New era for the Tote heralded, as leading free-to-play supplier SportCaller revives popular Tote Ten to Follow competition in a modern format.
SportCaller, the free-to-play (FTP) sports-game specialist, is making a landmark return to its formative horse racing roots, with the eagerly anticipated reboot of the £250,000+ Tote Ten to Follow. This new product is a first for fans of the sport, bringing racing into the popular realm of fantasy football.
The UK Tote Group expressly enlisted the services of SportCaller, who pioneered the free-to-play jackpot model with Channel 4 Racing back in 2014. Now tasked with putting a new spin on an old favourite, SportCaller’s unique FTP platform has updated and upgraded the Ten to Follow format to maximise the user experience and engage throughout the course of the competition. They enlisted the services of specialist betting consultancy firm The Unit to design the UI framework and ensure optimal user satisfaction on the product.
Tote Ten to Follow is a competition which asks players to assemble a single stable of 10 horses, or build a collection of permed stables. Each player receives one free entry into a smaller jackpot pool, whilst entries into the mega jackpot game will cost £5 per stable.
Added functionality features a suite of intuitive tools which permit players to opt in to be notified as to where and when each of their selections is racing, alongside a comprehensive history of results from races in which their horses ran and any points accrued for every race. Predefined filters (e.g. specific trainer or horse searches) based on industry-leading Racing Post content also enable rapid-fire customer selections across a huge database.
Real-time leaderboards, ensure a deeper dive for engagement levels by improving player dwell-time and securing repeat visits, as players monitor their positions and chase a series of jaw-dropping payouts throughout the National Hunt season.
This relaunch forms a key component in the UK Tote Group’s plans for developing the Tote, including the rollout of fresh branding and a new website. Meanwhile, SportCaller’s performance in the domain of enhanced acquisition and retention remains second-to-none across a raft of different sports, which now includes: football, horse racing, golf, tennis, UFC, boxing and major US sports.
Jamie Hart, Product Director at the UK Tote Group, said: “The popularity of the Tote Ten to Follow was an important chapter in the Tote’s history which is why we were so keen to bring it back. However, we wanted to do this in a modern digital format which would appeal to racing’s loyal fanbase, while also attracting new players to the game to follow the action throughout the National Hunt season.
“SportCaller’s proven success in the emerging FTP vertical, coupled to their longstanding passion for racing, made them the only viable partner for this relaunch. Their flexibility and speed of integration did not disappoint. It’s a partnership which we’ll continue to grow while we continue our plans to rejuvenate the Tote.”
SportCaller MD Cillian Barry added: “Having originated the first FTP horse racing jackpot game with Sky Bet and Channel 4 Racing back in the day, it’s exciting to rekindle our first love on the Tote Ten to Follow to deliver the next generation in horse racing FTP.
“It’s a genuine honour for the Tote to have entrusted us with one of the jewels in their racing crown, and we’ve done our utmost to upgrade this timeless classic for contemporary audiences. We can’t wait to see players’ reactions as we continue to drive retention across all operator platforms, boosting the UX on a sport whose powers of retention and customer fidelity surpass most others.”
In a largely standardised marketplace for sign-up offers and bonuses, SportCaller is unlocking another vertical for enhanced recruitment, reactivation and retention through lasting engagement and organic gameplay on mass-appeal sporting events.
