SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Inspired Entertainment has added a new product to its portfolio, Re-Play eSports, a virtual sports Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) product, in partnership with GRID.
GRID has provided the official in-game data and video feeds for Re-Play eSports, using footage taken from the CS:GO Champion of Champions Tour featuring international teams, which will be distributed via Inspired’s Virtual sportsbook and VPP platform.
Inspired has earmarked esports as an ‘innovative sport’ with a growing audience of over 500 million viewers, marking the fusion of esports and virtual sports as a customer acquisition and engagement opportunity.
Steve Rogers, Chief Commercial Officer of Virtual Sports at Inspired, said: “Being able to offer fixed odds esports games through our existing Virtual Sports platforms is a unique fusion of two product verticals that have seen exponential growth over the past two-three years.
“Making esports events available 24/7/365 across our certified Virtual Sports platforms is a uniquely exciting offer. We are looking forward to unveiling our Re-Play esports game with GRID as a whole new genre of betting events aimed at capturing the attention of a different player demographic outside the more traditional sports betting community.”
Inspired will offer bets on its CS:GO product on a variety of markets, including outright team winners, which team will get the first kill and the number of survivors.
The agreement is the second major development for Inspired this year, following its acquisition of a five-year Swedish supplier licence under the country’s new framework for B2B firms.
For GRID, meanwhile, the partnership follows a series of similar agreements signed in February with suppliers BETER and Oddin.gg and operator Dafabet.
“CS:GO has proven to be an iconic esports title with an active fanbase that has been growing constantly for more than a decade,” added Mikael Westerling, Chief Sales Officer at GRID.
“Inspired has taken a unique approach to creating the product that recognises the next generation’s needs and taps into the esports potential.
“We are excited to partner with Inspired to make sure the next wave of innovation in esports betting is powered by official in-game data, providing the best fan experience for all players.”
