Interactive

UK – GVC recruits RISQ to power all jackpots from the World Cup and beyond

By Phil - 12 June 2018

bwin has launched Maradona’s Millions in conjunction with Argentinean World Cup hero, Diego Maradona with a huge prize of up to £5m.

The competition is free to enter for anyone who has ever made a deposit with bwin, and is wallchart jackpot prediction game where players can win millions by correctly predicting the teams that’ll finish first and second in each group, followed by the winner of every knockout match up to and including the final. It ties in with the brand’s blockbuster ‘Who Stole the Cup?’ World Cup campaign, which as well as featuring Maradona also includes football royalty in Cafu, Vicente del Bosque and Stefan Effenberg. Maradona’s Millions offers players the opportunity to win up to £/€5m by correctly predicting the winners and runners-up of each group in the initial stage of the tournament and the winner of every knockout match up to and including the final.

The promotion is available in Spain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Italy and the UK. If a player successfully predicts every result, in all markets a guaranteed prize of up to €25k for the ‘last man standing’ is on offer for the player with the longest run of successful picks.

Claus Hansen, Head of CRM at GVC, said: “With Maradona’s Millions we set out to create a promotion that truly stands out from the crowd in what is an intensely competitive market. We believe we’ve done just that, with the biggest prize in our history delivered in a truly engaging and exciting format that will keep players on the edge of their seats throughout the tournament.”

The promotion demonstrates a deal between GVC and RISQ, the B2B-only jackpot risk management specialists, to roll out their unique jackpot solution across the leading operator’s suite of brands.

This new partnership begins with a free-to-play prediction game which adds a fresh dimension to customer acquisition and retention, gearing jackpot payouts up to €11m on the World Cup.

As well as challenging players with forecasting the results of Russia 2018, the free-to-play Wallchart Jackpot mechanic facilitates the combination of various individual stats and player-performance markets in accumulator-style propositions, covering every angle of the event for deeper user-engagement.

The RISQ-backed game forms part of GVC’s wider marketing strategy for this summer’s showpiece event, allowing the multi-brand operator to expand its global footprint across numerous jurisdictions and regulatory frameworks when it comes to both free-to-play and real-money gaming.

This deal is also an industry first, inasmuch as RISQ are providing GVC with the flexibility to employ lottery, RNG and other sports predictor applications, as jackpots become an integral part of the gaming landscape for transforming marketing initiatives and product offerings.

RISQ’s B2B Director, Tom Mitchell, said: “It’s incredibly satisfying for our jackpot solution to have been integrated by such a huge name as GVC. Incorporating an intuitive free-to-play game with any sportsbook generates a proven benefit across a number of KPIs – especially as reliable cross-selling techniques and user-engagement become ever more elusive commodities for operators.

“Our research overwhelmingly suggests that participation in free-to-play games exponentially ramps with higher jackpots. So with our game-changing Jackpot RNG raising the bar on these prize funds across the board – and up to €11 million for GVC – the possibilities are endless for boosting new accounts and fostering a loyal customer base across all platforms and devices.”

Mr. Hansen added: “Partnering with RISQ has helped up to set new standards in delivering promotions at GVC. Combining their cutting edge B2B platform with our broader marketing assets has enabled us to create a standout promotion in the intensely competitive landscape of the World Cup.

“The elasticity they offer provides multi-product flexibility (whether it be lottery, RNG or FTP sports games) giving us a unique chance to employ jackpots in a scalable, tailored fashion across the entire group of brands.”