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Esports Entertainment Group $GMBL Signs Exclusive Online Wagering Partnership With #Epsilon eSports, A Tier-1 Multi-Champion #Esports Organization $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $TCEHF

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 8:31 AM on Monday, January 14th, 2019
  • Announced an exclusive online wagering partnership with Epsilon eSports, a well established organization in the world of online competitive multiplayer games, in support of VIE.gg, the world’s first and most transparent esports betting exchange.
  • Epsilon is a multi-champion esports organization headquartered in Belgium, with teams based across Europe and North America competing in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive; Gears Call of Duty; FIFA; and H1Z1 KoH

BIRKIRKARA, MALTA (January 14, 2019) – Esports Entertainment Group, Inc. (GMBL:OTCQB) (or the “Company”), a licensed online gambling company with a specific focus on esports wagering and 18+ gaming, is pleased to announce an exclusive online wagering partnership with Epsilon eSports (“Epsilon”), a well established organization in the world of online competitive multiplayer games, in support of VIE.gg, the world’s first and most transparent esports betting exchange.

MULTI-CHAMPION INTERNATIONAL ESPORTS ORGANIZATION

Founded in 2008 with the goal of becoming a symbol in the world of esports, Epsilon is a multi-champion esports organization headquartered in Belgium, with teams based across Europe and North America competing in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive; Gears Call of Duty; FIFA; and H1Z1 KoH. Epsilon is a leader in console esports, with multiple Call of Duty European Championships, as well as, a Smite World Championship.

Epsilon is recognized as one of the most important talent-producing eSports team organizations, with player transfers to NIP, AS Monaco, Fnatic, PSG and, most recently, a collaboration with English Premier League club Manchester City to combine their FIFA 19 rosters for the upcoming season of the Gfinity Elite Series.

Epsilon is a highly international esports organization, with players and members from over 20 different nations.

FIRST TIER-1 ESPORTS PARTNERSHIP FOR VIE.GG SETS NEW BENCHMARK

As one of the original big names in esports, with a successful history spanning more than 10 years, Epsilon represents the first Tier-1 esports organization to partner with the Company’s VIE.gg esports betting platform. Moreover, Epsilon is working with VIE.gg on an exclusive basis for the following reasons:

  1. The VIE.gg P2P model is much more attractive to Epsilon because an esports fan (an Epsilon fan) always wins, as opposed to a “house” model where odds are heavily stacked against fans.
  2. VIE.gg is the first and most transparent esports bet exchange as a result of Esports Entertainment Group being a fully reporting SEC issuer in the United States. 
  3. Player safety features built into VIE.gg create a fun but responsible esports betting experience for fans. For example, players must choose their maximum bet amounts when they initially sign up with VIE.gg. Any subsequent increase to those levels requires a 30 day cooling off period to make sure players do not get carried away.
  4. The recent addition of pool betting is a further extension of the P2P model, which allows groups of opposing fans to wager against each other when their teams go head to head.
  5. Given the fact some esports fans bet on esports, Epsilon fans may as well bet on a safe platform that also supports the organization.

Gregory Champagne, Chief Executive Officer at Epsilon eSports, stated “It is with great pride that today Epsilon partners with VIE.gg.  This is a whole different ball game, the first betting exchange platform where players challenge other players.  VIE.GG understands the community needs, and we are happy to have found the right partner that understands and supports players.  Extremely excited to begin this new venture and I can see nothing but big things to come from Epsilon / VIE.gg partnership during 2019.”

Grant Johnson, CEO of Esports Entertainment Group, stated, “We are extremely honored to welcome Epsilon eSports to the VIE family.  As one of the first true esports organizations, Epsilon has a long and successful history of esports championships that has earned them a world class reputation and fan base.  As our first Tier-1 esports team partnership, today marks a significant milestone for VIE and we look forward to great success together.”

ABOUT VIE.GG

VIE.gg offers bet exchange style wagering on esports events in a licensed, regulated and secured platform to the global esports audience, excluding jurisdictions that prohibit online gambling. VIE.gg features wagering on the following esports games:

·         Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO)

·         League of Legends

·         Dota 2

·         Call of Duty

·         Overwatch

·         PUBG

·         Hearthstone

·         StarCraft II 

In 2018, VIE.gg announced affiliate marketing partnerships with 190 esports teams from around the world and expects that number to increase in 2019.

This press release is available on our Online Investor Relations Community for shareholders and potential shareholders to ask questions, receive answers and collaborate with management in a fully moderated forum at https://agoracom.com/ir/EsportsEntertainmentGroup

Redchip investor relations Esports Entertainment Group Investor Page: 
http://www.gmblinfo.com

About Esports Entertainment Group

Esports Entertainment Group, Inc. is a licensed online gambling company with a specific focus on esports wagering and 18+ gaming. Esports Entertainment offers bet exchange style wagering on esports events in a licensed, regulated and secure platform to the global esports audience at vie.gg.  In addition, Esports Entertainment intends to offer users from around the world the ability to participate in multi-player mobile and PC video game tournaments for cash prizes. Esports Entertainment is led by a team of industry professionals and technical experts from the online gambling and the video game industries, and esports. The Company holds licenses to conduct online gambling and 18+ gaming on a global basis in Curacao, Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kahnawake Gaming Commission in Canada. The Company maintains offices in Malta, Curacao and Warsaw, Poland. Esports Entertainment common stock is listed on the OTCQB under the symbol GMBL.  For more information visit www.esportsentertainmentgroup.com

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

The information contained herein includes forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or to our future financial performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond our control and which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Any forward-looking statement reflects our current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to our operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. We assume no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. The safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 protects companies from liability for their forward-looking statements if they comply with the requirements of the Act.

Contact:

Corporate Finance

1-268-562-9111

[email protected]

Media & Investor Relations Inquiries
AGORACOM 
[email protected]
http://agoracom.com/ir/eSportsEntertainmentGroup

U.S. Investor Relations 

RedChip 

Dave Gentry

407-491-4498

[email protected] 

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INTERVIEW: Enthusiast Gaming $EGLX.ca Discusses Acquisition of “The Sims Resource”, the World’s Largest Female Video Gaming Website $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $TCEHF

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 5:42 PM on Sunday, January 13th, 2019


It is undeniable. It is here and we haven’t seen anything yet.

The world of online gaming and esports is no longer the domain of basement dwellers – and it hasn’t been in years – but mainstream finance people are only now coming to that realization.

Nowhere is that more evident than in the Enthusiast Gaming acquisition of The Sims Resource, the world’s largest female video gaming website.  How big?

  • 2.5 Billion Page Views Per Year
  • $7M Annual Revenues
  • $4.5M Net Income
  • It generates more than 10% of the total views of Twitch

Now, it is owned by Enthusiast Gaming, which is no slouch either:

  • Q3 Revenue $2.8M (record quarter)
  • 9 Month Revenue $7.4M (625% increase)
  • 75M Active Monthly Users
  • Owners of Canada’s Largest Gaming Expo Where 30,000 Attended In OCT 2018

We sat down with CEO Menashe Kestenbaum to discuss the acquisition and the future of Enthusiast in much further detail.

Grab a coffee or your favourite beverage and start taking notes.

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ThreeD Capital Inc. $IDK.ca – New York City Economic Corp Launches Blockchain Education Center $HIVE.ca $BLOC.ca $CODE.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 4:03 PM on Friday, January 11th, 2019

SPONSOR: ThreeD Capital Inc. (IDK:CSE) Led by legendary financier, Sheldon Inwentash, ThreeD is a Canadian-based venture capital firm that only invests in best of breed small-cap companies which are both defensible and mass scalable. More than just lip service, Inwentash has financed many of Canada’s biggest small-cap exits. Click Here For More Information.

Idk large
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  • The New York City Economic Development Corporation’s (EDC) new Blockchain Center opened Thursday, and intends to begin testing the tech’s use cases next fall, Bloomberg reported Thursday. 
  • The center is part of a partnership with the venture capital fund Future\Perfect Ventures and the Global Blockchain Business Council trade organization.

Nikhilesh De

New York City may begin testing blockchain technology for various use cases later this year.

The New York City Economic Development Corporation’s (EDC) new Blockchain Center opened Thursday, and intends to begin testing the tech’s use cases next fall, Bloomberg reported Thursday. The center is part of a partnership with the venture capital fund Future\Perfect Ventures and the Global Blockchain Business Council trade organization.

It is unclear at this time which areas these use cases may cover. The EDC is a non-profit corporation which aims to support economic growth within the city. It acts as New York’s official economic development corporation.

New York City itself has contributed $100,000 to the new Blockchain Center, and the facility will continue to raise funds through corporate partnerships and membership dues.

Microsoft Corporation and IBM have already partnered with the center, Future\Perfect Ventures managing partner Jalak Jobanputra told Bloomberg.

The new center, based in the Flatiron District, will offer classes on coding and host lectures aimed at both developers in the space and the general public.

The move comes as a number of crypto startups began laying off employees due to an ongoing bear market, but this is not necessarily a concern for the center.

Ana Arino, chief strategy officer with the EDC, told Bloomberg that the center was “playing the long game,” adding:

“It’s a nascent technology, so there’s bound to be uncertainty around this evolution from year to year. While we don’t know what the future holds, we want to make sure we have a seat at the table shaping it.”

A number of companies are beginning to set up shop within New York, including Coinbase, which opened a new office in the city last fall. Canaan, a maker of bitcoin mining hardware, is also reportedly considering launching an initial public offering in the city.

The EDC did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

Source: https://www.coindesk.com/new-york-city-economic-corp-launches-blockchain-education-center

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CLIENT FEATURE: Applied BioSciences Stands to Deliver Aquiring Majority Stake in Trace Analytics $HTIM $WMD.ca

Posted by AGORACOM at 11:40 AM on Friday, January 11th, 2019
https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.agoracom.com/public/companies/logos/564626/hub/APPB_logo.png
  • Acquired a majority stake in Trace Analytics, Inc., a leading testing and analytics company.
  • The team has over 65 years of experience in the testing and analytics space and a full-time staff of nine employees including, two Ph.D. analytical chemists and five other scientists. 
  • A recent report from Coherent Market Insights1 estimates that the global cannabis testing market is projected to grow 13.2% year-over-year through 2026, when it is expected to surpass $1.5 billion USD.
  • Applied BioSciences products use base ingredients that are USDA Organic and non-GMO. Offering Vegan, sugar-free, 99% Pure CBD Isolate infused. The products are formulated with CBD extracted from pesticide-free, organically grown, domestically produced, High-CBD Industrial Hemp. Lab-tested and guaranteed Pesticide and Chemical-free.  Our proprietary blends also contain USDA certified organic botanicals, herbals and essential oils to provide synergy with other healing elements found in nature.
  • On December 20, 2018, President Trump signed the US Farm Bill into law. The new law defines hemp as an agricultural product for the first time in 50 years and allows American farmers to plant and harvest hemp. This will allow farmers and researchers of hemp to receive the same benefits as farmers and researchers of other crops, including the ability to apply for insurance and federal grants
  • Applied BioSciences early stage investment in Hightimes Magazine is valued at approximately $1.75 Million at assumed IPO Pricing of $11.00

Link to AppliedSciences Hub

FULL DISCLOSURE: Applied BioSciences is an advertising client of AGORA Internet Relations Corp.

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Good Life Networks $GOOD.ca – What’s on the adtech and martech horizon in 2019? $TTD $RUBI $AT.ca $TRMR $FUEL

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 11:02 AM on Friday, January 11th, 2019
SPONSOR: Good Life Networks (GOOD:TSX-V) Video advertising is the future! Company’s A.I. makes 80,000 calculations / second, targeting 750 million users to deliver higher prices and volume. Revenue was $10,000,650 for the nine months ended September 30th, 2018, a 142% increase from $4,133,231 reported for the six months ended September 30th, 2017.  Click here for more information.
GOOD: TSX-V

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  • 2018 was a big year in the advertising tech and marketing tech arenas, filled with blockbuster acquisitions and rising new technologies, such as programmatic mobile buying which became mainstream.
  • So, what will be the big industry-defining trends in 2019? What trends will continue and what will drop off in the new year?

Abhay Singhal January 11, 2019  

Pixabay

2018 was a big year in the advertising tech and marketing tech arenas, filled with blockbuster acquisitions and rising new technologies, such as programmatic mobile buying which became mainstream.

So, what will be the big industry-defining trends in 2019? What trends will continue and what will drop off in the new year?

Here are my top predictions for 2019:

OTT/connected TV will come into its own

Over-the-top television (OTT) and video streaming units (think Roku and Chromecast, for starters), along with connected TV apps such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu have dramatically reshaped the television and video landscape. Once upon a time, software was eating the world. Now, it’s video’s turn.

Despite the incredible growth so far of OTT and connected TV, this is only the beginning. In 2019, expect both video outlets to be even more pervasive.

So, what does this mean for advertisers and marketers? Certainly, paid channels such as Netflix, HBO Now, etc. will continue to do well, but the majority of consumers are not willing to pay for more than two outlets/channels at a time. As such, I predict that both advertisers and OTT app publishers will invest further in seamless, effective advertising options in the next year.

“Ad-supported OTT will prove to be a strong contender for television advertising dollars as more and more viewers shift away from traditional television,” says Kedar Gavane, Vice President at Comscore. “Today, OTT delivers the best of TV with the capability to precisely target viewers down to the zip code level, and use factors like demographics, lifestyle and interests. More advanced analytics tools are enabling advertisers to target the right audience, buy the highest quality inventory and measure OTT campaign results more effectively.”

There will be greater accountability in advertising and adtech

In Gartner’s “2018 Hype Cycle for Digital Marketing and Advertising”, we see mobile marketing analytics, ad verification and multitouch attribution as past the peak of inflated expectations and nearing the trough of disillusionment. Why is that?

To me, this all points to how everyone in the adtech space is looking for greater accountability, transparency and insights in regard to their spending and actions. According to Yory Wurmser, eMarketer’s principal retail analyst, this will be one of the biggest issues marketers must face head-on in 2019.

This is also why more brands will bring their efforts in-house in 2019, along with a greater focus more on cross-device and multitouch attribution. It also helps to explain why adtech that increases reach and revenue alongside transparency, like programmatic ad buying and unified ad auctions, will be increasingly prevalent in the new year too.

“The biggest issue in mobile marketing today is trust. As more and more companies enter the fray, with varying levels of technology and frankly, legitimacy, it becomes increasingly difficult for buyers to ascertain what is real and what isn’t,” says Mike Brooks, SVP of Revenue at WeatherBug. “That said, as more and more advanced types of fraud are being uncovered and taught to even the most basic buyers, the advertisers in the mobile space are going to optimize their spends toward partners they can trust to not perpetrate these schemes. I think this is finally the year where advertisers start talking with their money and moving it to people they trust and business models they understand.”

5G will lead to unforeseen advances

For both adtech and martech specifically, and really for the world at large, 5G has the potential to be immensely disruptive. Autonomous vehicles and drones could be the tip of the iceberg as far as potential applications are concerned. Its effects on society could defy imagination!

Think for a moment, about all the changes that came about as a result of 4G and LTE. Without it, there’s no Uber, no WeChat and no Facebook — at least, not in the way we consume them now. Truthfully, the entire app economy may not have taken off if we were all still relying on 3G.

I believe a similar shift will occur with a wider 5G rollout. Everyone — including advertisers and marketers — should prepare now for our upcoming digital out-of-home lives.

Tech will increasingly work the way we do, not the other way around

Perhaps the most revolutionary feature of the iPhone was its touchscreen display. Simply by poking and tapping the screen, we can now do just about everything. It’s so easy and intuitive to use, even for the less technologically savvy.

Unlike laptops and desktops, mobile devices cater to how we work naturally, as opposed to typing or using a mouse. Going into 2019, and beyond, expect more technology to cater to and center around how humans naturally interact with the world.

Voice is a prime example of this. Why type something out when you can speak it in less time? Voice communication is far more natural to us, and technology is really beginning to catch up. The same concept applies to computer vision and visual search, which Yory Wurmser thinks will really take off in 2019.

This is also why I think VR has a way to go. The headsets are currently too clunky and not as seamless as they need to be.

So, what does all this mean for adtech and martech specifically? One of the main reasons why we’ve seen so much consolidation in our space over the past few years is because companies realize they need greater resources and long-term support in order to fully develop these kinds of future-focused endeavors.

Data will become an even more valuable asset to marketers

Data may have been the new oil since 2017, but that doesn’t mean advertisers and marketers have yet to fully grasp its true value. Expect that to change though in 2019, as data-led initiatives become the norm.

Gartner thinks Data-Driven Marketing is five to 10 years away, but I predict it will arrive in force sooner than that. Laws such as GDPR in the EU and the California Consumer Privacy Act that took effect in 2018 show that governments are valuing advertising and marketing data just as much.

This will especially be true in the realm of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Through AI, brands will be able to better find the right audiences and offer them more effective ads, among many other use cases. Marketing will be propelled forward by AI in 2019.

Will I Be Proven Right?

Of course, with any prediction, there’s always a chance I will be wrong. However, regardless of what actually occurs in 2019, it’s safe to say that disruptive change is afoot for the adtech and the martech space. Exactly how much and in what ways, only time will tell.

Abhay Singhal is the co-founder and President of Advertising Cloud at InMobi.

If you enjoyed this article, sign up for SmartBrief’s free e-mail from the Mobile Marketing Association, among SmartBrief’s more than 200 industry-focused newsletters.

Source: https://www.smartbrief.com/original/2019/01/whats-adtech-and-martech-horizon-2019

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Betteru Education Corp. $BTRU.ca – Sequoia India Led $40 Mn Series C Funding Round In #Edtech Company Eruditus $ARCL $CPLA $BPI $FC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 8:52 AM on Friday, January 11th, 2019
SPONSOR:  Betteru Education Corp. Connecting global leading educators to the mass population of India. BetterU Education has ability to reach 100 MILLION potential learners each week. Click here for more information.
BTRU: TSX-V

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Sequoia India Led $40 Mn Series C Funding Round In Edtech Company Eruditus

  • Existing investor Bertelsmann India Investments also participated in the round
  • The funding will be used to increase its course offerings in technical subjects
  • It also plans to expand its multilingual offerings

Edtech company the Eruditus group which runs Eruditus Executive Education and its online division Emeritus has raised $40Mn (INR 281 Cr) in a Series C funding round which was led by Sequoia India. The round also saw participation from existing investor Bertelsmann India Investments.

The company will use this funding to increase its course offerings in technical subjects such as data science, machine learning, blockchain and cybersecurity. It also plans to expand its language offerings to include Portuguese and Mandarin, in addition to English and Spanish.

“We will use the proceeds of this latest fundraise to create a more immersive and adaptive learning platform, to expand our multilingual capabilities, and to ensure that our omnichannel offerings are readily available to our students on-the-go,” said Ashwin Damera, cofounder of Eruditus and director at Emeritus.

Eruditus: Targeting A 10X Hike In Student Enrollment

Eruditus, founded in 2010 by Chaitanya Kalipatnapu and Ashwin Damera, provides executive education programmes in association with global business schools such as MIT, Columbia, Harvard Business School, INSEAD, Tuck at Dartmouth, Wharton, UC Berkeley and London Business School.

These programs are held for six to eight months and can be available via on campus, off campus and online modes.

Related Article: Edtech Startup Eruditus Secures $8.16 Mn Series B From Bertelsmann India Investments

The company is looking to enroll 30K students from more than 80 countries in the current financial year. It also aims to increase its enrollment by more than 10 times within the next five years across certificate courses and online degrees.

Eruditus had earlier raised $8.16 Mn (INR 57.4 Cr) in a Series B funding round led by Bertelsmann India Investments in 2017. Earlier in July, it had raised $2.2 Mn (INR 16 Cr) in a debt financing round from Innoven Capital.

Edtech Funding In India

The edtech sector has been recently gaining popularity among the investors. In 2017, edtech witnessed a 30% hike in terms of investments with international funding touching a new record of $9.52 Bn (INR 67,010 Cr).

Last month, Hyderabad-based edtech startup Toppr has raised funding of $35 Mn (INR 246.13 Cr) from Kaizen Private Equity and existing investors SAIF Partners, Helion Ventures, Kaizen PE and Eight Roads Ventures.

Edtech unicorn BYJU’S raised $540 Mn (INR 3,800 Cr) in Series F funding from Canada Pension board’s investment arm CPPIB Investment Board Private Holdings, Naspers Ventures BV and General Atlantic Singapore TL Pvt Ltd, boosting its valuation to $4 Bn (INR 28,155 Cr).

According to a report by the India Didactics Association, the online education industry in India is projected to grow almost eight times to hit $1.96 Bn (INR 13,795 Cr) by 2021. It also added that the number of paid users in the segment is expected to grow six-fold to reach 9.6 Bn by 2021.

A report by Google-KPMG said that reskilling and online certification courses accounted for about 38% of the total online education market as of 2017.

Source: https://inc42.com/buzz/sequoia-india-led-40-mn-series-c-funding-round-in-edtech-company-eruditus/

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$ZEN Zenyatta provides update on Albany Graphite Bulk Sampling Program $GRAT $DNI

Posted by AGORACOM at 8:34 AM on Friday, January 11th, 2019
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  • Update on fully permitted 2019 bulk sampling program on the Albany Graphite Project, located in northern Ontario
  • Purpose of the program is to recover a large sample of the graphite mineralization in order to generate graphene product samples for market development purposes
  • Program to generate up to 40 tons of 99.8% purity graphene pre-cursor material, with a budget of 3$M derived from recent financing.

Thunder Bay, Ontario–(January 11, 2019) – Zenyatta Ventures Ltd. (TSXV: ZEN) (“Zenyatta”, “ZEN” or “Company”) is pleased to provide an update on its now fully permitted 2019 bulk sampling program on the Albany Graphite Project, located in northern Ontario near the communities of Constance Lake First Nation and Hearst. The main purpose of the program is to recover a large sample of the graphite mineralization in order to generate graphene product samples for market development purposes. The program is expected to generate up to 40 tons of 99.8% purity graphene pre-cursor material. The total budget for the program is $3 million, to be funded with the proceeds of the recently completed flow-through financing.

“This bulk sampling program is critical to the further development of the exciting graphene product opportunity that we have confirmed with our research partners over the past few months. We now have numerous potential customers requesting product samples to test in various new graphene-based technologies and composites in our 5 identified verticals. This work will also help us discover the market value of ZEN’s graphene products.” stated Dr. Francis Dubé Co-CEO.

The Company has now received the final two permits required from the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines: one for permission to collect the 990 tonne sample and offer graphene produced from the sample for sale to prospective future customers; and second, an exploration permit to drill the large diameter reverse circulation drill holes required to recover the sample from the overburden-covered Albany Deposit.

The Company has also received permission from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry to build three ice bridge creek crossings along the proposed winter access road to the drill site which will largely utilize pre-existing forestry roads, a bridge and the 2013 winter trail. Now that the program is fully permitted and funded, preparation of the winter road will get underway immediately. The drilling is expected to be completed by the end of March 2019 following which processing work on the bulk sample can begin.

Peter Wood, P. Eng., P. Geo. is the qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed, prepared and supervised the preparation of the technical information contained in this news release.

For further information:

Dr. Francis Dubé, Co-CEO & Head of Business Development and Technology
Tel: +1 (289) 821-2820
Email: [email protected]

About Zenyatta

Zenyatta’s Albany Graphite Project hosts a large and unique quality deposit of highly crystalline graphite. Independent labs in Japan, UK, Israel, USA and Canada have demonstrated that Zenyatta’s Albany Graphite/Naturally PureTM easily converts (exfoliates) to graphene using a variety of simple mechanical and chemical methods. The deposit is located in northern Ontario just 30km north of the Trans-Canada Highway, near the communities of Constance Lake First Nation and Hearst. Important nearby infrastructure include hydro-power, natural gas pipeline, a rail line 50 km away and an all-weather road just 10 km from the deposit.

To find out more on Zenyatta Ventures Ltd., please visit our website at www.zenyatta.ca. A copy of this press release and all material documents with respect of the Company may be obtained on Zenyatta’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.ca.

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Esports Entertainment Group $GMBL – Esports Trends in 2019: From Mobile Esports to Endemic Partnerships $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $TCEHF

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 3:57 PM on Thursday, January 10th, 2019
SPONSOR: Esports Entertainment $GMBL Esports audience is 350M, growing to 590M, Esports wagering is projected at $23 BILLION by 2020. The company has launched VIE.gg esports betting platform and has accelerated affiliate marketing agreements with an additional 42 Esports teams, bringing total to 176 Esports teams. Click here for more information
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Esports Trends in 2019: From Mobile Esports to Endemic Partnerships

  • China to tighten control on video games
  • Southeast Asia (SEA) esports will rise in 2019
  • Esports venues will continue to develop around the world
  • College competitive video gaming is becoming more popular in North America
  • The future of mobile esports in 2019
  • Esports players will be featured in more marketing campaigns by non-endemic companies
  • Steam won’t be the only leading marketplace for video games in 2019

At the beginning of the year, marketing intelligence firm Newzoo released a list of trends focusing on the gaming and esports landscape in 2019. The company covered topics as diverse as the rise of digital stores, China’s regulatory clamp-down on the gaming industry, and the intensifying frequency of partnerships between non-endemic brands and esports competitors.

Newzoo’s trends to watch in 2019. Photo credit: Newzoo trends.

China’s Ethics Committee Takes an Aim at the Video Gaming Industry

At the end of 2018, a newly-set regulatory body in China, the Ethics Game Committee, issued recommendations to several high-grossing games in the country, outlining issues with the “morality and values” propagated by the titles that had made it on the list.

While not banning the games outright, as clarified by The Esports Observer (TEO), the Committee charted a course for 2019 where the government would have a much greater say in what games arrive on the market. As a result, companies will have to either adapt.

Domestic tech giants, such as Tencent, are already thinking of avoiding part of these regulations by setting-up a digital store in Hong Kong and selling their games abroad. The newly-outlined provisions will also force the hand of foreign developers to either adjust their titles or focus on other emerging and well-developed markets, such as Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea and the established bastions of gaming to the West.

The Rise of Southeast Asia (SEA) Gaming

Southeast Asia (SEA) is going to prove a particularly vibrant market with the global audience reaching 31.9 million, according to Newzoo. Malaysia already played host to one of the largest Dota 2 events in 2018, The Kuala Lumpur Major, as part of the new competitive season for the popular MOBA title.

“Southeast Asia (SEA) boasts the fastest-growing esports audience, which will reach 31.9 million in 2019.” – Newzoo Click To Tweet

Places like Malaysia are marked by a strong grassroots community with organizations such as Geek Farm successful launching teams across multiple high-grossing titles, including PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), Dota 2 and mobile esports games, such as Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Streaming is also a popular segment in SEA where entire esports communities are formed in social media around the idea of sharing streams in pursuit of recognition.

According to Newzoo, up and coming titles in the region include games, such as Hearthstone, NBA 2K and Tekken 7. Another important development in the region is the arrival of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games which will introduce esports as a medaled discipline.

There is a lot of untapped potential in SEA that western companies and event organizers are only now beginning to realize. Again, in Asia, the MMA League ONE has decided to expand into esports, vowing to run multiple events across Asia, drawing on its expertise in organizing large competitions.

Building Esports Venues Is Gathering Steam

The idea of esports arenas where fans can attend in person has been gaining traction, fast-tracked by organizations such as the Overwatch League (OWL) and even the Call of Duty World League (CWL). Official competitive events part of the LoL World Championship and Dota 2 International has attracted significant interest, but it’s league formats as the OWL and CWL that are changing the game by creating permanent locations for fans to flock to during competitive seasons and in the interim periods.

We want to say thank you to the #HyperXFamily and VIP guests of #CES who joined us during tonight’s mixer! #HyperXESALV pic.twitter.com/qbxgA5YWEx

— HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas (@HyperXESALV) January 10, 2019

In 2018, the HyperX Esports Las Vegas Arena at the Luxor became one of the first venues to offer both a place for competitive gameplay and spaces for gamers of varying skill levels to interact. Apart from the fully decked-out arenas, HyperX unveiled its Esports Truck arena, mobile venue caring high-quality gear and a dedicated broadcasting studio.

Full Sail University’s $6-million arena project in Florida will be the largest arena for collegiate esports. Click To Tweet

Esports venues are not built just by game developers and leagues. Full Sail University’s $6-million arena project in Florida will be the largest arena for collegiate esports. Full Sail University is part of the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE).

The Esports Insider recently reported on the expansion of Asia’s largest esports café brand in central London, with the news exciting some mutually-exclusive opinions.

Collegiate Esports Seem to be on a Fast-Track to Success

Collegiate esports are another fast-developing culture in North America. NACE has so far signed over 100 institutions of higher learning, fielding competitors among multiple competitions, including Overwatch, League of Legends, and most recently Hi-Rez Studios’ SMITE and Paladins.

Universities have been quick to develop their varsity programs, introducing a number of opportunities for those interested in esports as a competitive format and those keen on assuming a managerial role within the industry.

Some universities are already stepping up their game by attracting top gaming talent, such as Philadelphia Fusion’s Overwatch player Joe “Joemeister” Gramano signing up with Harrisburg University as their Overwatch coach.

Mobile Esports in 2019

According to Newzoo, the mobile experience will become far more engrossing in 2019, creating even more engaging titles. So far, some of the most popular games on mobile to qualify as esports have been:

  • Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
  • Arena of Valor
  • Honor of Kings
  • Fornite
  • PUBG
  • Clash Royale
  • Clash of Titans

Admittedly, not all of these titles are excessively popular, although Fortnite iOS raked in nearly $455 million in 2018 alone in terms of game revenue. The game pulled off $69 million in December (although that number clearly fluctuated throughout 2018), Sensor Tower reported recently.

Arena of Valor is another title that left its mark on 2018, with 1.120.455 people watching the Arena of Valor International Championship 2018, as per Esports Charts’ data.

Meanwhile, Supercell’s Clash Royale and Clash of Titans have been expanding their communities, although the preferred choice of entertainment (from esports standpoint) has been Clash Royale. The game already features 44 esports organizations worldwide, which has landed it traction and despite the fairly fresh concept of “mobile esports” in the West, the segment has been doing just fine.

In 2018, Blizzard announced Diablo Immortal and stated their plans to launch every game they have for mobile. While the news wasn’t particularly well-met, by Blizzard fans especially. Neverhtless, the company seems confident in pushing ahead with its mobile ambitions. Meanwhile, Diablo Immortal’s official trailer must be one of the most down-voted game teasers in history (at least on YouTube).

More Player Branding Partnerships Arriving in 2019

“RAMZES doesn’t have enough facial hair to be the face of Gillette” – Roman Dvoryankin, Virtus Pro Manager

In 2018, we saw League of Legends player Uzi become part of the Nike Chinese “Dribble &” marketing campaign alongside mainstream athletes such as LeBron James. Dota 2 Virtus.Pro’s Alexey “Solo” Berezin was featured in a Head & Shoulders campaign while teammate Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev was the face of a new Gillette commercial.

Source: https://www.gamblingnews.com/news/esports-trends-in-2019-from-mobile-esports-to-endemic-partnerships/

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North Bud Farms Inc. $NBUD.ca – More big consumer companies will bet on pot this year $ACB $WEED.ca $HIP.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 3:11 PM on Thursday, January 10th, 2019

SPONSOR: North Bud Farms Inc. (NBUD:CSE) Sustainable low cost, high quality cannabinoid production and procurement focusing on both bio-pharmaceutical development and Cannabinoid Infused Products. Click Here For More Information

  • Marijuana is going mainstream and Wall Street has started to notice. Recreational marijuana is now legal in Canada.
  • And even though there is still a federal ban on pot in the United States, Washington has started to loosen some regulations on other products derived from cannabis, including hemp, following the recent passage of the Farm Bill.

By Paul R. La Monica, CNN Business

New York (CNN Business)Marijuana is going mainstream and Wall Street has started to notice. Recreational marijuana is now legal in Canada. And even though there is still a federal ban on pot in the United States, Washington has started to loosen some regulations on other products derived from cannabis, including hemp, following the recent passage of the Farm Bill.

Several states have also legalized recreational and medical marijuana. That’s why Vivien Azer of Cowen & Co. is extremely bullish about the prospects for cannabis companies.  

Azer is the first analyst at a major stock research firm to start coverage of cannabis companies. She held a call with reporters on Tuesday to discuss her views on the sector. Azer covers Canada’s Canopy Growth (CGC) and Tilray (TLRY) as well as US-based cannabis packaging maker KushCo (KSHB).   She now thinks the market for cannabis in the United States will reach $80 billion by 2030. That sales potential has already attracted the interest of several alcoholic beverage and tobacco giants seeking growth as booze and cigarette sales slump.  

Marlboro owner Altria invests $1.8 billion in cannabis company Cronos   Beer and wine giant Constellation Brands (STZ), which owns Corona, has made a $4 billion investment in Canopy Growth. Budwesier brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) has a deal to work with Tilray in Canada. And Marlboro maker Altira (MO) recently bought a 45% stake in Canada’s Cronos (CRON).  

Azer expects more deals like this, particularly from the beverage makers. The rationale: Drink companies view cannabis as a product that could lessen demand for beer, wine and hard alcohol, particularly as more US states legalize marijuana.   “Consumers say they cut back on alcohol when they mix alcohol and cannabis,” Azer said during the conference call Tuesday, adding that she would not be surprised to see Diageo (DEO), the maker of Johnnie Walker, Ketel One and Guinness, to eventually make a deal to get into the cannabis market along with other spirits companies.  

Although Azer is predicting strong demand for legal cannabis in Canada, the United States and other parts of the world, she still thinks that many of the pot stocks got ahead of themselves leading up to the legalization of marijuana in Canada in October — and that is why many of them have fallen in the past few months.  

She added that some dispensaries in Canada were faced with shortages of marijuana and also couldn’t handle demand for online orders. Some were forced to delay shipments. That’s led to some choppy sales in the first few weeks since legalization.   “It comes down to fundamentals. So is it surprising to see the cannabis stocks sell off after Canada’s legalization? No. The runup was too far too fast and there were some companies that reported revenue misses,” Azer said.  

A worker collects cuttings from a marijuana plant at the Canopy Growth Corporation facility in Smiths Falls, Ontario.   Azer concedes that the stocks may remain volatile for a bit because they have attracted so much interest from more fickle individual investors, as opposed to big institutions like mutual funds and hedge funds.  

But she argues that the stocks will stabilize once more long-term investors join some of the short-term traders and start buying them. That might happen sooner rather than later as Wall Street recognizes that marijuana is becoming a legitimate consumer product.  

Piper Jaffray initiated coverage on Canopy and Tilray on Wednesday with outperform ratings. Canadian companies Aurora (ACB) and Aphria (APHA) have recently begun listing in the US, too, which means analysts may begin covering them as well.   Source: https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/09/investing/cannabis-stocks-canopy-tilray-alcohol-tobacco-cowen/index.html

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ThreeD Capital Inc. $IDK.ca – The $100B Blockchain Proof Of Concept Hiding In Plain Sight $HIVE.ca $BLOC.ca $CODE.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 2:03 PM on Thursday, January 10th, 2019

SPONSOR: ThreeD Capital Inc. (IDK:CSE) Led by legendary financier, Sheldon Inwentash, ThreeD is a Canadian-based venture capital firm that only invests in best of breed small-cap companies which are both defensible and mass scalable. More than just lip service, Inwentash has financed many of Canada’s biggest small-cap exits. Click Here For More Information.

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The $100B Blockchain Proof Of Concept Hiding In Plain Sight

  • Last year, perceptions of blockchain technology were caught in the crossfire of both cryptocurrency’s swift peak and dramatic plunge.
  • It’s not surprising: cryptocurrency is the first and most visible application of blockchains, and many people think they are one and the same.

Alison McCauley

What’s hiding behind crypto winter? Blockchain development, gathering disruptive energy.Getty

Are you measuring the health of the blockchain industry by the cryptocurrency market? If so, you’re missing the real story.

Last year, perceptions of blockchain technology were caught in the crossfire of both cryptocurrency’s swift peak and dramatic plunge. It’s not surprising: cryptocurrency is the first and most visible application of blockchains, and many people think they are one and the same. It may be convenient and easy to use price or market cap to summarize the industry narrative. But it’s incorrect. The blockchain space is vast, spanning industries, each with different adoption curves and opportunities—and the nuanced value of the nascent technology isn’t reflected in these numbers. In fact, focusing on these metrics obscures what is really happening inside the space, putting execs at risk of developing blind spots that hide potentially disruptive development as it gathers steam.

But as billions poured into cryptocurrency in 2018, we did we learn something meaningful.  The world got a high-stakes proof of concept exploring if blockchains could really be a way to safely transfer digital value from one party to another. Even as large-scale hacks of companies with poor custody practices filled the news, millions of people around the world contributed to a global battle test to see if the technology could safely hold or transfer, at times, well over a hundred billion dollars of digital value in the form of blockchain-driven cryptocurrency. This revealed challenges ahead (the need to evolve consensus and governance mechanisms, improve user experience, and get to regulatory clarity, to name just a few). But it also showed us that yes, blockchains can safely transfer digital value.

So how are businesses reacting? Corporations are paying attention, working hard to understand how this functionality translates to their industry, and how it shapes potential disruption. Here are several insider perspectives on where we are today, and where companies are investing in the technology as we go into 2019:

Jessica Groopman, Industry Analyst and Founding Partner, Kaleido Insights:

The market seems to be entering a winter, as AI did two or three times before its commercial boom. These kinds of shakeouts are ultimately a good thing because they help distinguish fact from fantasy. There are signals that suggest this will be a mild winter, rather than a full hibernation. First, several adjacent spaces that will influence adoption are growing, like AI, encryption techniques, and digital identity management. Second, we see some steps towards mainstreaming, with regulatory actions, consolidation in crypto-exchanges like Coinbase, and virtually all of the world’s largest technology companies building dedicated blockchain-based teams and products. Third, investment is moving away from speculation, such as in ICOs, and towards practical investmentslike smart contracts platforms, data exchanges, and prime use cases. One of most powerful things blockchain has done for business is teach us to think blockchain, i.e. to question the efficacy of centralized processes and think about value chains more strategically.

Brian Lio, CEO of research and advisory firm Smith + Crown:

The current markets are a poor reflection of the actual pace and type of development that is going on right now. We are seeing increasingly large brands and sophisticated multi-national organizations realize this technology has the potential for both disruption and opportunity. They are starting to perceive there is risk in leaving it up to others to figure out first. More and more companies are understanding they need to build their front lines, to understand the power this technology offers so they can start to prepare for or even take a lead in building what a blockchain-influenced future looks like for their particular industry. It’s happening across quite a few industries. Companies are becoming more public about their exploration, but we are also seeing thoughtful, innovative foundational work being done behind the scenes as well.

David Post, Managing Director, IBM Blockchain Ventures

We have a high degree of confidence that 2019 will be the year that enterprise blockchain networks—especially those addressing strategic industry use cases—will begin to emerge at scale. Blockchain business models will continue to mature, with both companies and the venture community helping to shape how these blockchain networks evolve. A variety of compelling concepts are emerging in financial services, supply chain, and media and entertainment. And we will see strategically important networks move to production, as companies partner with startups to solve complex challenges via the improved trust and transparency delivered by blockchains.

Linda Pawczuk, principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP

As we head into 2019, supply chain continues to be one of the largest enterprise applications for the technology—in a recent survey we found 53% of the execs surveyed stated they have ongoing supply chain use cases for blockchain. We’re seeing pharmaceutical companies, logistics providers, retailers, government agencies, and technology firms all working to enhance logistics network visibility via blockchain technology. We’re also seeing increased investment in digital recordation, digital identity and IoT from corporates. In the same survey, greater than 44% claimed to be working on an active use case using blockchain in at least one of these spaces.

Lou Kerner, Founding Partner of venture firm and advisory CryptoOracle:

Shakeouts are a natural part of our economic system.  Economies with no shakeouts are the unhealthy ones.  We’re still in the infrastructure phase of investing, building the rails that the industry will use to grow applications and services, and companies like R3 (enterprise blockchain), Coinbase (trading platform), Circle (finance company), and Ledger (wallet) are still attracting investment. The crypto bulls, like myself, believe crypto is a thing.  The question is less ‘if’, than ‘when’.  The companies getting the most funding today either have rapidly growing user bases or have great teams going after large opportunities, like stablecoins.

These insiders paint a measured counterpoint to the gloom and doom of headlines focused on crypto markets. However, “crypto winter” has certainly impacted blockchain entrepreneurs, with the price drop triggering sometimes fatal collateral damage to young businesses. Smith + Crown’s ICO Tracker shows the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) market chilled from 113 in December 2017 to just three in December 2018 . Poor treasury management practices created cash crises for upstart companies that kept funds in cryptocurrency after an ICO. Consensys and Steemit, two well-known firms in the space, reported layoffs in December while many smaller companies are quietly shutting down.

But as the market plunged, it released another kind of pressure. The misperception of cryptocurrency price as an indicator of blockchain potential had triggered overinflated expectations of blockchain technology. In the (relative) quiet after the fall, blockchain entrepreneurs now have the space in which to explore how to build on last year’s work to create something truly meaningful. From the outside, and next to 2018’s drama, measured but steady progress may feel almost boring. But inside the community, something very exciting continues to brew. It just requires more nuanced perception to see it.

I am the founder and CEO of Unblocked Future, a consultancy that helps executives to drive adoption at the forefront of emerging tech. We help companies communicate their vision, resonate with stakeholders, and activate communities for change. I’m also the author of ‘Unblock…

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mitsubishiheavyindustries/2018/12/11/these-innovative-technologies-are-making-the-steel-industry-more-efficient/#689fcaaeb861

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