London-based Inspired Gaming announced that the Nevada Gaming Control Board and Commission have adopted a regulation change that will soon make the company’s Virtual Sports package available in Nevada.
Since Inspired created the Virtual Sports product segment and launched in the U.K. in 2001, Virtual Sports have become a proven category of sports wagering by millions of players across the globe, driving structured, incremental growth for operators.
Inspired alone has 11 sports and four numbers games, including horse racing, greyhounds, soccer and motor racing, with new sports such as basketball—specifically designed for U.S. players—ready to launch in 2015. It provides its events to land-based, online and mobile operators across 50,000 venues and 300 web and mobile sites, in 35 countries, generating over $10 billion of revenue per year. Inspired’s Virtual Sports products launched as a new category of sporting event in Italy in 2014 and generated over $1.5 billion in bets in the first year.
“As the global leader in Virtual Sports, we have been hotly anticipating this news,” said Phil Katsaros, Inspired’s head of business development for the Americas. “There are huge opportunities for Virtual Sports in many jurisdictions across North America, and it is fitting that Nevada is leading the way.
“With ultra life-like HD graphics, Inspired’s Virtuals are fast becoming one of the most popular categories in worldwide gaming, appealing to existing players, as well as a new player demographic. Virtuals continue to deliver year-on-year growth for our entire client base with no end in sight. As a center for gaming entertainment, it is fantastic news that Virtuals are finally coming to Nevada.
“The key is leveraging the opportunity and supporting operators who are new to Virtuals, to enable them to drive structured and incremental growth. Virtual bets are now accounting for an increasing percentage of bets in already established markets—for instance, 20 percent of all bets in Italy and 10 percent of bets in the U.K. are now on Virtual Sports, and this figure is growing. We’ll look to replicate this success in North America.”
