Building on the success of its Global Pokers‘ 2023 Celebrity Challenge, Virtual Gaming Worlds (VGW) is expanding its partnership with the Olympics’ most decorated medalist, US swimmer Michael Phelps. The enhanced collaboration will see the champion swimmer and poker aficionado promote upcoming Global Poker challenges, tournaments, and promotions across the brand’s marketing channels.
In a release announcing the deal, Mats Johnson, VGW’s chief marketing officer, said the partnership makes good sense.
Mr Phelps is not only an exceptional athlete and poker player, but he brings this great energy and aligns with the Global Poker brand incredibly well. He already has a strong following and we expect this partnership to add to that to truly take the Global Poker brand from strength to strength.
VGW: A Pioneer in Online Social Play
Per its website, VGW is an “interactive entertainment company, harnessing technology and creativity to deliver world-class, free-to-play games.”
Founded in Australia in 2010, VGW launched its free-to-play Chuma Casino in 2012 and sweepstakes poker site Global Poker in 2017. After bringing Chumba to the US market that same year, VGW launched Luckyland Slots, a slot-exclusive social casino platform, in 2018.
Social, or sweepstakes casinos, offer players the chance to play free casino-style games and win real money prizes through a sweepstakes model. Under the sweepstakes model, users purchase virtual “gold” coins or tokens—not exchangeable for cash—to play casino-like games. However, with each purchase, players also earn free Sweeps Coins, redeemable for prizes or used to earn more through extended gameplay. Because their business model falls under federal sweepstakes law, these sites provide a legal alternative to real-money gambling in states that haven’t yet passed legislation.
The company says its “players come first,” which means prioritizing a “safe, responsible, and positive player experience” for more than one million North American customers.
Phelps Shares Excitement for Global Poker Partnership
The Phelps-Global Poker partner announcement follows VGW’s signing of Ryan Seacrest as a brand ambassador for its Chumba Casino property.
Johnson said that the company expects a positive reaction to the Phelps announcement after finding success with the Seacrest-Chumba deal.
We are really pleased with how positively received the partnership with Ryan Seacrest at Chumba Casino was, and are equally excited about working with Mr Phelps again in a greater capacity to the GP Celebrity Challenge.
Phelps, who won more medals during his career than any other Olympic athlete—28 total and 23 gold—said he’s excited about the Global Poker partnership.
I’m thrilled to expand my partnership with Global Poker. As someone who loves competition and strategy, I have always really enjoyed the game of poker. Partnering with a leader in the online social poker space is really exciting, and I look forward to working together to bring new experiences to the Global Poker community.
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