Operator News
G2E – Inspired to launch partnership with NBA champion at G2e
By Phil - 17 September 2016
Retired professional NBA star and recent Hall of Fame addition, Shaquille O’Neal will be making a VIP guest appearance at the Inspired G2E Las Vegas booth to celebrate becoming the face of Inspired’s new Rush Basketball Virtual Sports product group which will be launched in 2017 throughout Inspired’s global client base.
Inspired will be developing a number of products under the Rush Basketball product group, each featuring Shaq. Products will be developed for the land-based sports, casino and lottery sectors, as well as digital variants for online, mobile and in-play via Inspired’s Virgo RGS platform.
O’Neal is one of only three players to win the NBA MVP, All-Star game MVP and Finals MVP awards in the same year and also ranks 3rd in all-time in field goal percentage. He was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
Steve Rogers, CCO Digital Games, Inspired commented, “Inspired is delighted to announce this partnership with basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal through our partnership with Pavilion Worldwide. Our Rush Basketball product group promises to be the best on the market, using our latest technology and filming techniques to bring players their most authentic Virtual Sports experience yet.
Following our first ever Virtual Sports deployment in casinos in North America and the forthcoming online deployments in New Jersey, Inspired is looking forward to expanding its offering to include premium games such as Rush Basketball in the near future. We know that the combination of Inspired’s world leading virtual products and Shaq will be a winning formula.”
Alongside Rush Basketball, Inspired will be showcasing its best in class Virtual Sports including Rush Soccer and Mike Tyson Virtual Boxing. Inspired recently became the first company in the world to deploy Virtual Sports into North America, and this will be a key theme on the stand with executives on hand to advise delegates on the revenue driving potential of Virtuals.
Alongside best-in-class Virtual Sports, Inspired’s latest SBG cabinets featuring a broad range of games including Tyson slots, the award-winning Centurion, and top-ten title Rise Of Anubis, will be available for delegates to play. Inspired’s exclusive Eclipse cabinet featuring its all new suite of Tyson Knock Out Games will also be on stand.
Luke Alvarez, CEO, Inspired Gaming Group, said: “G2E is always a high energy and busy show for Inspired, and 2016 will be no exception. We’re hugely excited to be welcoming the legendary Shaquille O’Neal to the stand on Tuesday as we launch our latest Virtual Sports brand partnership in Rush Basketball. This year’s show is also a significant one for Inspired given we have entered into a sale and purchase agreement with U.S listed Hydra Industries, and after completion the combined company will become NASDAQ listed as Inspired Entertainment Incorporated (INSE). From exclusive brand partnerships, to killer games, to best-in-class technology, there’ll be entertainment with an edge for everyone.”
