ICE North America Digital - Day 2 ICE NA Digital Event Guide - Day 2-v6 | Page 17

West Virginia, which publishes weekly updates on its sports betting market’s performance, reported a slowdown across retail and mobile channels in the week ended 14 March. That week, the National Hockey League, National Basketball Association and Major League Soccer all postponed their seasons. Handle declined to $4.6m, down 45.4% compared to the prior week. The following week to 21 March—with an executive order closing all casinos in the state on 18 March— it then fell to $877,303. This comprised a $852,845 contribution from mobile, before falling to $731,866 the following week, when mobile betting was the only available option. There will obviously be aberrations and differences in other state markets, but the trends seen in West Virginia are likely to be replicated in others. With fewer sports to bet on, and none of the most popular leagues, there is a significant drop-off in customer activity. To an extent, this could be offset by activity around other sports, as well as betting on future events. William Hill, for example, has been regularly pushing betting on the NFL—due to return in September— and the rescheduled 2020 Masters in November. But this leaves a period in which customers have no impetus to bet, not to mention few in-play markets. What, then, can they bet on? VIRTUALLY APPEALING O’Loughlin says SG has seen a “surge” of interest in virtual sports and esports. “These two verticals remain largely unaffected in the current climate and are proving to be a viable option for operators looking to boost their offering amid a live sports shutdown,” he explains. “Virtuals have always been a reliable solution and now more than ever they’re showing their worth. Improved graphics and a wider range of sports and markets ensure that these events are the next best thing to live matches.” Virtuals, to some extent, may appear to offer a ready-made replacement for sports betting, in that these replicate the look and feel of a real sport, albeit underpinned by a random number generator (RNG). This effectively makes each game an extended slot spin, supported by graphics and a simulated match. “The offer of 24-hour, uninterrupted play has proven to satisfy most punters on a daily basis and encouraged a strong shift from sports betting to the virtual proposition,” says Steven Spartinos, chief executive of virtual sports specialist Kiron Interactive. “There are betting opportunities every 60 to 90 seconds and customers can choose to place single and multiple bets on a vast portfolio of popular sports and bet markets, both online and in-shop,” he continues. “The advantages will only grow as the vertical develops, but perhaps most important in this current climate is that virtuals are safe and secure products that allow for good margins.” In recent weeks, the Nevada Gaming Control Board has permitted wagering on virtual Nascar racing as it looks to mitigate the sporting suspensions. However, in European markets, suppliers have noted an initial drop in activity, with the core virtuals customer being existing sports bettors that simply stopped betting after their usual gambling activity shut down. Activity, it should be noted, has since began to grow once again, and rapidly. In Spartinos’ view it’s not a case of replacing sports betting in any way, but instead tapping into a new revenue stream for operators. After all, this is how virtuals in their current form came into existence. An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the UK in 2001 led to the cancellation of that year’s edition of the Cheltenham Festival horse racing event and prompted Inspired Entertainment to launch virtual racing to fill the gap in the sporting calendar. Yet since then, virtuals have remained an ancillary, rather than core, product in an operator’s portfolio. And Spartinos admits that it remains uncertain whether this (hopefully) short-term Covid-19 enforced change in customer behavior will have a long-term impact in betting activity once sporting fixtures resume and betting activity reopens. “Alternative content will by no means completely balance out the declining revenues from sports betting, but it does provide a tool by which to limit the forecasted damage,” he says. “For many operators, virtual content is now front and center of their offering, encouraging a sharp uptake of the mainstay games of horse racing, greyhounds and football. 17