Pennsylvania sports fans, year-round action is on its way.
Inspired Entertainment Inc. announced in a press release this past week that the company is partnering with the Pennsylvania Lottery. The company will provide virtual sports games that will launch sometime in the near future.
Inspired Entertainment Executive Chairman Lorne Weil expressed enthusiasm in a quote featured in the release.
“We are delighted to announce this key milestone for the Pennsylvania Lottery and Virtual Sports fans in the state. We’re introducing the thrill of Virtual Sports betting for the first time to Pennsylvanians, and we’re gratified to have been chosen by the Pennsylvania Lottery to deliver these new gaming entertainment products to its valued players with our high-quality Virtual Sports graphics and animation.”
According to the release, Inspired’s various virtual sports contests will be branded as “Xpress Sports“. The offering will operate through the Lottery’s central gaming system.
Football, stock car races will be rolled out first
The release noted that two games will be available at launch: Rush Stock Car Racing and 1st Down Virtual Football. These virtual competitions will take place at restaurants, bars, and taverns and will be transmitted through a pair of television monitors.
The contests are entirely fictional and computer-generated. Bettors can place their money on which team they think will win and who will win or finish first-second-third in the stock car race.
The random nature of the contests makes them similar to draw games. You choose a sequence of numbers — or in this case, a driver or team. Then all you can do is hope that your picks match the outcome.
A promotional video from Inspired gives bettors a sense of what the Pennsylvania game could look like. In this particular example, there are 12 cars in the race. Each car is designated by a car number and a driver’s last name.
Bets are cut off a certain amount of time before the race starts. When the green flag falls, the cars leap off the line and complete two laps around the track. A fictional announcer adds staccato commentary about which cars are in the lead at each turn.
While existing videos of Inspired’s virtual football game are limited, what has been revealed shows crisp graphics, stats, and play-by-play action.
Keno first to launch in PA
Over the past few months, exactly which games would be offered by the PA Lottery was a mystery.
That uncertainty cleared up quickly when, on May 1, Keno launched at lottery terminals in restaurants and bars. The terminals provide new games every four minutes.
Players can put down $1-$20 per game, choose up to 10 numbers from one to 80 and then sit back as the game selects 20 random numbers.
According to the PA Lottery’s website, matching all 10 numbers will earn you a $100,000 prize, but the chances of hitting all 10 numbers are one in 8,911,711.