This Saturday marks the premiere of ATG's new flagship V85 at Jägersro trotting track in Malmö, but when it emerged around New Year's that the gaming company planned to scrap the classic game form V75, there was an outcry in Trotting Sweden.
The immediate reaction was indeed overwhelmingly negative, says Hasse Lord Skarplöth.
Now, some water has flowed under the bridges and we have also had the opportunity to share our problem picture.
Other competition
Why do you want to make this change?
We have had challenges with betting on horses in recent years. Betting on horses has lost out to other gaming products such as casinos and sports, says ATG's CEO.
How much have you lost in turnover in recent years?
We haven't lost that much, but the market has grown in other areas, and we want to be part of that growth.
The competition in the gaming market looks completely different compared to when driver Erik Berglöf and the horse Copiad won the very first V75 race at Jägersro on Saturday, October 30, 1993.
– It's not that the industry has been crying out for a new product. On the other hand, I understand that you start thinking in those terms, says Rickard Hansson, columnist and reporter at Travronden.
When V65 became V75, there was no online casino. There were no physical casinos. There were not the same gaming opportunities as there are today, he continues.
Hansson shares the gaming company's view that the criticism of the change has died down.
People may have become a bit more balanced, he says.
According to ATG, the company has over 1.3 million customers per year.
"Become more relevant"
It's human to defend what you like, and there are many who like V75, but we have to choose between being popular and being relevant. And then we feel that V85 must be launched for us to become more relevant, says Lord Skarplöth.
It's also important for the entire Swedish horse industry, since all surplus within ATG goes back to the horse industry.
ATG expects significant turnover during Saturday's V85 premiere.
Now it's time to put it to the test. Those 90 million in turnover that have been our average (on V75) we hope will exceed 145 million kronor – that's our goal, says Hasse Lord Skarplöth.
The last V75 round was decided last Saturday at the Norwegian trotting track Bjerke.
This coming Saturday marks the premiere of ATG's new game form V85 at Jägersro trotting track in Malmö.
Now, players need to find the right winner in eight races to take home the top prize. The top prizes will, according to ATG, be three times higher. Payouts will also be made for seven, six, and five correct.
The price per row remains 50 öre. A novelty is that there is an opportunity to play with a lower row price (reduced stake), but then the winnings will be lower. When playing with a lower row price, there are several conditions regarding, for example, the number of systems per customer and the maximum number of rows.
A V85 round is expected to take ten minutes longer than a V75 round. The betting stop on Saturdays is at 16.10.
Source: ATG
