Posted on: January 8, 2025, 10:27h.
Last updated on: January 8, 2025, 10:27h.
Toronto-based Rivalry heads into 2025 having just completed a big product, brand and marketing overhaul, including a crypto-first strategy plus a renewed focus on online casinos and high value players.
Big Focus on Crypto
More specifically Rivalry CEO Steven Salz points to a revamped registration flow, login, sportsbook, new crypto-first cashier, re-designed casino offering and a comprehensive VIP rewards program.
Salz tells Casino.org activation of the VIP program, while introduced with the release of the company’s Q3 2024 financial results Nov. 29, is being ramped up this week.
Some particulars:
- Rivalry VIP is a rewards program which allows users to unlock perks and benefits including cashback and free spins, as well as monthly, weekly, and daily rewards through their betting activity, such as sports betting and casino.
- Player benefits increase as they earn XP and rank up through the up to 80 different levels, offering higher deposit bonuses (up to $6,000 match), increased cashback percentages (up to 11%), and a multiplier on the amount of NUTZ (their native token) they receive from their wagers.
Organic Growth
“Rivalry VIP is one of several strategic efforts we have taken to attract high-value players, strengthen long-term user retention, and deliver outsized value for our customers,” Salz told Casino.org. “This program was designed to asymmetrically reward larger play, giving Rivalry’s most loyal users more reasons to play and enabling us to drive consistent betting activity.”
Rivalry has been a feel-good story on a crowded Ontario regulated igaming scene, storming out of the gates in 2022 with a focus on esports, internet culture and building brand affinity with the next generation of bettors, pushing organic growth with minimal marketing expense. In 2024 Rivalry reported that 82% of active users were under 30.
Change in Focus
That focus has changed – esports is still part of the mix but another spokesperson there said they’ve been seeing an appetite for sports and casino, especially as they’ve shifted into crypto and broadened their audience to new personas. Casino has grown quite a bit over the last several quarters – it accounted for 62% of their betting handle in Q3 (globally, not just Ontario). And in Q2 they saw that two-thirds of betting handle from NUTZ token users was bet on casino.
Their native token product is positioned to serve a number of the near and long-term goals for the company, to expand their geographic footprint and acquire and retain high-value players, which they are beginning to see signals of, Salz added.
Online Casino: Crowded Market
In just a few months, Rivalry Token has attracted new customers who are twice as valuable as our average user and marked the most successful reactivation campaign in the Company’s history.”
Rivalry’s Q3 report (ended Sept. 30, 2024) was highlighted by an all-time high in average net revenue per user.
The company’s third quarter betting handle was $79.9 million CAD ($57 million USD), a slight decrease there. Adjusted revenue was $6 million CAD ($4.3 million USD).
Average bet revenue per user increased by 51% “as compared to the average of the trailing 2024 period, and by 70% as compared to the trailing three-year average since launching the initial set of new product features in October.”
Net Revenue Per User Increases
The token product from crypto wallet connected players generated $3 million CAD ($2.1 million USD) in deferred revenue (200% more revenue than the average non-crypto player on Rivalry) in Q3.
The Ontario market is a crowded one – according to iGaming Ontario statistics, the Ontario regulated market, which launched in April 2022, now has 50 licensed operators, and 82 gaming websites (72 of those with online casino offerings).
Government-owned Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation reports their own total gross online casino and sports betting revenue – in FY 2023-24 they reported $630 million, up from $561 in 2022-23.
The Ontario private market, not including OLG, saw $64 billion in total wagers in FY 2023-24 (April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024), $2.4 billion in gaming revenue.
Titanplay Goes Mobile
As first reported by Canadian Gaming Business, Titanplay, which offers online casino, live betting, esports and sports betting, now has a mobile offering, via its partnership with Delasport. Titanplay is operated by Shark 77 Ltd., based in Malta, and launched in Ontario in June 2024.
Having a mobile-first approach when developing products is a must in today’s iGaming industry,” Delasport’s CEO Oren Cohen Shwartz said in a written statement. “Data shows that mobile users are now more than 70% of the whole player base, so we make sure to be prepared to bring our partners to this thriving market at any point. This is the case with Titanplay who’ve had an incredibly successful launch in Ontario last year and are now ready to win even more players.”