Interactive
US – IWG and Inspired to deliver instant win virtual sports to North America
By Phil - 23 October 2018
IWG, the award-winning supplier of online, instant win games, has teamed up with Inspired Entertainment to deliver a brand new vertical for North American lotteries – instant win versions of virtual sports.
The collaboration will see IWG lean on its expertise to create unique and engaging instant win games that feature Inspired’s award-winning ultra-realistic virtual sports content.
Each predetermined game will be tailored to ensure best practices in instant win game mechanics are intact, while also capturing the exciting gameplay that has made virtual sports grow to become an important product for lotteries and operators around the world.
The first iteration of instant-virtual sports will allow players to view single virtual football plays and win prizes based on the result of that play. The new game, which will go live later this year and in time for NFL playoffs, will be accessible online via the Progressive Play RGS across IWG’s lottery and commercial operator network.
Rhydian Fisher, IWG CEO, said: “We are very excited about this collaboration. These games are beautifully simple, and with the advent of sports betting in the US landscape, we feel they are a good entry point for customers who are interested in sports betting but may not have experience in doing so.
“We are confident that the instant win game play mechanics, coupled with the rich virtual animations, will prove to be popular with players and drive further revenue for good causes. It’s a great complement to our instant win portfolio and we could not be more excited to offer this to all our lottery partners.”
Digital consumers consume content at a much faster rate than in the offline world, and this has only accelerated with the growing use of mobile devices. Instant Virtual Sports help lotteries address this by combining the worlds of e-commerce and entertainment, offering consumers the chance to win money and be entertained in the process.
Lorne Weil, Inspired Executive Chairman, said: “With the proliferation of mobile wagering and sports betting throughout North America, lotteries need to get creative to stay competitive, now more than ever. We see a huge opportunity in the North American lottery market for these products, where the instant gratification and digital format have the ability to reinforce current offerings and attract new players.
“We can’t wait to showcase these new games and, while we are starting with instant-win virtual football, we are excited to leverage additional Inspired content to grow this category with IWG.”
IWG has provided a full online instant win service to lotteries for more than 15 years, producing more than 250 high quality instant win games. It won Online Lottery Supplier of the Year at the 2017 EGR B2B Awards.
Inspired has more than 15 years of visual effects experience and has been the EGR Virtual Sports Provider of the Year for the past three years. Inspired’s life-like games appeal to a new player genre, providing fun betting options and more chances to win.
