SIS, Rivalry team up to launch H2H Global Gaming League games
Partnership with Toronto operator spans multiple markets
Sports Information Services (SIS) Group has launched its H2H Global Gaming League (H2HGGL) eBasketball & eSoccer games in multiple international markets through a partnership with Rivalry.
Toronto-based Rivalry, a sportsbook, iGaming and esports operator targeted towards Gen Z and Millennials, will offer its customers over 150,000 H2HGGL short-form games each year, presented with low-latency video, game stats, player form and more than 50 pre-game and in-play markets.
Built specifically for sportsbooks, H2H Global Gaming League is currently adding as much as 10% in value to operators, according to SIS. Professional gamers take part in all eBasketball and eSoccer games which are produced entirely in-house from SIS’s U.K.-based studios.
H2HGGL is the only product available on the market to have been awarded the Esports Integrity Commission’s (ESIC) Gold Standards, the highest possible accreditation created to set unmatched levels of integrity and safety in the industry.
“We are thrilled to launch our complete esports portfolio with Rivalry and expand the reach of our sport sims solution,” said Jake Nowry, sales and business development manager at SIS Content Services. “Partnering with a leading industry brand is another landmark deal for SIS as we showcase the versatility of our esports offering internationally.”
“We are pleased to partner with Rivalry, whose platform appeals to a global, digitally native audience,” added SIS Content Services VP Michele Fischer. “Our short-form esports content, which has already proven to bridge the gap between live sports and its counterpart esports game, should enhance Rivalry’s current offering.”
“Our partnership with SIS expands Rivalry’s product offering with new, around-the-clock betting content for our customers,” said Rivalry’s Director of Sportsbook Operations Evan Van Luven. “These products are a great bridge and cross-selling point between our audience of sports and esports bettors looking for more interactive content.”
Rivalry to begin B2B online casino licensing after mixed Q2 2024
Rivalry CEO Steven Salz announced on the company’s Q2 2024 earnings call in late August that it will begin licensing its gaming content to other operators.
Noting that the casino segment generated 60% of the firm’s betting handle and 24% of its GGR in Q2 2024, Salz said the company expects to enter a licensing agreement for its first-party casino games in the coming months to establish a new revenue stream for its B2B vertical.
“Right now, we are zeroing in on a relationship that will distribute games across the world, I would say more [in] grey markets as an aggregator-type product, and also on a potential opportunity in a very large regulated geography with an individual operator that is going to look more like an exclusive relationship…” Salz told investors.
Salz was speaking after Rivalry posted a quarterly update in which a record quarterly net revenue margin highlighted a mixed Q2 2024 for the Canadian company.
The firm reported an all-time high net revenue margin of 62.5% of gross gaming revenue (GGR), which it said reflected its margin enhancement efforts. Overall net revenue was up 22% to $4.7 million.
However, the operator’s betting handle fell by 22% year-over-year to $87.8 million and its GGR dropped by 12% to $7.4 million. Rivalry stressed that as it has prioritized margin, betting handle can be negatively impacted as players turn over their balances less. It means that, just as in Q1, Rivalry is lagging behind where it stood this time last year.