ASX Launches Next Generation Fantasy Rugby to Coincide with Six Nations

Live, continuous free to play fantasy trading powered by RugbyPass owned data analytics company Rugby Analytics

Game winners, new users to receive Sportzcoins tokens with utility and rewards for future games, NFT purchases

MIAMI, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- ASX Sports, the only next-generation virtual sports exchange to offer fans live, free to play in game 'trading', today added rugby to its platform, powered by data from Rugby Analytics.

The launch comes ahead of the February 5 kick-off of the annual Six Nations Championships and opening game between Ireland and Wales; and will cover all 15 games in the five-week tournament allowing fans a new dimension to enjoying and participating in the action.  In the US, the Six Nations will be broadcast on NBC Sports and its Peacock streaming service. The US has an estimated 1.3 million people participating in rugby and a further 8.8 million active fans (according to sports and entertainment insights and analytics firm Gemba).

Statistics from Europe from last year's tournament show a rising TV audience for the Six Nations with  England versus Scotland hitting a peak of 8.4 million viewers in the UK on ITV and France versus Ireland attracting  close to 6 million viewers on France 2,  the best television audience for a Six Nations match since 2014.

Paddy Power, President at ASX said: "The Six Nations is one of the most exciting international sporting events, enjoyed by a global audience.  We are now offering fans even more engagement through our live, real-time fantasy games and second-screen experience. The anticipated success of this launch will provide us with momentum and a springboard to add other sports leagues and tournaments in short order."    

ASX's Sports NFT Exchange resembles a virtual stock market and opens the door to a new era in fan engagement.  Initial Player Offerings (IPOs) will be held before each Six Nations game and the value of each player will fluctuate in real time, based on performance data ASX processes from Rugby Analytics allowing fans to buy and sell players throughout free to play games to optimize the value of their player portfolios. 

In conjunction with the Six Nations Championships, ASX is also launching Sportzcoins, tokens that fans can win in contests and additionally 50 Sportzcoins tokens will also be awarded to every new user who registers to celebrate the official launch of rugby on ASX.  Fans can use the tokens to gain entry to premium contests hosted by ASX or to acquire and receive early access to upcoming NFT drops validating 'ownership' to specific players. 

The launch of rugby on ASX positions the firm to aggressively expand its innovative offerings and partnerships with sports leagues and franchises ahead of its Series A raise that is expected to close in Q1.

About ASX Sports
ASX is a blockchain powered interactive sports and entertainment platform that is taking fan engagement to the next level via a fintech-quality exchange that allows sports fans to 'trade' in game, creating a first-of-its-kind, second screen and OTT live action experience. ASX is proud to be named among 20 sports tech startups to invest in by SportsPro and was also member of the Sportradar Acceleradar Program and selected to partner with sports tech promoter HYPE. With strong roots in betting and sports entertainment innovation driven by the Paddy Powers brand, ASX has pushed into the US with headquarters in Miami, a leading fintech and crypto hub. ASX apps are free to download for Android and Apple.

RugbyPass
Owned by Sky Sport NZ, RugbyPass.com is the largest rugby content destination in the world, producing over 2,000 pieces of content every month across our portfolio of channels and social pages. We have a global team of writers, video producers and creators who live and breathe the world of rugby every day, bringing to life breaking news, compelling behind the scenes documentaries, podcasts, viral videos and analytics. We cover age-grade rugby through to the elite game and everything in between, our mission being to lead the way in our scale and breadth of coverage in rugby.

Rugby Analytics
Rugby Analytics, part of the RugbyPass Group, is a sports performance data analysis platform that captures over 12,000 data points in each game, allowing coaches, players and entire teams to revolutionise their performance.

Media Contact: Armel Leslie, Peaks Strategies, aleslie@peaksstrategies.com