“The Inspired stand had an exciting buzz at this year’s G2E Vegas”

How do you evaluate this edition of G2E?
The Inspired stand had an exciting buzz at this year’s G2E Vegas. Our Virtual Sports betting competition attracted a good crowd and really demonstrated the wide player appeal of virtual sports, which are available as over-the-counter betting products or electronic table games. Our new slots content, such as Diamond Goddess, also generated lots of interest from land-based, online and mobile operators. We have a few major deals in the pipeline from the show and made some interesting new contacts. 

How did the audience respond to Inspired’s Virtual Sports and all your products?
Operators in the UK and Europe are fairly familiar with our virtual sports and have often seen it live in venues; however, it is still a relatively new concept in America. Lots of people were standing in front of the video wall saying, “Wow, I can’t believe that’s computer generated!”
We particularly had a lot of interest from USA and Latin American racino operators who have the TV infrastructure in place already, but need something to show when there’s no live racing happening. Virtual Sports are the perfect entertainment filler in between live racing.
Lots of people ask us if ‘serious’ customers who bet on live sports will really bet on animated races – the answer is 100 % yes. We’ve proven this in UK bookmakers where Inspired’s virtual sports account for 10% of all over the counter betting. And this figure is growing year on year.
For operators, our virtual sports are about much more than great graphics. Unlike many other virtual sports products, the platform allows them toeasily customize the race schedules and margins. Operators also have the added confidence that Inspired’s virtual sports products are fully compliant and approved by the UK and Alderney Gaming Commissions, and are GLI tested and approved.

Taking in mind what you talked about with the operators that visited your booth, what does the future hold for the industry next year?
Obviously the opening up of online gaming in the USA was a big topic of conversation. That’s going to bring some big changes to the industry. There were a lot of visitors from Latin American countries and most suppliers, Inspired included, were showing products aimed at these markets. We are focused on Colombia and Mexico at the moment and see a lot of potential in these markets.
Asia is going to be another significant driver of growth for the industry and many people were interested to hear how Inspired’s virtual motor racing rapid draw lottery game is performing in China. It is one of the only products of its kind in China – known locally as “Lucky Racing” – and has been live in 1,700 lottery betting shops in Hunan since 2011. Sales have totaled over us$ 132 million since launch and bets on Lucky Racing now make up 36.3% of all lottery sales in Hunan Province, where it launched. We are anticipating expansion into new provinces with new virtual sports in the near future. 

What is the challenge to meet by the end of the current year? What are your plans for the coming months?
Italy is going to be a key focus for Inspired in the coming months. Vitaliano Casalone recently joined us as a senior member of our team to focus on building Inspired’s success in Italy. We also announced during G2E Vegas that we now have VLTs live with Lottomatica in Italy and so we will be focusing a lot of attention on launching hit new games in Italy, such as Jungle Bucks and Wizard of Oz, and increasing our VLT footprint. Also in Italy, we hope to be approved by AAMS to go live with our virtual sports in a matter of weeks. We have retail, online and mobile deals with nine major operators and are poised to deliver our premium virtual sports to the Italian market.

What other events are you planning to attend this year?
Inspired will be taking part in Clarion’s new Brazilian Gaming Congress in November and will be showcasing its virtual sports and other lottery games for online, mobile and retail. Also in November, Inspired will be taking its virtual sports products to the new Macau Gaming Show, which is being organized by the Macau Gaming Equipment Manufacturers Association (MGEMA) and co-organized by the General Association of Administrators and Promoters for Macau Gaming Industry, Associação de Mediadores de Jogos e Entretenimento de Macau, Macau Jockey Club, Macauslot and Macau Yat Yuen Canidrome.