ASX, the venture of Paddy Power’s former marketing chief, has moved to bolster its sports content ahead of the Six Nations, which commences this weekend.

The platform, which functions as a ‘virtual stock market’ for NFTs, has incorporated rugby union into its wider sports offering in anticipation of the tournament, supported by data from Rugby Analytics. 

Players invest in the NFTs – which are based on Six Nations players – via ‘Initial Public Offerings’ (IPOs) prior to each fixture, with the value of the products fluctuating in real time based on real-time Rugby Analytics data processed by ASX. 

The company also intends to enable rugby union fans to buy and sell players via its free-to-play games in order to ‘optimise the value’ of their portfolios. Additionally, ASX also plans to launch ‘Sportzcoins’ in conjunction with the Six Nations.

These tokens can be won by fans, with 50 awarded to every new user who joins to wager on NFTs for the rugby event, and can be used to gain entry to ‘premium contest’ or receive access to NFT drops.

“The Six Nations is one of the most exciting international sporting events, enjoyed by a global audience,” remarked Paddy Power, President of ASX and former brand ambassador of Flutter Entertainment brand Paddy Power, co-founded by his father David Power.

“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.”

By launching its rugby offering, ASX intends to strengthen its positioning and further expand partnerships with sports leagues and franchises ahead of its Series A round of fundraising, expected to complete at the close of this quarter. 

Founded in May of last year, ASX is based in Dublin but intends to primarily target the US market, and secured partnerships with a range of organisations including Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Vegas Golden Knights, DAZN and Sinclair Broadcast Group shortly after its launch. 

Interest in NFTs – the increasingly popular but somewhat controversial blockchain-based assets – has burgeoned in the betting industry as of late, as companies on both sides of the Atlantic such as firms such as Entain, DraftKings and Low6 begin to explore and incorporate the digital units into their respective operations.