Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 6:00 PM on Monday, June 22nd, 2020
SPONSOR: Esports Entertainment Group(GMBL:NASDAQ) – Millions of people from around the world tune in to watch teams of video game players compete with each other. In first quarter 2020, YouTube reported 1.1 billion hours watched, an increase of 13% when compared to fourth quarter 2019. Wagering on Esports is projected to hit $23 BILLION this year although that number will likely be eclipsed due to the recent pandemic. Esports Entertainment Group is the next generation online gambling company designed for the purpose of facilitating as much of this wagering as possible. LEARN MORE.
Esports & Gaming Industry on a Tear
The esports industry is on a tear as very few ways of entertainment are as popular as video games.
“The video game industry is disrupting traditional media and entertainment,†according to VanEck.Â
The world’s 2.7 billion gamers will shell out $159.3 billion on games in 2020, if we go by a forecast by market researcher Newzoo. This marks about 9% year-over-year growth.
By: Sanghamitra Saha
Newzoo also expects gaming revenues of $200.8 billion by 2023 at a compound annual growth rate of 8.3%. The coronavirus pandemic and the resultant stay-at-home trend made it more lucrative for the video gaming industry. The pandemic has caused the cancellation of all sporting events and consumers are indulging in video games or online watching of esports.
Despite no breakout new releases, the month of May saw U.S. spending on hardware, full game sales and accessories touching $977 million, according to industry-tracking firm NPD Group. The figure was 52% higher when compared to a year ago. This was the highest tracked outlays for a May month since the $1.2 billion achieved in May 2008.
Total video game sales so far this year are up about 18% year over year to $5.48 billion. Revenues from video game hardware gained 34% year over year while software sales rose 13% year over year. Video game accessories and game cards added 12% year over year.
Apart from this, there is a big market for sports betting. As of 2018, sports betting made up approximately 18% of the $449 billion global gaming market, as measured by gross gaming revenues, or “GGR.†Goldman Sachs expects the online sports betting market to increase 7.1% per annum from 2018 to 2022.
Regulated sports betting is currently legal in several European countries, Australia and Mexico. In the United States, legalization is enacted at the state level. On a country level, Brazil and India are moving toward likely regulation.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 5:53 PM on Thursday, June 18th, 2020
SPONSOR: Esports Entertainment Group(GMBL:NASDAQ) – Millions of people from around the world tune in to watch teams of video game players compete with each other. In first quarter 2020, YouTube reported 1.1 billion hours watched, an increase of 13% when compared to fourth quarter 2019. Wagering on Esports is projected to hit $23 BILLION this year although that number will likely be eclipsed due to the recent pandemic. Esports Entertainment Group is the next generation online gambling company designed for the purpose of facilitating as much of this wagering as possible. LEARN MORE.
Why the Olympics should add Esports
The IOC should act fast, though. It won’t be long until esports figures this whole thing out and once they do, the Olympic games won’t have anything to offer this emerging media powerhouse.
I recently sat on a panel for gaming website Pocket Gamer that was focused on esports and the Olympics. We were debating whether esports were filling the gap in sporting events, including the Olympic games, which have been paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was an interesting conversation that started out like most esports panels. The only difference here is that instead of the typical question, “When will esports catch up to traditional sports?†it was, “Will esports become mainstream enough to make it into the Olympics?†A slightly different question, but the same sentiment: The international games are one of televised sports’ marquee events, and esports companies hope to earn a seat at the grown-up’s table.
In truth, the Olympics have been dropping in ratings relatively steadily in the U.S. for a long time. The only Olympic games that scored in the top five ratings going back to 1992 were the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, presumably because they were held in the United States. Overall, viewership has been declining in recent years and the games don’t hold the prestige they once did.
I doubt it would surprise anyone to learn that the average age of almost all traditional sports viewership skews older than esports’ audience. Even then, I think the actual data will be quite surprising. Only one professional sport (women’s tennis) actually saw its average viewers age come down in the last decade or so. Even in that context, the average age of a Women’s Tennis Association home spectator is 55 years old.
The average age of esports viewership looks to be around 26 years old. Think about that from a marketer’s perspective. Traditional sports are just missing young people, by a wide margin.
Where are the kids?
But there are more factors at play than just a lack of interest from millennials and Gen Z driving this trend: There’s also a question of access.
The IOC made the decision in recent years to stream the Olympics (the way most younger people consume content), but it capped the ability to watch online to 30 minutes if viewers didn’t sign in with their cable company (a relationship many millennials don’t have) to continue watching.
Additionally, the IOC made the laughable decision to “ban†GIFs with the press covering the event, which qualifies as one of the more stupid things a governing body has ever tried to do. First, it won’t work. Secondly, and more to the point, it demonstrates how out of touch the IOC is with the ways in which media has evolved in the last 20 years.
However, unlike the Olympics, where no corporation owns the rights to volleyball or the pole vault, all esports companies own the IP associated with the game itself. That means, by default, the IOC would not have carte blanche when making decisions about how to represent the games, programming, licensing rights and other factors it has enjoyed for a long time.
Finally, it’s worth noting that the IOC doesn’t like the idea of “violent†games being added to the Olympic roster. It would prefer to see current sports transformed into virtual competitions. But anyone who knows anything about esports understands that this isn’t how esports works. Before a game ascends to esports royalty, it needs to be a good game. If nobody plays it, it’s unlikely anyone will want to watch it.
Secondly, it has be digestible as a viewing experience. World of Warcraft Arena is a game that draws a lot of players, but it’s almost impossible to know what is going on unless you’re an expert at the game or you have a godly shoutcaster who can translate the on-screen action. You can’t make track and field an esport and hope audiences will want to watch.
The IOC Solution
The IOC has taken steps to try and stave off declining youth viewership trends by adopting sports considered “young†in the past few years. Five sports recently added to the Olympic games include:
Sport climbing
Surfing
Skateboarding
Karate
Baseball/softball
The baseball/softball addition notwithstanding, I think you would have to live under a rock if you thought that competitive sport climbing held a candle to Fortnite or League of Legends in terms of generating youth interest. Frankly, this seems like an idea that came from an old person trying to find a way to “get the kids back.â€
To the IOC’s credit, it has begun to hold panels and conferences with esports experts and game publishers, but the deals that will come from these will look REALLY different than what they are used to. It seems to me that we have a long way to go here.
For my part of the panel, I argued that the Olympics need esports much more than esports need the Olympics. Media companies are only going to overpay for broadcasting rights for traditional sports for so long. At some point, someone is going to notice that the “inside the demo†group isn’t there and move on.
The thing that esports CAN get from the Olympics is understanding a better way to monetize its audience, something that the Olympics do well and esports doesn’t do well right now. A report from Goldman Sachs shows the audience size and monetization based on that audience, showing that esports dramatically underindex on monetization relative to their more established sports league equivalents. It is clear that esports is immature from a monetization perspective and, while the Olympics aren’t on this chart, I would assume that it punches WAY above its weight, much like MLB does, trading on its reputation more than on actual results these days.
The IOC should act fast, though. It won’t be long until esports figures this whole thing out and once they do, the Olympic games won’t have anything to offer this emerging media powerhouse.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, June 17th, 2020
SPONSOR: Esports Entertainment Group(GMBL:NASDAQ) – Millions of people from around the world tune in to watch teams of video game players compete with each other. In first quarter 2020, YouTube reported 1.1 billion hours watched, an increase of 13% when compared to fourth quarter 2019. Wagering on Esports is projected to hit $23 BILLION this year although that number will likely be eclipsed due to the recent pandemic. Esports Entertainment Group is the next generation online gambling company designed for the purpose of facilitating as much of this wagering as possible. LEARN MORE.
Video games, esports ‘skyrocket’ in popularity during pandemic
With people stuck at home, gaming companies report record sales and unprecedented engagement time
Game spending totalled a record-breaking $10.5 billion US in April 2020, according to Nielsen’s SuperData
That same month, gamers scrambled like never before to buy hardware, like the new Nintendo Switch, Xbox Ones, and PlayStation 4s, according to NPD Group, an industry tracking firm
As an avid gamer, 38-year-old Steve Vomacka would often play the video game Fortnite, a multiplayer shooter game, for an hour each day just to unwind after work.
That was before the COVID-19 pandemic, back when Vomacka still had a job at a Saskatoon autobody shop, access to his kickboxing gym and fun places to take his three kids.
The unemployed father has tripled his gaming time in search of a “release” ever since pandemic restrictions came into effect in March.
“I wake up in the morning. I play some video games while I’m eating breakfast, then I do some of my [school] work, then go back to playing video games. Do a quick work-out; more video games,” Vomacka said, with a chuckle. “It’s a good escape for me.”
The shuttering of businesses and schools forced millions of existing and would-be gamers to stay home, prompting a spike in demand for what is already one of the most popular forms of entertainment on the planet and a multi-billion dollar industry. People aren’t just buying and playing games like never before, they’re also tuning in as spectators to stream highly-skilled players do battle in various esports, also known as competitive gaming.
It’s about escapism and curing boredom; it’s also about seeking connection.
Game spending totalled a record-breaking $10.5 billion US in April 2020, according to Nielsen’s SuperData. That same month, gamers scrambled like never before to buy hardware, like the new Nintendo Switch, Xbox Ones, and PlayStation 4s, according to NPD Group, an industry tracking firm.
Blockbuster games like Nintendo’s Animal Crossing and Playstation 4’s Final Fantasy VII Remake, both released during the pandemic, have soared in popularity, and there’s much anticipation for the PS4 action-adventure game The Last of Us Part II, set for release on June 19. Caption New Horizons, the latest game in Nintendo’s Animal Crossing series, launched in late March on the Switch gaming console — just as many people around the world were settling into quarantine. (Nintendo)
Websites that track gaming activity reported a record number of concurrent players and spectators in March and April, with numbers dipping slightly from that peak in more recent weeks.
“As people have been forced indoors, usage has skyrocketed, popularity has skyrocketed,” said Adrian Montgomery, CEO of Enthusiast Gaming, a video game media and eSports company in Toronto.
Enthusiast Gaming is reporting a “dramatic surge” in traffic — up 25 to 40 per cent — on its gaming-related websites and YouTube channels since early March. Montgomery said the pandemic hasn’t increased how many gamers it serves — about 160 million unique visitors a month — but rather how much time existing gamers are spending on their hobby.
Video games are the new social network. It’s how you make friends. It’s how you connect with your friends every night.
– Adrian Montgomery, CEO of Enthusiast Gaming
“They have doubled down on their passion through the pandemic and just spent more and more and more time on our sites,” Montgomery said.
Noodlecake Studios, a Saskatoon-based mobile gaming company that develops and publishes video games, is reporting a 20 per cent boost in free downloads in March and April. In-game analytics also reveal that people are playing much longer than usual.
The company, best known for its free golf creations Super Stickman Golf and Golf Blitz, makes its money from sustained use and in-game purchases. Ryan Holowaty, Noodlecake’s head of marketing, said he’ll be watching to see whether new players stick around long-term.
“The longer that a player stays within a game the more likely they are to purchase items because they like it and they want to keep playing,” he said. So, you can see kind of a direct tie to to the engagement of a player to the revenue.”
Social connection
Industry insiders and analysts seem to agree that while gamers want to game, the surge in popularity during the pandemic is directly related to people’s desire for human connection.
“Video games are the new social network. It’s how you make friends. It’s how you connect with your friends every night,” Enthusiast Gaming’s Montgomery said. “As young people, like all of us, have been unable to meet up in person they’ve been able to continue to meet up online over video games.” Caption Saskatoon father Steve Vomacka likes to play outdoors with his three children, but finds his strongest connection with his son Harley, 10, comes online through video games. (Submitted by Steve Vomacka )
Steve Vomacka is proof of that.
He lives in a downtown Saskatoon apartment and teams up online with his 10-year-old son Harley, who lives with his mother in the suburbs, to play Fortnite together from their separate locations. They talk and laugh on headsets, and often play with Harley’s friends.
“Video games is totally Harley’s thing. So that’s how him and I connect,” Vomacka ​​​​said. “I’ve also had a chance to play with his friends, and get to know them, and I wouldn’t have had this opportunity if it wasn’t for, unfortunately, the coronavirus.”
‘The show has gone on’
Esports has continued at a time when other professional sports have been suspended.
Large in-person events, such as esports championships staged in packed stadiums, have been cancelled. However, video game competitions are better positioned to return to their online roots than other professional sports leagues, said Montgomery, whose company owns several professional esports teams.
Esports betting has taken off even more during the pandemic, he added.
“The show has gone on,” said Montgomery. “Esports has filled a void for content right now for sports content.” Caption Fans look on at Seattle’s KeyArena during the 2017 edition of the International Seattle gaming competition. These in-person esports competitions are on hold at the moment. (Elaine Thompson / The Associated Press)
Professional players compete for cash prizes and earn additional revenue from sponsorship and social media.
University of Regina computer science professor David Gerhard has observed that people have been drawn to esports that highlight other professional sports which have been suspended — including NASCAR, football, soccer, and hockey.
I dropped out of university to pursue it. So I kinda got to give it my best​​​​​​.
– Travis Letwiniuk, aspiring professional gamer
Gerhard said esports competitions are likely the only high-level sporting events which can “carry on more or less unchanged with the distancing restrictions.”
That’s what aspiring pro-gamer Travis Letwiniuk is counting on.
The Saskatoon man’s skill at Overwatch, a team-based multiplayer shooter game, earned him a full scholarship to play on Harrisburg University’s esports varsity team in Pennsylvania in 2018. Letwiniuk competed on stage in front of cheering crowds in LAN events, where multiple players connect on a local area network (LAN) to compete in the same location.
In May, after the pandemic was well under way, Letwiniuk decided to move home to Canada to pursue a career as a professional gamer. He was confident that esports competitions would continue with online tournaments. The biggest challenges so far have been internet speeds and time zone differences.
“I’m really hoping that esports just takes off … I’m hoping to see it more on television, more on radio being broadcast with commentators, like hockey or football,” he said. Saskatoon’s Travis Letwiniuk moved to Pennsylvania in 2018 to join the Harrisburg University’s esports varsity team. Now he’s decided to quit university in order to try to go pro. (Submitted by Travis Letwiniuk )
Letwiniuk — who goes by “AutumnSouls” in Overwatch — plays for 10 to 12 hours a day in his Calgary apartment.
“I dropped out of university to pursue it. So I kinda got to give it my best,” he said. “It’s basically a full-time job in terms of hours. The money’s not there just yet.”
Steve Vomacka’s aspirations are more simple.
Even after he returns to work, he plans to carve out enough playing time to stay connected with his children.
The only problem?
He said his son, Harley, and his son’s friends are spending so much time playing video games at the moment that he can’t keep up.
“I can tell their skill level has gone up way higher. Like, before I was getting whooped a little bit by the younger generation, and now I’m really getting whooped.”
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 7:09 AM on Thursday, June 11th, 2020
Announce the appointment of Argyll Entertainment senior executives Stuart Tilly and Dan Marks as its Corporate Secretary and Chief Financial Officer, respectively
Stuart is the Co-Founder and CEO of Argyll Entertainment, the UKGC licensed operator of SportNation.bet, operating exclusively in the UK and Ireland since August 2017
Dan has spent 18 years in financial and operational leadership roles, predominantly in corporate banking, as COO for the UK Coverage team at Barclays in London and as CFO for US Large Corporates and MMEs at HSBC in New York.
BIRKIRKARA, Malta, June 11, 2020 — Esports Entertainment Group, Inc. (NasdaqCM: GMBL, GMBLW) (the “Companyâ€), a licensed online gambling company with a focus on esports wagering and 18+ gaming, is pleased to announce the appointment of Argyll Entertainment senior executives Stuart Tilly and Dan Marks as its Corporate Secretary and Chief Financial Officer, respectively.
“We’re excited to officially welcome Stuart and Dan to the Esports Entertainment team,†said Grant Johnson, CEO. “As CEO and CFO of Argyll Entertainment, they have proven their ability to execute in our industry, growing the business from start-up to $12 million in revenue annually in just a few short years. As we continue to ramp the Vie.gg platform this experience will be invaluable.”
Stuart is the Co-Founder and CEO of Argyll Entertainment, the UKGC licensed operator of SportNation.bet, operating exclusively in the UK and Ireland since August 2017. Stuart is a practising UK solicitor, having trained and qualified at international Magic Circle law firm, Allen & Overy. Having held in-house legal roles with various blue-chip gaming companies since 2005, Stuart established the iGaming Counsel in 2012, a legal, regulatory and commercial advisory service for the gaming industry. Additionally, Stuart was the founder of FLIP Sports, a social fantasy mobile games developer providing real-time second screen gaming experiences for live sport and was a co-founder of the International Social Games Association.
Dan has spent 18 years in financial and operational leadership roles, predominantly in corporate banking, as COO for the UK Coverage team at Barclays in London and as CFO for US Large Corporates and MMEs at HSBC in New York. Dan entered the gaming industry in 2016, when he became CFO of Argyll Entertainment.
“I am delighted to be joining Esports Entertainment at such an exciting time, after becoming the first online e-sports betting company to list on NASDAQ. I look forward to working with the strong leadership team and assisting the Company in achieving its strategic and financial goals,’’ commented Marks.
Tilly added, “Esports Entertainment is ideally positioned to capitalize on a wealth of opportunities as growth in the esports industry continues to gain momentum. I am excited to be part of the team and look forward to my role in building a leading global brand.â€
ABOUT ESPORTS ENTERTAINMENT GROUP
Esports Entertainment Group, Inc. is a licensed online gambling company with a specific focus on esports wagering and 18+ gaming. The Company holds a license to conduct online gambling and 18+ gaming on a global basis in Malta and Curacao, Kingdom of the Netherlands and is able to accept wagers from over 149 jurisdictions including Canada, Japan, Germany and South Africa. Esports Entertainment offers fantasy, pools, fixed odds and 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 maintains offices in Malta. 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:
U.S. Investor Relations RedChip Companies, Inc. Dave Gentry 407-491-4498 [email protected]
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 12:04 PM on Tuesday, June 9th, 2020
SPONSOR: Esports Entertainment Group(GMBL:NASDAQ) – Millions of people from around the world tune in to watch teams of video game players compete with each other. In first quarter 2020, YouTube reported 1.1 billion hours watched, an increase of 13% when compared to fourth quarter 2019. Wagering on Esports is projected to hit $23 BILLION this year although that number will likely be eclipsed due to the recent pandemic. Esports Entertainment Group is the next generation online gambling company designed for the purpose of facilitating as much of this wagering as possible. LEARN MORE.
BoomTV raises $10 million for its esports livestreaming platform
BoomTV has raised $10 million for its livestreaming platform for automating esports event production
The company says it makes it much easier to watch and create amateur esports online events from any point of view that the viewer chooses, on any device
BoomTV has raised $10 million for its livestreaming platform for automating esports event production. The company says it makes it much easier to watch and create amateur esports online events from any point of view that the viewer chooses, on any device.
The Redwood City-based BoomTV has built a platform that enables organizers to create and manage their own events, particularly smaller community events.
The company launched the BoomTV platform on the strength of the Code Red pro-amateur esports series. Boom.tv wants to make it easier to produce high-quality production of esports events and help the underserved community of civic groups, youth sports organizations, and school clubs share competitions with their audiences.
BoomTV runs a popular biweekly event series called Code Red, which reaches millions of monthly users. Top influencers participate from YouTube and Twitch, and that helps it aggregate tens of millions of watched minutes for its events. Additionally, influencers used the platform to run their own community gaming events every week.VB Transform 2020 Online – July 15-17. Join leading AI executives: Register for the free livestream.
“The whole beauty of it is that it’s all virtual,†said CEO Samir Gupta in an interview with GamesBeat. “And nobody is actually catering to the smallest communities. We have a long way to go, but it’s just a huge market. We’ve got a lot of momentum with what we were building, with a lot of influencers participating in the events.â€
Previously, BoomTV acquired the American Video Game League in a move to expand collegiate esports. The AVGL is one of the largest producers of collegiate esports events, content, and community initiatives.
Gupta said the round was oversubscribed, meaning the company raised more money than it asked for. Bitkraft Esports Ventures led the round, with participation from PTW and Crest Capital. The most popular games are League of Legends, Fortnite, and Call of Duty: Warzone.
The company will continue to invest in the Code Red ProAm series by increasing its prize pools and establishing long-term relationships with top gaming influencers. It will also invest in original esports programming. Over the last 12 months, the Code Red series has averaged 2.7 million unique viewers, and it has more than 4 million fans across social platforms. Players have earned more than $3.9 million in cash across 11,000 events since the fall of 2018. More than 75,000 content creators and 1,600 college programs are using Boom.tv.
Hypothetically, a local YMCA group could challenge a local fire department in a Fortnite tournament to help raise funds for the group’s travel fund. They could jump on Boom to set the event, register players, and enable score-tracking. Parents, family members, and community leaders could watch, share, and support the cause.
These small-scale events are the backbone of the competitive gaming movement and Boom is dedicated to simplifying the hosting experience across platforms like Mixer or YouTube.
The company has 24 employees. It makes money from sponsorships for its biggest events. The pandemic has helped the company grow, as players are turning to games while sheltering in place.
“We are lucky to be able to grow momentum now,†Gupta said.
In the past month, the company has seen 11% growth in viewership, and growth among influencers has grown, Gupta said.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 7:06 AM on Tuesday, June 9th, 2020
Announced the receipt of approximately $4,375,000 from the exercise of warrants
Combined with the Company’s press release on May 26, in which the Company announced the receipt of approximately $1,860,000 from the exercise of warrants, the Company has received an aggregate of approximately $6,235,000 as of June 8, 2020 from the exercise of warrants by investors participating in the Company’s IPO.
BIRKIRKARA, Malta, June 09, 2020 — Esports Entertainment Group, Inc. (NasdaqCM: GMBL, GMBLW) (or the “Companyâ€), a licensed online gambling company with a focus on esports wagering and 18+ gaming, is pleased to announce the receipt of approximately $4,375,000 from the exercise of warrants.
TOTAL WARRANT EXERCISE SINCE IPO TOTAL APPROXIMATELY $6.2 MILLION
Investors participating in the Esports Entertainment Group’s public offering of securities, which was consummated on April 14, 2020 (the “April Offeringâ€), exercised a total of 1,029,393 warrants at a price of $4.25 per share for gross proceeds of approximately $4,375,000 since May 22, 2020.
Combined with the Company’s press release on May 26, in which the Company announced the receipt of approximately $1,860,000 from the exercise of warrants, the Company has received an aggregate of approximately $6,235,000 as of June 8, 2020 from the exercise of warrants by investors participating in the Company’s IPO.
“Today’s announcement significantly bolsters our financial strength and resources necessary to execute our business plan,†said Grant Johnson, CEO of Esports Entertainment Group. “The continued support and confidence of our valued shareholders is deeply appreciated as we aggressively pursue our growth strategy in 2020 and beyond.”
ABOUT ESPORTS ENTERTAINMENT GROUP
Esports Entertainment Group, Inc. is a licensed online gambling company with a specific focus on esports wagering and 18+ gaming. The Company holds a license to conduct online gambling and 18+ gaming on a global basis in Malta and Curacao, Kingdom of the Netherlands and is able to accept wagers from over 149 jurisdictions including Canada, Japan, Germany and South Africa. Esports Entertainment offers fantasy, pools, fixed odds and 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 maintains offices in Malta. 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:
U.S. Investor Relations RedChip Companies, Inc. Dave Gentry 407-491-4498 [email protected]
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 2:47 PM on Monday, June 8th, 2020
SPONSOR: Esports Entertainment Group(GMBL:NASDAQ) – Millions of people from around the world tune in to watch teams of video game players compete with each other. In first quarter 2020, YouTube reported 1.1 billion hours watched, an increase of 13% when compared to fourth quarter 2019. Wagering on Esports is projected to hit $23 BILLION this year although that number will likely be eclipsed due to the recent pandemic. Esports Entertainment Group is the next generation online gambling company designed for the purpose of facilitating as much of this wagering as possible. LEARN MORE.
Esports will take over from traditional sports as No. 1 user acquisition channel for gambling companies
By: Quentin Martin
– As Luckbox is preparing to become the second public-listed esports betting company, Martin told Yogonet major gambling companies need esports bettors so they can acquire the younger generations
-The firm is planning some acquisitions related to odds creation, and it is working on B2B deals expected to be announced in the next three to six months.
With almost all traditional sporting events interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and land-based casinos forced to shut down for months in several jurisdictions worldwide, the esports industry emerged as one the few sectors to thrive, as it is able to continue online. Esports betting platform Luckbox, for instance, said last month that their total bets were up 500% since lockdown started.
Quentin Martin is the CEO at Luckbox, which is preparing to go public on the TSX Venture Exchange, a stock exchange in Canada, after signing a letter of intent with capital pool company Elephant Hill. Martin has also held different management positions at The Stars Group for over 8 years.
“There are more people at home, playing games again, using games to reconnect with their friends,†he told Yogonet in a video interview. He said one of the big trends in that sense is the rise of FIFA and NBA2K, which made up less than 1% of the betting volume before the crisis, and now represent between 10 and 20% depending on the operator. He believes this comes from traditional sports bettors, as they immigrate across games they recognize easier to bet on. After the crisis, he says those games could decrease a little bit, but the rest will stay flat and continue to grow according to the pre-pandemic rate.
Watch the full interview with Luckbox CEO Quentin Martin:
Regarding the esports gaming integrity issues, Martin thinks this has always been overinflated in the esports space because it is new. However, he acknowledges that during the pandemic, with the tournaments being held mostly online rather than at LANs and large arenas, there could be a slight increase in the risk of integrity issues.
As for the key reasons to go public and become the second public-listed esports betting company, he said they want to do some acquisitions, and as odds creation is the only segment Luckbox doesn’t do in-house right now, they are in talks and hope to make some announcement in the next three or six months in that sense.
Martin underlined the technology challenges major gambling companies face and he said they need esports bettors so they can acquire the younger generations. In that sense, he hopes to announce a B2B deal in the next three or six months, “not many, maybe two or three, with some of the largest players in the gambling space to become their bespoke partners on deep integrations, and we’ll grow from there.â€
Martin also shared what he believes will be the biggest trend in the coming years: “Esports will take over from traditional sports. It certainly will with regards to user acquisition, for traditional gambling companies, it’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when,” Martin said. He believes esports will become the number one user acquisition channel somewhere in the next five to ten years, “probably nearer to five.”
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 12:48 PM on Friday, June 5th, 2020
SPONSOR: Esports Entertainment Group(GMBL:NASDAQ) – Millions of people from around the world tune in to watch teams of video game players compete with each other. In first quarter 2020, YouTube reported 1.1 billion hours watched, an increase of 13% when compared to fourth quarter 2019. Wagering on Esports is projected to hit $23 BILLION this year although that number will likely be eclipsed due to the recent pandemic. Esports Entertainment Group is the next generation online gambling company designed for the purpose of facilitating as much of this wagering as possible. LEARN MORE.
Esports: Macroeconomic Trends
Covid-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on most industries, but has been largely beneficial to esports
A prompt transition into online formats has allowed them to weather the impact of the virus. As traditional sporting events remain on hold, prominent sports clubs and celebrities have taken to esports to keep in touch with fans online and raise funds for charity
This has pushed esports further into the mainstream and brought it to the attention of a wider audience
COVID-19
The Covid-19 outbreak of 2020 has led to the cancellation of dozens of esports events, with many more postponed indefinitely. Some events are moving online to mitigate the spread of the disease. ESL’s CS: GO Pro League, Riot Games’ League of Legends championships, Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty League, and Take-Two Interactive’s NBA 2K League are all being launched in online formats. EA is also adopting the same approach for Apex Legend, FIFA, and Madden events. Epic Games and Activision Blizzard are already working on latency optimisation for Fortnite and Overwatch, which are played by teams and franchises from different regions.
Prize pools
A whopping $216m in esports prize money was awarded in 2019, according to Esports Earnings. The industry looks certain to eclipse this record in 2020. This creates a virtuous circle whereby large prize pools attract bigger and better teams, which leads to greater audiences, which leads to more ad sales, which leads to more sponsorship, which results in bigger prize pools.
Franchise leagues
Activision Blizzard and Riot Games launched the first esports franchise leagues in 2018, replicating the traditional sports business model. The model helps developers to retain complete control over their intellectual property (IP), including games, league structure, rules, policies, partnerships, and profit. It provides stability for investors, as it shields contests from independent organisers. Franchise leagues usually feature a fixed set of teams, helping advertisers to target specific groups of customers that are loyal to the game and certain players or teams. NBA 2K League, a partnership between NBA and Take-Two Interactive, replicates the traditional league format featuring playoffs, trades, and drafts, aiming to unite the online and offline audiences of the NBA.
Investments
Esports garnered $4.5bn in investments in 2018, mostly driven by venture capital firms and high net worth individuals, according to figures from Deloitte. As both industry revenues and audience figures continue to grow rapidly, private equity (PE) firms are gaining confidence in esports. Between 2014 and 2017, according to Deloitte, PE groups made four esports investments, which grew to 11 in 2018.
Traditional sports
Traditional sports clubs, including America’s NFL, NBA, NHL, and more than ten European football clubs, have entered esports in pursuit of new fans. In 2020, with most live sporting events cancelled due to Covid-19, players from across the sporting world are taking to digital platforms to engage with fans. The La Liga Santander Challenge, a FIFA 20 tournament featuring 18 La Liga teams, attracted over one million online viewers in March 2020. Meanwhile, footballers like Mesut Özil, Sead Kolašinac, and Julian Draxler are playing Fortnite and broadcasting live streams of their sessions.
Viewership
An estimated 646 million people will watch esports online by 2023, up from 443 million in 2019, according to Newzoo. Given the scale of this audience, it is no surprise that media channels and advertisers are rushing into esports. Esports does lack standardised viewership measurement metrics, which could be a long-term concern for stakeholders looking to identify consumer trends, implement new monetisation models, and analyse return on investment (ROI). To address this issue, esports organisers ESL and DreamHack partnered with Nielsen to develop standardised metrics for measuring esports viewing.
Broadcasting
The esports gold rush has sparked competition among streaming platforms like Twitch, YouTube, and Mixer. Intensifying the competition is growing interest in esports from mainstream channels, such as ESPN, NBC, TBS, and Movistar. Over the next two years, with the entry of AT&T’s WarnerMedia, Comcast’s Xfinity, and Verizon’s Fios, the existing streaming platforms, especially Twitch and YouTube, could lose market share. Mixer, on the other hand, could face an existential threat due to its already low popularity.
DouYu, the Chinese streaming giant that completed an IPO in 2019, is expected to target the North American and European markets in 2020. With exclusive streaming rights for 30 major tournaments in China, DouYu will dominate domestically, ahead of Huya, Youku (Alibaba), and Egame (Tencent). YouTube’s acquisition of multi-year live-streaming rights for the Overwatch League and Call of Duty League starting 2020, and Mixer’s deal with influential streamers, like Ninja and Shroud, to broadcast exclusively on the platform are the early examples of the trend.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 5:00 PM on Thursday, June 4th, 2020
SPONSOR: Esports Entertainment Group(GMBL:NASDAQ) – Millions of people from around the world tune in to watch teams of video game players compete with each other. In first quarter 2020, YouTube reported 1.1 billion hours watched, an increase of 13% when compared to fourth quarter 2019. Wagering on Esports is projected to hit $23 BILLION this year although that number will likely be eclipsed due to the recent pandemic. Esports Entertainment Group is the next generation online gambling company designed for the purpose of facilitating as much of this wagering as possible. LEARN MORE.
6 Highest-Paying Esports Games Of 2020 So Far
Despite the world grinding to a halt, esports continues to thrive
In 2019, global revenue from esports topped $1billion and with the popularity of competitive increasing, gamers and sponsors continue to see the benefits
Though many big tournaments have been cancelled, the gaming goes on at home and viewing figures are rising each month.
New research from esports betting company Unikrn has revealed the biggest esports of 2020 so far by prize money won**.
1. DOTA 2
Prize money (2020): $6,000,000
Tournaments: 54
Average prize: $111,111
Prize money (all-time): $224,300,000
The highest-paid game in esports continues to lead the way when it comes to prize money in 2020.
Last year, the game offloaded $52million in prize money with The International 2019 contributing to $34.3million of that.
Winning team OG picked up $15.6million between their five members, each taking home more than Tiger Woods at the 2019 Masters ($2.07million)
2. CS:GO
Prize money (2020): $4,900,000
Tournaments: 96
Average prize: $51,042
Prize money (all-time): $96,200,000
The most active game in 2020, CS:GO has had tournaments going out almost every week.
Since the start of the year, the average number of Twitch viewers watching streamers and matches has almost tripled from 45,000 viewers in January to 120,000 viewers in April.
3. Rainbow Six Siege
Prize money (2020): $4,000,000
Tournaments: 18
Average prize: $222,222
Prize money (all-time): $12,100,000
This year’s Six Invitational 2020 in February saw a $3million prize pot, higher than any previous year.
Despite being released in 2015, Rainbow Six Siege’s popularity continues to grow.
As of this month, the game has surpassed 60 millions players worldwide.
4. League of Legends
Prize money (2020): $2,900,000
Tournaments: 26
Average prize: $111,538
Prize money (all-time): $75,600,000
The real-time strategy game developed by Riot Games is the fourth highest-paying game in history with over $75million in prize money.
The publisher announced last month that it was having to cancel this year’s Mid-Season Invitational (MSI), the game’s second largest international annual event.
However, fans will be excited for the start of the LPL that begins this weekend.
5. Rocket League
Prize money (2020): $1,500,000
Tournaments: 17
Average prize: $88,235
Prize money (all-time): $8,900,000
Rocket League has recently stepped into the mainstream with the BBC broadcasting the European Spring Series last month.
Previously, Season 9 of the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) saw almost $1million paid out across the tournament from February to April.
6. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG)
Prize money (2020): $1,500,000
Tournaments: 21
Average prize: $71,429
Prize money (all-time): $22,000,000
Another esport that has had to cancel a big tournament. In PUBG’s case, the PGS 2020 in Berlin was set to go ahead in April.
The creators have since committed to hosting four events around the world in 2020 as long as it adheres to government advice.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 8:37 AM on Thursday, June 4th, 2020
Appointed Damian Mathews, who was elected to the Company’s Board of Directors on June 3, 2020, as Chairman of its Audit Committee
Mathews, who served as Chief Financial Officer of the Qatar and Abu Dhabi Investment Company, brings more than 25 years of experience to his role at Esports Entertainment Group
BIRKIRKARA, Malta, June 04, 2020 — Esports Entertainment Group, Inc. (NasdaqCM: GMBL, GMBLW) (or the “Companyâ€), a licensed online gambling company with a focus on esports wagering and 18+ gaming, appointed Damian Mathews, who was elected to the Company’s Board of Directors on June 3, 2020, as Chairman of its Audit Committee.
Mathews, who served as Chief Financial Officer of the Qatar and Abu Dhabi Investment Company, brings more than 25 years of experience to his role at Esports Entertainment Group. Previously, Mathews was a Director at NZ Pacific Investments Ltd and held senior finance positions with Commonwealth Bank of Australia Group, ABN AMRO, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Credit Suisse First Boston. Mathews began his career at KPMG in London where he qualified as a chartered accountant after earning a Bachelor of Science in economics and politics from the University of Bristol.
“We are excited to welcome Damian to our team at this important point in Esports Entertainment’s continued evolution,†commented Grant Johnson, CEO of Esports Entertainment Group. “His wealth of experience in finance, garnered over the last 25 years at major financial institutions, will provide immeasurable benefit as we scale operations and grow our institutional shareholder base.â€
Mathews stated, “I am delighted to be joining the Board of Esports Entertainment Group at such a pivotal and exciting time in the company’s development. Following the NASDAQ listing the company is in a great position to build out and expand its platform and service offerings across international markets. As a Board member and Chair of the Audit Committee I look forward to providing leadership, support and oversight to the talented team at Esports Entertainment Group.â€
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 fantasy, pools, fixed odds and 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 a license to conduct online gambling and 18+ gaming on a global basis in Curacao, Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Company maintains offices in Malta. 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:
U.S. Investor Relations RedChip Companies, Inc. Dave Gentry 407-491-4498 [email protected]
Caption New Horizons, the latest game in Nintendo’s Animal Crossing series, launched in late March on the Switch gaming console — just as many people around the world were settling into quarantine. (Nintendo)
Caption Saskatoon father Steve Vomacka likes to play outdoors with his three children, but finds his strongest connection with his son Harley, 10, comes online through video games. (Submitted by Steve Vomacka )
Caption Fans look on at Seattle’s KeyArena during the 2017 edition of the International Seattle gaming competition. These in-person esports competitions are on hold at the moment. (Elaine Thompson / The Associated Press)
Saskatoon’s Travis Letwiniuk moved to Pennsylvania in 2018 to join the Harrisburg University’s esports varsity team. Now he’s decided to quit university in order to try to go pro. (Submitted by Travis Letwiniuk )