Free-to-play planets align for SportCaller with Sports Equinox

FanDuel partnership sees FTP specialist ramp fan engagement at milestone intersection of major US sports

SportCaller, the free-to-play (FTP) sports-game specialist, has bolstered its partnership with US operator FanDuel through the success of its latest game-rollout to fresh audiences countrywide across North America.

Having integrated SportCaller’s easy-to-deploy FTP platform – initially targeting March Madness, the MLB and then the new NFL season – FanDuel’s latest game targeted that rarest of sporting phenomena, the Sports Equinox, which had occurred only 18 times previously.

A Sports Equinox takes place when all four major sports (NBA, NHL, MLB and NFL) play a game on the same day. Twenty-six games took place across each of the four tentpole sports and users were asked to pick at least 20 correct results in order to win a share of the $500k jackpot. This FTP game was a first for FanDuel in that it was open to both Sportsbook and Fantasy customers, resulting in record-breaking take-up rates from players countrywide.

Alongside this SportCaller-powered FTP game, FanDuel also launched a mini-site with a data-driven Sports Equinox countdown clock to the first games of the day, which was even projected on to the side of a skyscraper in New York’s Times Square for the lead-up to the games. Sports Equinox followed hot on the heels of Keep the Cash, another $1 million game launched in time for the start of the NFL season in order to enhance fan engagement throughout the regular season and the playoffs.

This is a unique FTP offering in the US market, leveraging the success and learnings from Paddy Power Betfair whose original concept, Beat The Drop, shattered best-case projections at the 2018 World Cup. The instant acclaim for this product rollout (turning the tables on traditional operator-player dynamics by awarding customers their “winnings” up front) underlines the synergies delivered from a wider global collaboration with Flutter Entertainment, for whom SportCaller’s market-leading platform is fast becoming a key cog in a brand-wide localisation strategy.

Lorcan Kelly, VP of sportsbook product at FanDuel, said: “With this platform, we can now deploy new games, like Sports Equinox and Keep the Cash, as a targeted approach towards key sporting events, each offering a tailored solution with efficient real-time reporting.”

SportCaller MD Cillian Barry added: “After the breakout success of Beat The Drop for Flutter Entertainment over the last World Cup, it’s a real validation to now be delivering similar record-breaking retention results for FanDuel in the States. It’s an exciting time in an embryonic market.

“It’s so rare that the planets align for a Sports Equinox. Therefore, it was great that we could respond by creating a game that immediately captured the public’s imagination and attention. It consolidates the traction already generated by games such as Keep the Cash, which offers free games for the duration of an enthralling NFL season that is coming to the boil over the next few months.”

All SportCaller games ride on the back of a unique account-management platform, which is equipped with the industry’s finest CRM and geolocation tools. This helps overcome any local regulatory challenge across fragmented legislative landscapes, above all in the US where regulation continues to show varied hands state-by-state.

SportCaller’s pioneering performance in the domain of enhanced acquisition and retention remains second-to-none across a raft of different sports, which will now include: college sports, NBA, MLB, golf, tennis, UFC, boxing and NFL.