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Sacramento Kings ramp up fan experience with new gaming initiative

NBA basketball franchise the Sacramento Kings has moved to further enhance the fan experience at its Golden 1 Center arena by partnering with MGM Resorts and technology company Xperiel.

The agreement will provide new incentives to fans engaging with the NBA’s first free-to-play gaming experience. ‘Call the Shot’ is available for fans within the Fan Zone of the Sacramento Kings + Golden 1Center app, which was first released in 2016.

Call the Shot allows fans to predict the outcomes of game quarters, player performance as well as interact with the team – all while offering in-app prize opportunities with no purchase required to participate. Featuring MGM Resorts as its premier gaming sponsor, the Kings said Call the Shot is the first mobile offering from an NBA team that offers high-frequency predictive gaming to fans.

“We are committed to exploring new ways that technology can be used to engage with fans as they consume and interact with the game,” said Kings owner and chairman Vivek Ranadivé. “The future is experiential and we are proud to lead the way in continuing to redefine the fan experience with this innovative and interactive platform.”

Fans utilising Call the Shot can make real-time predictions on the likes of shooting percentage, top scoring teams, top scoring players and which team will have the highest rebounds. These predictions can be made before the game and during each quarter, with correct guesses awarded virtual credits that can be used for in-app prize opportunities or to continue playing until the end of the game.

Virtual credits won in the Xperiel activations can only be redeemed in the Sacramento Kings + Golden 1 Center app, are non-transferable and have no monetary value. During the game, successful fans playing both at the arena and at home will have their names appear on the leaderboard within the app and then projected onto the 4K Ultra HD videoboard at Golden 1 Center.

After the game, fans can use virtual credits for in-app prize opportunities. Prizes may include a wide selection of autographed Kings gear and game tickets. Season-length grand prizes will be fulfilled through a partnership between Xperiel and Amazon.

MGM Resorts, which signed a multi-year partnership agreement with the NBA in July, is participating as the league’s official gaming partner, providing prizes and helping to create what has been touted as an “exciting, Vegas-like experience” for app users.

Call the Shot is the result of a multi-year partnership between Xperiel and the Kings. Previously, Kings fans have used ‘Photo in the Plaza’ through the team’s proprietary mobile app to post selfies that appear on the arena’s exterior screens and catch virtual basketballs via an augmented reality prize cannon.

“When we first started working with the Kings a few years ago, Vivek Ranadivé had the vision that any predictive gaming experience we create together should have a Vegas-like gaming feel without the actual wagering,” said Xperiel CEO and co-founder Alex Hertel.

“It is thrilling to see what we’ve built under Vivek’s guidance and look forward to continuing to work with the Kings and other NBA teams to create immersive digital fan experiences and drive sports technology innovation with our Real World Web platform.”