Games: Dive into the Jockiz environment

Return to Clichy-Levallois. Almost a year has passed since Jockiz lifted the veil on his activity. It is in a hotbed of start-ups seeking to target young, hyper-connected customers who are keen on video games that we find the co-founder of Jockiz, Julien Mirabel. The very young forty-year-old would seem almost very old in these places. “You have to see the atmosphere when there is a football match”, says the entrepreneur, pointing at a giant screen. It is in this little video game mecca, where brains smoke, that the company Jockiz is developing, which has nine employees for a total of 20-25 people including external employees. The innovative concept is based on new web 3 and blockchain technologies. The goal of the game? Buy virtual cards (NFT) that belong to you to form teams and compete in daily competitions (and on weekends) to try to win new (resalable) cards, or even a little change. No matter your budget, the game is designed for all budgets.

A huge technological challenge met

“Overall, we are satisfied with the launch, assures Julien Mirabel. We succeeded in the technical challenge of launching a product of great complexity (editor’s note, we will spare you some barbaric denominations). Everything we wanted to do was achieved on time, and for that we thank Pyratz Labs (start-up incubator) who are really cracks. That was really the biggest challenge. In this month of December, Jockiz has 12,500 registered with almost 2,000 teams activated every day.” But what guarantees customers that Jockiz will still exist in 10 years? Just so you don’t see your virtual money go up in smoke… “Nothing !says our interlocutor. By playing Jockiz, you take a risk, as if you deposited your money in a bank and it “crashed” tomorrow. An NFT card is a digital object that belongs to you and that you consume. I would say that you have to be convinced by the product and believe in it. In terms of adoption, when you get started, you see that it is a very addictive and exciting game. I think it takes a little time for word of mouth to work and for people to understand the basics of Jockiz. The important thing for us was to know if the people who were going to try it would love the game, the answer was positive. We clearly want to increase the number of users, and we are delighted at this stage to have an incredible customer retention rate. In our communities, there are clearly racing enthusiasts, but also a significant portion of neophytes who, without Jockiz, would never have been interested in racing. People spend a lot of time on our data.”

A game about jockeys and not horses

Focusing on jockeys instead of horses is the founding vision of the project. “This is indeed a different approach compared to traditional betting, unfolds Julien Mirabel. With Jockiz, you don’t bet on one or more races, you buy digital objects that represent jockeys, a small part of the overall horse racing heritage. It’s great, because it creates belonging in the races and the desire to project oneself. Many Jockiz players who knew absolutely nothing about racing came under the umbrella of NFTs, digital items or gaming. Today, they certainly know jockeys much better than casual racers, because it forces them to follow the news to try to perform. As a result, they integrate the racing codes, go to the racetracks or bet for some. Jockiz is in fact a real acquisition lever for the entire ecosystem. Already more than 500 jockey-drivers are under exclusive Jockiz license. The brand has established itself well in a very short time in the horse racing sector, which is not easy. We respected the rules, the institutions and understood the political side of racing; we also donate a substantial part of our turnover to the industry. We have invested with partnerships on racecourses (Lyon-La Soie and Parilly, Pau, Pornichet, the “Jeuxdi” of Longchamp and the Sundays of the Vincennes winter meeting), with France Galop, le Trot, sponsorship with five jockeys (Clément Lecoeuvre, Léo-Paul Bréchet, Hugo Boutin, Hugo Lebouc and Baptiste Le Clerc) and soon at least three on the trot.” All jockey-drivers who sign an agreement with Jockiz receive a percentage on the sale of their cards (there are two markets, the first called “primary” is done at auction and the secondary is a direct purchase and resale platform between users). “This can represent several thousand euros per year for the top of the list, and we hope for much more later. That said, I don’t think this is the main argument that resonates with the pros. In fact, we are convinced that the future of racing will pass not through horses, but through jockeys. In all sports, it is necessary for people to be able to identify themselves, and the new generation even more so. If we cannot convince young people that the races are exciting, the sector will have a big problem given the aging of racers… Jockeys are an obvious lever to attract young audiences and we see this with Jockiz. I am convinced that Jockiz is one of the levers to ensure a sustainable future for racing.”

What to expect from Jockiz in the coming weeks?

“In the coming days, we are going to offer immersive experiences such as VIP lunches in Vincennes with stable visits, meetings with jockeys, places on sponsor racecourses, etc. continues Julien Mirabel. Card sponsorship is coming in a few days, offering a referral a quality card (limited crack) and for the already player a sponsorship challenge will offer them the possibility of winning up to a Legend card (the most expensive). The big news is that the 2025 cards will be in “3D” with a lot of design work carried out to increase the feeling of belonging for our customers. Each year there will be a change in the design of the cards. We will try to make the outings of new jockeys more eventful. From now on, when players select their team, they see the number of “Game day” races without having to look for information elsewhere. We will also have auto-filling for people who don’t want to waste time (a sort of Jockiz-style spOt). Many data races are coming, including the tab of the same name, which will have a fairly modern Jockiz design as well as a jockey comparator which will finally be released, this not existing anywhere else. In the first quarter of 2025, withdrawal by bank transfer will arrive (until then you can only withdraw via cryptocurrencies).” And new jockeys, new competitions for this really well thought out and put together game.

Jockiz in numbers

5 Like the number of series of Jockiz card games that exist: Common (free), limited (the cheapest), rare, super rare and Legend (the most expensive)

7 It is mandatory to have at least 7 cards to participate in a well-defined daily tournament (trot, gallop, trot and gallop, etc.)

30 € Or the minimum amount currently needed to make a deposit on Jockiz (it will increase to €10 soon)

20 000 This milestone was reached last week in terms of the number of Jockiz cards sold

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How are points calculated in Jockiz?

“Although it may seem a little barbaric, the method of calculation is in reality relatively simple (editor’s note, a complete guide can be found on the site), explains Julien Mirabel. It is designed so that the game is sustainable, fair, just and reliable in relation to the real results of the races. It is therefore based on the position at the finish of the jockeys, which is the essence of the races (1st, 2nd, etc.) but also their rating. The system has also been designed so that there is no equality, because it complicates everything when this is the case, degrading the user experience.

Cards that you can buy (or not) from Top 10 jockey-drivers and Jockiz *

Trot
In agreement: E. Raffin, B. Rochard, M. Mottier, D. Békaert, M. Abrivard, D. Thomain, P.-Y. Verva, F. Lagadeuc, P.-P. Ploquin,
Does not agree: Y. Lebourgeois,
Plat
Have an agreement: M Guyon, M. Barzalona, ​​A. Pouchin, C. Demuro, T. Bachelot, T. Piccone, A. Orani, A. Lemaitre, M. Vélon, A. Madamet
Disagree: none
Obstacle
In agreement: J. Lefebvre, L. Zuliani, J. Reveley, K. Dubourg, N. Gauffenic, A. Zuliani, F. de Giles, K. Nabet, B. Le Clerc, G. Meunier
Disagree: none
“We get along well with everyone, but there are jockeys and/or drivers who are more difficult to convince for their own reasons, delivers our interlocutor. When we see the excitement that there was with the arrival of Mathieu Mottier in the game, we strongly hope that Jean-Michel Bazire and Christophe Soumillon will also join the adventure.”
*Depending on the number of victories between 01/01/24 and 12/13/2024