The Canadian Football League (CFL) has launched a new and improved version of CFL Game Zone, the league’s gaming platform, alongside its official data and technology partner Genius Sports.

The partners first joined forces in 2021 with Genius Sports working to help the CFL capitalise on the North American sports betting market, and the relationship helped to conceptualise the first CFL Game Zone which went live last year.

CFL Game Zone acts as the central hub for fans of the league to engage with exclusive products and contests, allowing them to connect more closely with the game through a range of interactive experiences.

The latest version has now launched with two offerings – CFL Preseason Futures and CFL Team Picker – with additional games and interactive experiences to follow soon.

CFL Preseason Futures sees fans make several one-time predictions prior to season kick-off on Jun. 8 before being ranked on performance, with all perfection predictions earning entry into prize draws.

CFL Team Picker, meanwhile, asks new fans to answer ten questions to match their personality to a CFL club that suits them the most.

Tyler Mazereeuw, COO at CFL, explained: “For our incredible CFL faithful and any fans just being introduced to our game, the new and improved CFL Game Zone represents the future of CFL fandom.

“At the heart of being a fan is connection: the desire to interact with like-minded others; the feeling of belonging to something bigger; the push to compare and proudly show-off that fandom. That need to connect and compete drives CFL Game Zone, and it continues to guide how we, as a league, engage with our fans.”

The CFL further revealed that, as part of its relaunch, CFL Game Zone has been redesigned with a ‘futuristic’ and ‘cohesive’ look, highlighted by a digi-neon colour palette, to ‘evoke feelings of interacting with a digital environment’ and to ‘heighten the gaming experience’.

A single login system has also been integrated to allow fans to access all the league’s offerings through one entry point, while ​the new reward system enables users to earn various achievement badges for meeting set objectives, such as repeated plays and league or weekly wins.