Latest News
Parimatch CPO: ‘We want to become a Netflix in the gambling world.’
Parimatch is building a technological entertainment platform that’s changing the face of the betting industry. The company’s goal is to move away from the classic idea of the bookmaker and become a gaming and entertainment platform. The company made its first move in the fall when it presented the new game Footboss. Parimatch CPO Sergey Berezhnoy explains how a simple session-based game is about to change the way we think of betting forever.
Footboss: the concept
The ultimate aim of Footboss is to free ten major football stadiums from the grip of invading giants. The game’s key character is the coach, whose daily task it is to train his players to take winning penalties and practice unconventional tactics.
At first glance, the game seems simple, but with every new session, players discover new ways of enhancing their skills along with their chances of winning. Randomly distributed rewards and tasks give the journey unexpected twists—always expect the unexpected: different objects, different quests, and different heroes. And then there’s the added interest of loot boxes: a kind of “kinder-surprise for adults.”
By playing Footboss every day for just five minutes, you can upgrade the skills of your football team, learn about the vulnerabilities of your giant rivals, notch up victories, and win real prizes — Samsung Galaxy Note 10, iPhone 11 Pro Max, MacBook Air 13″, Sony PS4, iPad Air 10.5″, to name but a few.
How Footboss Refreshes the Betting World
Footboss was proposed as an exciting alternative way to promote Euro 2020. Apart from focusing on high odds, bonuses, and competitive margins, we decided to give players a variety and new emotions.
Gamification and betting is not an entirely new approach. Even the official APL app has a built-in fantasy league that mixes reality and the virtual world.
We went one step further and came up with something similar games don’t do—we intertwined the game world with the real world of football. We wanted players to have fun creating their own football story.
Thanks to Footboss, players have been returning to Parimatch not only because they want to place bets or check out the odds but also to take a break, win a match or two and get a prize in the process. The game is session-based for a reason: players don’t get stuck playing it. After a couple of boss fights, it’s easy to get straight back to whatever you were doing.
Footboss as a non-trivial bonus for players
Footboss isn’t about money; it’s more about emotions and brand loyalty. The game is entirely free. To get started, all you need is an account with Parimatch. For the gameplay, we chose the “free to play” model: the more you play, the more you progress for free. In this model, the player’s status isn’t essential—what matters is the desire to play.
We wanted Footboss players to experience new emotions when interacting with the platform. On top of emotions, we integrated loot-box mechanics to add gifts that included prizes ranging from game equipment to iPhones and MacBooks.
Immersion in the game world and a new betting experience
Footboss is a refreshing experience that combines relaxed gameplay with a love of football. Together with their team, players create footballing history as they trek through the stadiums of Europe. Although the game is pure fiction, it is saturated with football: the top player on the team is Terminalaldo, a character very similar to the real Cristiano.
We presented the unique game’s fantasy world as part of the advertising campaign being prepared for Euro 2020. The transfer of playable characters to the semi-real cinematic world increased engagement a lot more because the gaming concept proved viable despite the cancellation of the championship.
In this story, betting is more of a bonus than a necessity. The coach offers to do additional tasks such as place a bet on Esports, football, hockey, or basketball. Involvement like this helps players to progress through the game faster and get in-game items, but they don’t have to.
Reaching the competitive audience segment
Footboss got into the segment of the audience that is driven by a desire to win: players immediately competed for the number-one rating. We noticed the race in the rankings and decided to give motivated players more opportunities to prove themselves through in-game quests.
Game launch results
Over 100,000 players participated in the first version of the game, where they fought over 1,000,000 battles and completed more than 350,000 quests. For the 36 days of the promotion, players opened 405,834 loot boxes containing hundreds of real prizes from Parimatch.
Despite Footboss being session-based and designed for five minutes of gameplay, some players scored 10 hours of game playing and completed the game four times.
We consider the launch a success because we’ve given players new experiences, expanded the platform’s capabilities, and identified growth points for interaction between games and betting.
Entertainment platforms are the future
In the first test run, we only tried out ten percent of the game mechanics from our arsenal. So far, we’ve built a conditional “stadium” where new battles will unfold: new seasons and championships, quests, stories, characters, and content. We will also integrate other sports and gambling.
We are planning to add new mechanics such as PVP so that players can compete against each other. The PVP format will enhance the engagement and the variety of gameplay through fight emotions, new team lineups, item sets, and tactics. We are also thinking about integrating actual events from the world of sport connected with betting promotions.
COVID-19 has affected the whole world and has become a powerful impetus for betting to move forward. Parimatch is moving beyond the classic competition model—we’re already building a gambling entertainment products. Thanks to the game integrations, we are changing the perception of betting and giving players new emotions.
Parimatch is continuing along the path of innovation in the betting field and is already introducing exciting new approaches to gambling.
Gambling in the USA
Kambi Group plc extends Mohegan partnership with on-property sports betting agreement in Pennsylvania
Kambi Group plc (“Kambi”), the world’s trusted sports betting partner, has agreed a long-term on-property sportsbook partnership with Mohegan to provide its award-winning sportsbook at two retail locations in the state of Pennsylvania.
The partnership will see Mohegan utilise Kambi’s cutting-edge retail sportsbook offering across more than 20 kiosks in sportsbook locations at Mohegan Pennsylvania and Mohegan Pennsylvania at Lehigh Valley Race and Sportsbook.
The deal further strengthens Kambi’s relationship with Mohegan, which already utilises Kambi’s suite of sports betting products at ilani in Washington, as well as online and on-property in the Canadian province of Ontario at Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara.
Kristian Nylén, Kambi CEO and Co-founder, said: “With several successful partnerships with Mohegan already in place, we are pleased to agree this new partnership as we continue to build on our strong relationship.
“This latest deal further reinforces Kambi’s position as the sportsbook provider of choice for tribes across North America, and we look forward to our ongoing collaboration with Mohegan.”
Tony Carlucci, President & GM of Mohegan Pennsylvania, said: “Mohegan Pennsylvania is excited to continue utilising the same Kambi technology platform that existed under our Kindred partnership, which will help to create a seamless process as the Sportsbook at Mohegan Pennsylvania fully rebrands later this Spring.”
JuicyBet, a Web3 startup, announced the launch of its GambleFi platform. This platform combines finance technology and gambling via blockchain to create unique opportunities and experiences for users. The company strives to revolutionize the principles of the online betting industry and the interaction between platforms and users in this market.
What is GambleFi?
GambleFi uses blockchain technology to ensure the fairness and transparency of games and betting outcomes and for players to get their share of the platform’s earnings and participate in its governance and day-to-day by holding its tokens.
How JuicyBet works
JuicyBet fully utilizes blockchain technology to establish a new ecosystem that has never been seen in the gambling industry. It is centered around user participation and transparency while providing gambling thrills and quality entertainment.
All game records on the platform are kept in a public blockchain, while a set of smart contracts automates gaming outcomes and payouts and provides for the platform governance via the DAO model. This reduces fraud risks and operational costs, making JuicyBet a more efficient platform.
However, the platform’s main feature is the unprecedented level of user engagement via the platform’s native tokens.
- First, the tokens provide access to betting.
- Second, token holders get their share of the platform’s profit.
- Third, token holders can vote on key decisions on the platform’s development in JuicyBet DAO.
- And finally, DAO participants can also perform the role of oracles for bets and earn rewards.
In other words, JuicyBet doesn’t try to be just another gambling platform. It establishes a new ecosystem where users are in control of the platform and bets and are the beneficiaries of the platform.
In addition, JuicyBet offers additional earning opportunities, such as Double Farming and staking for token holders.
JuicyBet has already been noticed by users and investors – the platform’s 3-month turnover has exceeded $1,5 million, according to on-chain data available via Dune, and multiple centralized exchanges and launchpads have listed it.
Latest News
Rivalry Announces 2023 Annual Letter to Shareholders and Filing of 2023 Annual Financial Statements
Rivalry Corp. (the “Company” or “Rivalry”) (TSXV: RVLY) (OTCQX: RVLCF) (FSE: 9VK), the leading sportsbook and iGaming operator for Gen Z, is pleased to announce its 2023 annual letter to shareholders and the filing of its financial results for the three (3) and 12-month period ended December 31, 2023. All dollar figures are quoted in Canadian dollars.
2023 Annual Letter to Shareholders
To our Shareholders,
This time last year I spoke about Rivalry’s evolution from a market leader in esports to a diversified Company setting the standard for Gen Z betting entertainment broadly.
Today, we have a business with revenue distribution across casino, sports, and esports betting, growing market share in new geographies, with increased velocity in core regions, and the strongest customer KPIs in Rivalry’s history.
In 2023, Rivalry recorded $423.2 million in betting handle1, up 82% from the previous year. Similarly, gross gaming revenue2 and net revenue both saw 34% and 66% respective increases, while the introduction of higher margin products released in H2 such as Same Game Combos and Quick Combos are continuing to improve overall sportsbook hold and guide Rivalry closer to profitability.
Our deepened product suite now includes fantasy, additional sports coverage, and new proprietary casino games. All of which are uniquely driving growth among a targeted customer segment and widening our opportunity set in 2024 and beyond – from a 60% increase in traditional sports betting to a burgeoning B2B game vertical. The potential for how far our brand can go is just beginning to unfold.
The year ahead is rife with new, innovative product releases arriving in Q2 and continuing throughout 2024. We are doubling down on core growth opportunities in sports that resonate with our audience, such as basketball and soccer. Further, we are building on a successful casino segment which already represents 50% of our business, enhancing variety, depth, and accessibility, as well as developing new original games which blur the lines between betting and entertainment. We are in the process of additional geographic expansion, and pursuing new licenses to broaden our total addressable market, positioning Rivalry to own the Gen Z gambling opportunity globally.
While Rivalry’s operations have expanded into new high-growth verticals, our north star has remained the same: to define the future of online gambling for a generation born on the internet.
Online gambling in 2024 is radically different than it was just six years ago when Rivalry launched. In that time we’ve seen gaming and internet culture reshape how consumers engage with technology. That shift is broadening the definition of gambling, where product design is influenced by video games, or it exists fully embedded within social apps like Telegram, where content creators are the new affiliates, and much more.
Over the same period, the rise of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology has introduced a new level of speed, access, and security to web-based consumer experiences. Industry estimates now put crypto wagers at up to one quarter of global betting handle3, with 30% year-over-year growth in 20244, and showing no signs of slowing down.
The development of this ecosystem has commercially unlocked online gambling unlike anything since its first transition from land to online many years ago. It has brought in a new global audience, and enriched the customer experience from end-to-end.
Alongside the growth of this technology has emerged new methods of gambling, taking wallet share from more traditional forms at an accelerated rate. The shift in consumer behavior and the signal from our users is clear – interactive, volatile, and crypto-infused product experiences will set the precedent for how the next generation gambles online.
Rivalry, with a brand steeped in internet culture and living at the intersection of this digital economic renaissance, is well-positioned to access this growth opportunity. There is high overlap between Gen Z, gamers, gamblers, and a fast-growing audience of over 420 million crypto users worldwide5 organically aligned with our audience and brand. And we believe that more than half of this audience globally is already wagering with crypto.
It will be Rivalry’s ability to understand, implement, and adapt to this shift more rapidly than our peers that we expect to create first-mover advantages for us. It is for that reason that our vision is now bolder than ever for what’s possible in the online gambling category.
Soon, we will reveal plans for a crypto-enabled product set to enhance alignment between Rivalry and its users, increase network effects, and generally deliver a consumer experience that lives on the internet of 2024.
To that effect, the success of our first-party games and their ability to acquire and engage a captive audience of Gen Z bettors online has validated our original game development strategy amongst industry peers. This has unlocked a new commercial opportunity for Rivalry to license its IP, opening up another line of revenue for the business that has great potential for global scale.
The year ahead is poised to be one of our most ground-breaking, with a myriad of innovative product releases across all of Rivalry’s verticals, adding more dimension to our business, operations, and addressable audience, and building on our competitive moat as the market leader in Gen Z betting entertainment.
We look forward to sharing more details about these upcoming initiatives, the opportunities they will unlock for our Company, and delivering on our promise to create long-term shareholder value and reach profitability. Thank you all for your continued support.
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