief that the event is real is not “suspended” through a lack of quality or unrealistic looking action.
However, it also permits a degree of freedom in being able to make games that are not carbon copies of real-life but remain engaging and entertaining.
Where are the areas for improvement in the future development of virtual sports?
A key facet is the improvement of the player experience, which is the main goal we continuously strive towards. We aim to do this through the visual believability and quality of the video, improving information sharing with players over competitor history and statistics, and increasing the variety of bet markets.
Te next steps for us will be adding more leagues, tournaments, and championships to our products, as they provide players with a rich variety of betting choices alongside an engaging and exciting set of viewing experiences. From there, we could even see in-game betting, delivering gameplay and options that more accurately reflect traditional live sports betting.
Perusing Pragmatic's virtual sports suite, Formula One-inspired title Force 1 catches the eye. Could you tell us more about the product and the rationale behind it?
We saw a gap in the market, with no providers offering a true representation of open-wheel racing. We created a game to close this gap offering a large number of entrants, split into teams – in the form of thrilling motor racing contests.
We chose a street circuit to increase the excitement of close racing over a short number of laps and use different camera views to enhance the experience. Tis also allowed us to create bet markets with a combination of individual and team markets, replicating the real thing.
We have built a product that showcases driver and team skills with many variables to ensure each race is different but remaining real-time rendered, to provide the excitement of different outcomes each time.
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