For a long time now, the Pennsylvania Lottery has always gone all out to give their customers the best service, and they have taken it a notch further this time. Recently, they released a new virtual race gambling product for the bettors in the state.
They hope this product will be a hit among their loyal and new customers. Although the performance of the previously released virtual sports games has not been a favorite among local bettors.
The Pennsylvania Lottery, on Tuesday, launched the Derby Cash Horse Racing. This game is a virtual betting product created by Inspired Entertainment. The results of the virtual races are determined by a computerized draw that works at random.
The draw runs every 5 minutes and can be seen at around 2k Lottery retailers. These retailers include restaurants, bars, and accredited stores, with the grand prize pegged at a massive $800,000 for a $1 stake.
Drew Svitko, the lottery’s executive director stated that Derby Cash would give bettors
“the experience of having a front-row seat for the racing action,”
Apparently, he is not aware that racing cannot compete with the draw for now. However, Svitko still sticks to his guns that games with racing themes are a fan favorite especially for lottery players in other states.
According to Calvin Ayre, Derby Cash takes it a step further from the release of Xpress Sports last year. This product offers car racing and virtual football action. The performance of Xpress Sports so far has been extremely underwhelming.
Among bettors in Pennsylvania, the product generated a meager revenue of $1 million to date. This is a far cry from the anticipated $13 million the Lottery predicted the product would rake in.
The slots themed games offered by the online lottery in Pennsylvania have enjoyed more success since it was launched in the third quarter of 2018. The game generated sales of $381 million and profits of $31.3 million in its first year of operation.
This is in spite of protests by the casino operators in Pennsylvania that the game lottery was seriously encroaching on their turf. They were not pleased with this new development, and they did not hesitate to express their displeasure.
iLottery was able to enjoy good PR in November when it disclosed that they are awarding the largest online prize in their history. This prize is a $300,000 payday earned by a bettor through the Cash Buster Extreme game.
This shows a considerable difference when compared to the $1 million prize that was given the online lottery of Michigan. To be sincere, it’s actually a fair start.
What remains to be seen is whether the popularity of iLottery will be the same or would decline when online casino games are launched in the state. Presently, there are just a few licensed gambling sites that operate locally.
Their revenue in October was slightly higher than what was earned in September. This rise is believed to continue as more products and operators are launched.
