SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Canadian firm Rivalry has become the latest betting company to partner with UK sports gamification developer Low6.
Esports is the primary focus of the agreement, with Low6 enlisted by Rivalry for development of a free-to-play game ahead of two popular events, the 2022 League of Legends World Championship and The International 11.
Part of Low6’s range of Pick’em products, the contest launched on 20 October and has attracted 5,000 new registrations to Rivalry’s platform, according to the Canadian company.
Jamie Mitchell, CEO and Co-Founder, Low6, remarked: “Esports is a growing and global phenomenon, and we knew it wouldn’t be long before we branched out to include it in our inventory,
“We are very proud to be working with Rivalry and demonstrating the flexibility of our platform in meeting the needs of an esports audience and further underlining its ability to drive acquisition in the industry.”
For Birmingham-founded and headquartered Low6, the agreement marks a further expansion of the company’s commercial scope, notably its debut in the esports betting space.
The company has been a partner of several sports clubs such as the PGA Tour, UFC, NFL sides such as Cincinnati Bengals and Jacksonville Jaguars and NBA franchise Detroit Pistons.
However, in July it announced a rebrand to reflect its new B2B ambitions in the sportsbook space, where interest in FTP games as a player engagement and retention tool is on the rise, subsequently partnering with Sportsbet.io.
Following the initial rollout, Rivalry has stated its intentions to offer more FTP esports pick’em contests in the future for its users in ‘other regulated markets’, as a means to engage, acquire and retain customers.
“Rivalry is an iconic and global esports brand recognised among the next generation of bettors as the ultimate destination for online wagering,” added Josh Turk, Low6’s Chief Strategy Officer.
“We’re excited to build upon the momentum of this partnership, connecting with esport fans worldwide and constantly evolving the gaming experience to acquire new audiences for Rivalry.”
Based in Canada, Rivalry has international aspirations, entering Australia in May via a licence form the Northern Territory Racing Commission (NTRC), and an update form the group earlier this month anticipates a record betting handle of $7.1m for Q3.
“Our focus is consistently centred not only on engaging our existing customers, but attracting new users onto our platform in innovative ways,” remarked Steven Salz, CEO & Co-Founder, Rivalry.
“Low6 has helped us deliver a high-quality free-to-play product to uniquely activate fans around two of the biggest esports events in the world and create more touchpoints to engage our users.”
