New York-listed virtual sports specialist Inspired Entertainment has partnered instant win games provider IWG to deliver a new product to North American lotteries.

The two suppliers have joined forces to create instant win versions of virtual sports games, which combine IWG’s instant win game mechanics with Inspired’s ultra-realistic virtual sports content.

The first iteration of instant-virtual sports will allow players to view single virtual football plays and win prizes based on the result of that play.

The new game is set go live later this year in time for the NFL playoffs, and will be accessible online via the Progressive Play RGS across IWG's lottery and commercial operator network.

“We are very excited about this collaboration,” said IWG CEO Rhydian Fisher. “These games are beautifully simple, and with the advent of sports betting in the US landscape, we feel they are a good entry point for customers who are interested in sports betting but may not have experience in doing so.

“We are confident that the instant win game play mechanics, coupled with the rich virtual animations, will prove to be popular with players and drive further revenue for good causes. It’s a great complement to our instant win portfolio and we could not be more excited to offer this to all our lottery partners.”

Inspired executive chairman Lorne Weil said: “With the proliferation of mobile wagering and sports betting throughout North America, lotteries need to get creative to stay competitive, now more than ever. We see a huge opportunity in the North American lottery market for these products, where the instant gratification and digital format have the ability to reinforce current offerings and attract new players.

“We can’t wait to showcase these new games and, while we are starting with instant-win virtual football, we are excited to leverage additional Inspired content to grow this category with IWG.”