Virtual Sports Continue to Expand Around The Globe

Written By Ian John on November 26, 2019

We already know that Virtual Sports betting is quickly becoming one of the most important aspects of any site that it is a part of. After betting on football and horse racing, Virtuals betting (as it has become known) is the third biggest revenue driver in the betting industry, seeing more bets made on Virtuals than there are on sports like cricket, golf, rugby, greyhounds and tennis.

Unsurprisingly therefore, in parts of the world where Virtual Sports betting may not be quite so popular as it is in the UK, Italy and other locations, companies are now seeking ways to introduce more opportunities to bet on Virtual Sports to their customers and users.

In this article, we are going to look at a number of key news stories from the past few weeks which highlight just how much Virtual Sports are growing, both in terms of their presence around the world, and also in their popularity.

Website launches Virtual Sports betting games in Poland

A Polish-based website called Betfan has agreed a deal with software development company Playtech to bring its line of Virtual Sports offering to Polish customers.

The company is the first in Poland to offer Playtech Virtual Sports to its customers, which includes ultra-realistic versions of games such as basketball, football, cycling, greyhounds and horse racing to name but a few.

The move comes at a time of burgeoning interest in Virtual Sports in Poland in particular, with one study by Playtech suggesting that between 20 and 25 per cent of all sports type bets made in Poland are made on the Virtual Sports betting markets.

With an expected market of around 12 million online customers, the hope is that by bringing more Virtual Sports opportunities to the country, this huge upswell in interest within the Virtual Sports industry in Poland, can continue to grow and see even more people enjoy the challenge of trying to pick the winning bet in a Virtual Sports event.

Pennsylvanian Lottery launches its own Virtual Horse Racing game

In the middle of 2019, Pennsylvania became the latest state in the United States to follow the likes of New Jersey and Nevada and legalise online betting, casino gaming and poker rooms. Although still officially banned across the United States in many states, a growing number are now allowing their citizens to involve themselves in various forms of online gaming.

In Pennsylvania, when they legalised online betting and gaming earlier in the year, this led to a number of new sites being created to cater for the demand. In addition, current opportunities for people to gamble, such as the state lottery, also realised that they too needed to up their game in order to compete effectively with the competition.

Last week, the Pennsylvania Lottery launched their own Virtual Horse Racing game, Derby Cash Horse Racing, which has been developed by Inspired Entertainment, the brains behind many of the top Virtual Sports games you will find at sites like Betway, bet365 Sport and 10Bet.

It wasn’t the first Virtual game to be offered to Pennsylvania customers. Last year, Xpress Sports was launched in the state offering players the chance to play Virtual versions of football and motor car racing, although initial uptake on these games has been slow.

It is clear that the Pennsylvanian lottery are gambling that horse racing, which maintains healthy support in the United States, will capture the imagination of the Virtual Sporting community in the country, perhaps more so than the original Xpress Sports releases have done.

Part of the appeal of this new Virtual Horse Racing game is that you could win up to around $800,000 for just a $1 stake playing the game, and it is also readily available ar around 2,000 different lottery retailers located all over the state.

It is fair to say that Virtual Sports hasn’t really cracked the United States as yet, but it is still growing slowly in popularity in the country and as more States over the coming years start to repeal their legislation banning gambling online, it may well be that Virtual Sports is set to be the next big thing in American gambling in years to come.

More Virtual Sports Set to Come to Spain with New 1X2 Network Deal with Luckia

Spanish-based betting fans will be able to enjoy more opportunities to play slot games and Virtual Sports thanks to a new agreement between online gambling operator Luckia and the 1X2 Network.

Under the terms of the agreement, games from the 1X2 Gaming Studio and the Iron Dog Studio will be made available to Luckia customers in Spain for the very first time. Including the likes of some of the company’s top games such as Pirate Kingdom Megaways and Faerie Nights.

In addition to this, the agreement also includes a number of Virtual Sports betting games, developed by Leap Gaming, which will be available to play via the 1X2 Network’s RGS.

This is a first for players in Spain who will now be able to enjoy a range of Virtual Sports betting opportunities throughout the day.

The Chief Commercial officer at the 1X2 Network, Kevin Reid, stated after the agreement was announced:

“We have long believed Spain will become a significant online casino market and [we] are delighted to have launched with our first partner.

“Luckia is one of the largest and most popular online gambling brands in the country and proves that operators in markets all over the world are keen to integrate our content from the different brands built on our platform, including Iron Dog Studio, 1X2 Gaming and Leap Gaming.”

These news stories just add to other stories throughout the month which have seen content providers agree deals to expand their products into new parts of the world, such as the deal between Vermania and Kiron Interactive, which will bring Virtual Greyhound racing games, using actual televised races as the content.

These exciting new deals showcase that Virtual Sports is spreading around the globe and that providers of Virtual Sports are on the lookout for new and innovative ways to bring their 21st century content to new customers.

 

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Ian John

Ian John is an expert across many realms of online gambling, both in US and international markets. Based in the UK, Ian covers sports betting, poker, and the regulated online casino and esports betting markets for a wide number of industry-focused publications.

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