Former IGT exec launches in-play sports betting platform
Robert Melendres and a team of online gaming industry veterans have launched ringit! a mobile real money, social and fantasy in-play sports betting platform
Former head of interactive at IGT Robert Melendres (pictured) has re-entered the online gaming sector with the launch of a real-money and social in-play sports betting platform. [private]
Ringit! is the first product developed by mobile technology company iPro, which was founded by Melendres and a number of online gaming industry veterans last year.
Ringit! will allow players to compete in real-time by predicting the next play, drive, score and other match events from their mobile devices while watching NFL contests.
Players can invite and make picks against their friends for fun using virtual chips, or play against the field for cash prizes in territories where real-money gaming is legal and regulated.
iPro said it will give players more than 15,000 pick options on every NFL game, each with dynamically changing odds based on the game status, team tendencies and players on the field.
âReal-time, play-by-play predictions with dynamic odds have never been achieved before, but Iâm just as excited about the flexibility of this platform,â Melendres said.
âOur platform is designed to offer social, fantasy and sports betting gameplay within a single app and with the ability to switch modes automatically based on the userâs location and laws of that jurisdiction.
âThis is a monumental accomplishment, and the platform has been awarded a US patent on this real time interactive prediction with several more pending that protect that achievement,â he added.
The team behind iPro includes Melendres who left IGT back in December 2013, and video game industry veteran David Ortiz who was senior producer and project lead for the EA Sports Madden NFL franchise.
eGR North America understands that a major US casino operator has invested in iPro and will launch its own in-play sports betting platform in the near future.