Pennsylvania Lottery annoys casinos with virtual sports launch

The Pennsylvania Lottery has added virtual sports to its product mix, while gaming regulators say actual sports betting won’t arrive in the state until October at the earliest.

On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Lottery announced the launch of two Xpress Sports games: Xpress Football and Xpress Car Racing. Players can watch the animated action play out on big-screen monitors at over 1,500 Lottery retail outlets. New games run every five minutes and players can win up to $250 from a $1 stake.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced last October that the Lottery would be adding virtual sports betting, a move that caught some observers by surprise. The product is being supplied by Inspired Gaming in conjunction with Scientific Games, which powers the Lottery’s platform.

Virtual betting is all the rage in Europe, particularly in Italy, where it generates about one-third the revenue of actual betting. Inspired launched online virtual betting in New Jersey last November, and it remains to be seen whether Pennsylvania’s new iLottery site will incorporate the new product.