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With content consumption patterns changing, the #NHL continues to embrace #Esports with Player Gaming Challenge – SPONSOR Esports Entertainment Group $GMBL $TECHF $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $FDM.ca $TNA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 1:00 PM on Friday, May 1st, 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.

With content consumption patterns changing, the NHL continues to embrace eSports with Player Gaming Challenge

  • One of the major things marking the 21st century is a radical shift in the way people consume their entertainment
  • Sports are no different, with eSports video streaming being the main way NASCAR, NBA, and NHL fans have been getting their fixes this spring

by Mike Usinger

It’s not lost on the National Hockey League brain trust that the world we once knew has changed in dramatic ways. And we’re not just talking about what will be remembered as one of the most culture-shifting periods in the history of humankind.

One of the major things marking the 21st century is a radical shift in the way people consume their entertainment. Music is all about streaming, after decades of vinyl, CDs, cassettes, and 8-tracks. There’s no need to head to the video store or multiplex when you’ve got Apple TV, Netflix, and Amazon Prime. And why spring for Nancy Silverton’s Breads From the La Brea Bakery when YouTube will walk you through every step of making sourdough?

Sports are no different, with eSports video streaming being the main way NASCAR, NBA, and NHL fans have been getting their fixes this spring.

Like other major organizations, the NHL has taken our lockdown times and found a positive among the uncertainty.

Last week, the league gave traditional-hockey-starved fans something to get excited about by announcing the Player Gaming Challenge, a four-week charity tournament featuring players from every NHL team—including the Seattle Kraken! (And no, we don’t care if the NHL expansion franchise ends up being named the Seattle Grunge, Seattle Pioneer Squares, or Seattle Microsofties—there’s only one name that counts, and that’s the Kraken!)

But the league’s recognition of the booming world of eSports began long before the Player Gaming Challenge, starting with streamed NHL 20 video versions of cancelled COVID-19 games in mid-March.

When he’s reached by the Straight at his Connecticut home, NHL mobile marketing strategist Chris Golier is excited about how the league has successfully pivoted to eSports.

In some ways the shift isn’t new. Golier notes the ongoing success of the NHL Gaming World Championship, the 2020 version of which got under way on March 11. That’s where hockey-obsessed gamers from around the globe compete in online matches for this year’s pool of $200,000 in prize money.

“The objective, right from the beginning, has been ‘Let’s use this gaming platform as a way to reach the younger fans,’ ” Golier says of the eSports tournament, which is now in its third year. “It’s a touchstone for fandom—some people start to learn the game based on playing the game, and in some cases that’s because of the video game.”

With folks turning to eSports in record numbers to pass the time—think everything from eNASCAR races to NBA2K20 to NHL 20—the challenge became capitalizing on that. Giving hockey fans something to get excited about a time when the Stanley Cup Playoffs would normally be in full swing added an extra incentive.

It was out of this that the Player Gaming Challenge was born. Step one was reaching out to teams, and the response to the tournament was enthusiastic across the board. Fifty players from the 31 existing NHL franchises signed on, with Thatcher Demko and Adam Gaudette eager to represent the Vancouver Canucks.

The Player Gaming Challenge will see players from each team competing head-to-head from their homes, in games viewable on platforms ranging from Twitch, Facebook, and YouTube to television broadcasts on Sportsnet ONE and NBCSN.

Working with its teams as well as the NHL Players’ Association, the NHL had a good idea which players were already active on streaming platforms and social media. A short list of participants includes Ryan Reaves (Vegas Golden Knights), Filip Forsberg (Nashville Predators), Evgeny Kuznetsov (Washington Capitals), and Zach Hyman (Toronto Maple Leafs).

A big goal of the tournament is to engage fans through in-game banter—and if you’ve ever heard players miked up during an on-ice NHL game, you know that what gets said behind the play and between the whistles is fascinating. Considering that participants include the famously colourful likes of the Calgary Flames’ Matthew Tkachuk and his brother Brady from the Ottawa Senators, the NHL 20 gameplay in some ways seems like bonus content.

“The Tkachuk brothers were actually taped over the weekend, and you can imagine there was some good chirping going on,” Golier says with a laugh. “We tried to align the matchups in that way—either there was a common bond where they’d played together in the pros or juniors, or came from the same area and came up together in a province. In some cases we had college teammates. We tried to group them together in that way, so the actual matches themselves would be a whole lot of fun.”

Some games have already been taped for the tournament, which officially starts April 30, and Golier says there’s a major payoff for those who love hockey.

“It gives fans another point of reference for the players,” he suggests. “The players are human—they have families, and they’re in this quarantine together. They’re working out the best they can, much like we’re all trying to get a run in. To see that side of the players they normally don’t see—gaming is the conduit here. It’s the conversation starter, and it also allows the players to get their juices flowing again. They don’t want to lose, even though all this is for fun and for charity.”

And yes, hockey fans aren’t the only big winners of the Honda-sponsored Player Gaming Challenge. NHL 20 game publisher Electronic Arts donated $70,000 to COVID-19 relief as part of the initiative, an amount matched by the NHL.

The important message in a time of crisis is an oft-repeated one: we’re all in this together.

Source: https://www.straight.com/esports/with-content-consumption-patterns-changing-nhl-continues-to-embrace-esports-with-player

Is #Covid19 an opportunity for #Esports to go mainstream? – SPONSOR Esports Entertainment Group $GMBL $TECHF $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $FDM.ca $TNA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 4:48 PM on Wednesday, April 29th, 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.

Is Covid-19 an opportunity for esports to go mainstream?

  • Even though the traditional sports industry has a forecast value of $614 billion in 2022, TV audiences are increasingly dwindling
  • With most eSports largely free to view for fans, is this now an opportunity to push that growth forecast of $180 billion to something even more ambitious?

By: John Griffiths

The current global health crisis caused by the Covid-19 virus has had a major impact on almost every country, industry and person globally. One industry, among many, that has come to a complete halt is sports. Most major sports have either halted, postponed or cancelled their season. Even the pinnacle of global sport, the Olympic Games, has been postponed until 2021.

At a time when the vast majority of the population is confined to their homes, watching live sport on TV would have been a very pleasurable way to while away the extra hours saved on the daily commute. Alas, with all sport cancelled, aside from a few repeats of classic matches or races, there is a void for sports fans.

Is this an opportunity for eSports and online gaming to become more mainstream?

Creating an engaging experience

Whether we are talking football (all forms), F1, basketball, boxing or golf, there are competitions that can be organised and run with real players but using digital balls, clubs and cars. There is still competition, strategy, jeopardy and tension to create fan engagement and excitement. There are also lower costs, far fewer safety issues but also a lack of physicality and combative (non-violent of course) player interaction. Yes, some things are taken away from the real world versions and it’s a different experience, but presented well it can still be an engaging sporting experience.

However, there is another category of eSports or online gaming that for huge swathes of older sports fans has utterly passed them by. We are talking Fortnite, PUBG, League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) to name a few. In the past few years, these games have grown massively around the world and many now hold competitions offering millions of dollars in prize money and attracting audiences of tens of thousands to live events and millions online.

There are star players with huge online followings, PewDiePie with over 100million YouTube and 20 million Instagram followers or Ninja with 23 million YouTube, 15 million Instagram and 14 million Twitch subscribers, for example. Then there are the well organised and well-funded teams such as Team Liquid and OG, training and competing to win these significant prizes. They have major household names as their sponsors, and each have racked up over $30million dollars in prize money alone so far. These players and teams are not teenage geeks in their bedrooms. They are highly skilled professionals running significant operations that easily match the complexity and scale of all but the largest of traditional sports teams.

Aiming high

Unlike traditional sports, these new online gaming environments are not tied down with huge legacy infrastructure, traditionalism and – in too many cases – vested interests and corruption. Despite the market forecast for the gaming industry set to be worth $180 billion in 2021 and almost all the top games and streaming platforms being owned by a small number of large corporations including Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Tencent, they have allowed and supported the games developers and players to lead the direction of development. At the moment, many are adopting a considerably more bottom-up rather than top-down driven approach to the development of their sports.

Even though the traditional sports industry has a forecast value of $614 billion in 2022, TV audiences are increasingly dwindling. This is largely driven by more and more sports appearing on Pay TV and behind a paywall. Subscribers are voting with their dollars and choosing not subscribe and pay to watch, as observed with F1 last year.

With most eSports largely free to view for fans, is this now an opportunity to push that growth forecast of $180 billion to something even more ambitious? After all, most traditional sports have really only grown their value in the last 20 or 30 years with the growth of Pay TV, and if subscribers are turning away at the increased cost but still crave competition and excitement, why shouldn’t eSports fill the gap?

Finding a way to bring this traditional TV audience online with ease of use and a great user experience that is a little TV-like in terms of browsing and discovering content is key. Apps on smart TVs and casting from mobile to TV is probably one way forward and will avoid the TV tax and the enforcement of paywalls. The right marketing and communications plan and key partnerships will be important to reach this new audience.

Whilst we hope the world does not see another global crisis like Covid-19, it may just present an opportunity for eSports to accelerate its growth and find a new audience. An audience that hopefully will see the excitement, exhilaration and enjoyment that younger audiences have enjoyed and nurtured for the last decade or so and that, with that that bit more spending power, will drive harder and faster the growth of eSports.

Source: https://www.v-net.tv/2020/04/29/is-covid-19-an-opportunity-for-esports-to-go-mainstream/

Is the #Esports business immune to COVID-19? – SPONSOR Esports Entertainment Group $GMBL $TECHF $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $FDM.ca $TNA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 6:14 PM on Tuesday, April 28th, 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.

Is the eSports business immune to COVID-19?

  • Where traditional sports are now dark, eSports have become the only competitive field available in the age of social distancing.
  • Worldwide now, people are spending more time playing video games than streaming videos or hanging out on social media sties, a revelation that speaks to the relative immunity of e-sports to COVID-19, according to Goff, who pointed out that Verizon reported gaming peak hour traffic increased by 75 per cent during the first week of lockdown in North America versus a 12-per-cent increase in video watching and no bump for social media.

by Jayson MacLean

With major league sports taking a time out due to COVID-19, eSports is now the hottest game in town, according to a new report from Echelon Wealth Partners analyst Rob Goff, who writes that gamblers and casinos are turning to e-sports as a way to fill the void.

The coronavirus pandemic has done a number on many sectors of the economy but perhaps nowhere is more of a ghost town than major league sports, leaving literally billions of fans with nothing to cheer for aside from computer simulations featuring their favourite teams and players and, of course, an end to the health crisis itself.

But where traditional sports are now dark, eSports have become the only competitive field available in the age of social distancing. Worldwide now, people are spending more time playing video games than streaming videos or hanging out on social media sties, a revelation that speaks to the relative immunity of e-sports to COVID-19, according to Goff, who pointed out that Verizon reported gaming peak hour traffic increased by 75 per cent during the first week of lockdown in North America versus a 12-per-cent increase in video watching and no bump for social media.

All of which is good news for the gaming companies, Goff said.

“The growth in the esports is acting as a catalyst for the gaming companies,” Goff wrote. “The increase in gaming related spending is close to online grocers driven by ongoing social distancing norms. We have seen double digit growth in the shares of Electronic Arts (+32 per cent), Take-Two Interactive (+27 per cent), Super League Gaming (+31 per cent), Sea Limited (+42 per cent), Bilibili (+50 per cent) in the last one month.”

Goff said that spending on digital games reached its highest monthly total ever in March, with growth in areas such as premium console sales and PC revenue altogether raising digital games revenue to $10.0 billion worldwide for March, up 11 per cent year-over-year and up eight per cent from February. At the same time, Twitter reported a 71 per cent jump in conversation about e-sports and gaming during the second half of March.

The rise in interest has propelled a number of stocks forward, Goff said, including two small Canadian companies, Fandom Sports Media (Fandom Sports Media Stock Quote, Chart, News CSE:FDM) and New Wave Esports (New Wave Esports Stock Quote, Chart, News CSE:NWES) whose share prices have shot up 5x and 2x, respectively.

At the same time, not all e-sports verticals are performing well, as those such as Activision-Blizzard’s Overwatch League depend on in-person events at arenas for their success.

Still, Goff points to gambling and casino interest in e-sports as another takeaway from the COVID-19 era. As evidence, the analyst pointed to Nevada’s Gaming control board which recently approved wagers on five e-sports leagues and the anticipated bet traffic for the three-day virtual NFL draft 2020.

“E-sports betting has benefitted from both sports postponements and temporary casino closures,” Goff wrote. “The lack of traditional sports betting markets has pushed some bookmakers, including William Hill, into esports as a possible solution to recoup lost revenues.”

Source: https://www.cantechletter.com/2020/04/is-the-esports-business-immune-to-covid-19/

#Esports ride crest of a wave as figures rocket during #Covid19 crisis – SPONSOR Esports Entertainment Group $GMBL $TECHF $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $FDM.ca $TNA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 4:23 PM on Monday, April 27th, 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 ride crest of a wave as figures rocket during Covid-19 crisis

  • The playing of video games is up – Verizon reported that US domestic peak-hour usage was up 75% in the first week of quarantine – but tellingly gaming as a spectator sport is also through the roof.
  • Twitch, one the world’s biggest streaming platforms for gamers, is estimated to have grown its audience by up to a third in March alone

By: Scott Heinrich

Esports have never had it so good. Although competitive video gaming hasn’t proven entirely invulnerable to the coronavirus pandemic, it isn’t doing so bad out of it either. With mainstream sports around the world on hold, people are increasingly turning to gaming to fill the empty hours of lockdown and isolation.

The playing of video games is up – Verizon reported that US domestic peak-hour usage was up 75% in the first week of quarantine – but tellingly gaming as a spectator sport is also through the roof. Twitch, one the world’s biggest streaming platforms for gamers, is estimated to have grown its audience by up to a third in March alone. “With more stay-at-home mandates being issued around the world and the entertainment industry finding new ways to migrate their offerings to livestreaming platforms, we expect to see these numbers rise,” says Doron Nir, the chief executive of StreamElements.

Globally, gaming is also riding the crest of a wave brought about by celebrity endorsement. With sport’s best-known athletes temporarily not doing what they do best, digital pursuits are filling the void. Motor racing has led with way, with Formula 1 hosting virtual Grands Prix in place of its scheduled events. Last weekend, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc won on debut for the FDA Hublot Esports Team. The race was broadcast live on ESPN2 among 12 hours of esports programming. Nascar and Supercars have also migrated online in this time of hiatus, the latter backed by Jamie Whincup and shown on Kayo and Fox Sports.

Elsewhere in Australia, NRL clubs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Wests Tigers met as they were intended to in round three of the premiership season. But instead of competing on the rugby league field, players locked horns on the imaginary battlegrounds of Fortnite. And it was all streamed on Facebook. In Finland, rather than cancel its national hockey league play-offs, the decision was taken to migrate them to the NHL 20 console game and broadcast them on national television. In the UK, the world’s most famous thoroughbred jumps race, the Grand National, was this year digitally simulated, bet on with real money and watched by almost 5m free-to-air viewers.

But if you think esports is immune to the effects of the coronavirus, think again. Although essentially digital events, the big gaming competitions are held in stadiums and attended just like conventional sports. The US$30m 2019 Fortnite World Cup, won by a 16-year-old gamer known as Bugha, drew 2.3m concurrent views across YouTube and Twitch but was also watched live by 19,000 people at New York’s Arthur Ashe Stadium.

For sporting organisations in this country, the disruption to normality might quicken an association with esports that to date has been a toe in the water

Such events have been hit hard by Covid-19. The Overwatch League announced recently it would be playing out its entire 2020 season online, while Play! Pokémon was forced to cancel its North American International Championship and World Championship. Numerous other esports have been impacted by the coronavirus, but where conventional sports have been ground to a halt by containment measures gaming has largely found a way.

The upward trajectory for gaming brought on by the pandemic has accelerated what was already a growth industry, with Australian estimates suggesting demand for esports has at least tripled since the coronavirus outbreak. For sporting organisations in this country, the disruption to normality might also quicken an association with esports that to date has been a toe in the water.

Football Federation Australia inaugurated the E-League in 2017, with each A-League club represented by two gamers on the Fifa video game. Last month, FUTWIZ Marko and FUTWIZ Jamie claimed the 2020 premiership for Sydney FC. Also in 2017, the Adelaide Crows became the first Australian sports club to expand into esports when they acquired the Legacy Esports team.

As well as a vehicle to increase brand awareness, esports can broaden audience and provide new revenue streams. “Most of our traditional streams of revenue are almost tapped out,” Nigel Smart, the Adelaide chief operating officer, said on the Sports Geek podcast last year. “Where does future growth come from? We have a multi-dimensional international strategy and we also have a multicultural strategy. Having an esports team is an extension of both of those. The founding shareholders of Legacy, they’re still involved in the team. They’re on the performance side, they’re on the front end. What we bring as a football club is that back end in terms of content strategy, merchandise models and commercial partnerships.”

With Covid-19 now starving clubs of their usual forms of income, the need to branch out has never been greater. “If they want to engage more of their members, and keep their members as members, they need to evolve that esport team to create tournaments in their club,” Esports Academy director Patrick Chye said recently. “The Crows, for example, should create tournaments for their fans to engage them. Now’s the opportunity. Everyone is at home anyway.”

Mat Jessep, the Esports Games Association Australia chief executive, adds: “There are so many opportunities to integrate competitive gaming into your traditional sports offering. This alone probably would not save a club, or a sport in a position that the NRL is in, but it wouldn’t hurt either. It could really form that incremental income, that come the next rainy day, there’s a bit of savings set aside that a sport can fall back on.”

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/apr/11/esports-ride-crest-of-a-wave-as-figures-rocket-during-covid-19-crisis

#Esports popularity explodes – SPONSOR Esports Entertainment Group $GMBL $TECHF $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $FDM.ca $TNA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 6:14 PM on Friday, April 24th, 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 popularity explodes

  • It’s a multi-billion dollar industry, with the top-tier players taking in huge earnings through prize money, sponsorship and endorsements
  • And now the growth and viewership of Esports has taken off during isolation as sports fanatics turn to what is one of the only alternatives to regular live competition

By Michael Roberts | posted on April 24, 2020

WITH traditional sports like footy and cricket taking an enforced hiatus during the COVID-19 crisis, Esports has taken control of the driver’s seat as viewers flock to watch their favourite sports stars try their hand at online games.

For the uninitiated, Esports or simply electronic sports, sees professional video gamers compete for glory in online tournaments, with sometimes millions watching around the world through streaming sites like Twitch.

It’s a multi-billion dollar industry, with the top-tier players taking in huge earnings through prize money, sponsorship and endorsements.

And now the growth and viewership of Esports has taken off during isolation as sports fanatics turn to what is one of the only alternatives to regular live competition.

Unable to host real life races, motorsports like IndyCar, Formula 1 and Australian Super Cars are all holding virtual tournaments to fill the void.

Ball sports are also getting in on the action too, with the NBA hosting an online players tournament and some of the biggest clubs in European football getting involved in representative gaming competitions.

With the Australian Supercars Championships suspended until June, a BP Supercars Allstars Eseries is taking place via an iRacing computer simulation platform, with Supercars drivers contesting the race from their respective homes.

The action is being broadcast live on Fox Sports, Kayo and on Facebook, with over 350,000 people tuning in from around the world to watch round one of the online action.

Australian Esports League Executive Director Darren Kwan said the COVID-19 shutdown had brought in a new type of audience to the Esports space because there was a lack of content.

“It’s a significant growth period for the Esports industry,” he said.

“It’s been a huge leap. It’s been explosive.”

Mr Kwan said virtual motorsport was easily the fastest growing market.

“Bringing in the superstar power of the drivers and the race teams into it really worked,” he said.

“You look at the existing races that had audiences of 800 watching and now they’ve got audiences in the hundreds of thousands watching.”

In a sensational coup, Supercars recruited Formula 1 superstar Max Verstappen as a wildcard for round two of its Allstars Eseries, with the Belgian star finishing second at the virtual Barcelona circuit behind close friend Shane van Gisbergen.

Speaking to Fox Sports, Verstappen said the whole race was a lot of fun.

“These cars are definitely not easy to drive,” he said.

“I really enjoyed it.”

The races are proving a hit all over the country, including locally in Albany, with GoldMX radio host and self-confessed racing fanatic Damien Watson telling the Weekender he was impressed by the quality of production.

“It’s literally like watching the V8s on the weekend,” he said.

“You’ve even got Neil Crompton doing the commentary. They do a great job, it’s extremely professional. It surprised me.”

Mr Watson doesn’t just love watching motorsports; he is passionately involved in iRacing too and has even had the chance to race with the like of van Gisbergen during online practice sessions.

“I love watching them race, but I hate seeing how good they are compared to me,” he said.

“I have been on the track with a couple of them, and they make me look amateur, and I’ve been doing this most of my life.”

Mr Watson said iRacing had been around for about a decade, but participation had skyrocketed since the COVID-19 shutdown.

“It’s about three times the amount of users online you would normally see at any one time now,” he said.

“This is a way for Esports to get into the mainstream. This is reaching a target audience Esports could have only dreamed of.”

Such is the momentum, Mr Kwan said the Australian Esports League had been approached by local councils and state governments to set-up online tournaments for various PG-rated games where residents could get together and form some friendly competition.

“That’s something we never thought would happen,” he said.

“There are a lot of bored people at home who need this to take their mind off things.” Source: https://gsweekender.com.au/esports-popularity-explodes-australian-super-cars-gold-mx-albany-wa-damien-watson/

Las Vegas Bookmakers Welcoming #Esports Betting – SPONSOR Esports Entertainment Group $GMBL $TECHF $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $FDM.ca $TNA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 3:49 PM on Thursday, April 23rd, 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.

Las Vegas Bookmakers Welcoming Esports Betting

  • Regulators have approved wagering on seven further esports events, plus the eNASCAR series that involves real-life pro drivers racing on virtual racetracks
  • Other events approved recently include two League of Legends tournaments and the 2020 Overwatch League

Apr 23, 2020 by Chris Sieroty

Before the coronavirus pandemic, race and sports books in Las Vegas dismissed the notion of posting lines and taking wagers on esports.

Why bet on video game competitions, when you could wager on the Vegas Golden Knights or a long list of NBA games.

But now, searching for an alternative to mainstream sports, the Nevada Gaming Control Board has approved bets on different esports series.

Within the past month, however, regulators have approved wagering on seven further esports events, plus the eNASCAR series that involves real-life pro drivers racing on virtual racetracks.

Other events approved recently include two League of Legends tournaments and the 2020 Overwatch League.

Prior to March 25, the control board had authorized sportsbooks to offer bets on only three major esports tournaments that were held in 2016 and 2017.

It is a regulatory decision William Hill and other bookmakers welcomed, but the new betting opportunities have yet to prove their financial worth compared to betting on the NFL or NBA. 

“Like most new markets, a lot of people don’t know that we have them up,” said Nick Bogdanovich, director of trading for William Hill U.S. â€œIt’s very possible that at some point this stuff will take off, you just never know when.”

Support comes from

Bogdanovich said the tickets have been slow for the esports market, except for the eNASCAR events, but he pointed out that people know the drivers in that event. 

The other events like League of Legends and Overwatch haven’t taken off as much and Bogdanovich admits he doesn’t know much about the video games.

“It’s more for people’s entertainment to get them through this gloom and doom time,” he said, “If it ever gets to where we’re writing serious dollars to it, I might have to sharpen up my acumen.”

Despite Bogdanovich’s skepticism, Blaine Grayboyes, CEO of GameCo, believes esports will be a draw for casinos. 

GameGo creates skill-based games for casinos and has partnered with another company to create an esports data platform. Graboyes said more people watch esports than play them.

“Therefore, the opportunity for more people to bet on esports is there as well,” he said, “What we’re doing is looking to offer the optimal solution in the marketplace for sports books like William Hill and others in Nevada and across North America.”

The new platform will deliver data about esports for sports books.

Graboyes said there is a generational shift going on and the kids who grew up playing video games are now the new customer for casinos.

“This is a great demographic for casinos to engage with now, especially if they want to grow their businesses over time,” he said.

GameCo has created skilled-based games for the casino floor that have the interactivity of video games with the thrill of winning money as the slot machine.

Graboyes said 80 percent of spending on his company’s games come from Gen-X and Millennials, but that same audience only spends about 20 percent on slot machines.

“So, it’s an opportunity to attract and monetize a completely different audience than the traditional slot machine player,” he said.

While Tom Brady and LeBron James are household names, Graboyes said the top gamers are absolutely celebrities to their fans.

Source: https://knpr.org/knpr/2020-04/las-vegas-bookmakers-cautious-welcome-esports-betting

#Esports Is Filling The Programming Void – SPONSOR Esports Entertainment Group $GMBL $TECHF $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $FDM.ca $TNA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 6:31 PM on Wednesday, April 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 Is Filling The Programming Void

By: Brad Adgate

  • In first quarter 2020, YouTube reported 1.1 billion hours watched, an increase of 13% when compared to fourth quarter 2019.
  • YouTube also reported a record high 500,000 concurrent viewers during the quarter.
  • Facebook Gaming also had a strong quarter, reaching 554 million hours.
  • This growth in gaming was validated by Verizon, which reported that, since the quarantine, video game usage in the U.S during peak hours grew by 75%.

The coronavirus has wreaked havoc with live sports programming and sports fans everywhere. Television networks are scrambling to fill the programming void without basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer and other live sports. To fill the void, ESPN, Fox Sports and other networks have been airing replays, sports-themed movies, documentaries and esports. Esports is competitive video gaming, usually played by professional gamers and watched by spectators.

Esports on TV: Although esports is primarily available for viewing online, televising live esports is not new. Over the past five years, a number of cable and broadcast networks have televised esports, including ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN Deportes, DisneyXD. The NFL Network, TBS, CW and even CBS. In July 2017, CBS televised Candy Crush Saga in prime time and averaged four million viewers.

In recent weeks, more esports contests have been appearing on television. ESPN created a branded ESPN Esports Day which included 12 hours of programming on April 5. Included in the programming were televised virtual games from Madden NFL20, Formula 1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix, Rocket League (which combines soccer with rocket-powered cars) and the opening round of a 16-team NBA 2K20 tournament event. For the NBA 2K20 tournament, players included NBA stars (and video game aficionados) Kevin Durant, Donovan Mitchell (both recovering from the coronavirus), Trae Young and the tournament winner, Devin Booker. Booker won $100,000 to be donated to coronavirus relief efforts.

Fox Sports has also been televising esports on their networks, including a Madden 20 tournament featuring former quarterback Michael Vick and other NFL players. Derwin James, a safety on the Los Angeles Chargers, won the eight-player tournament, defeating Vick in the championship game. FS1 also televised an eNASCAR pro Invitational iRacing Series that averaged an impressive 903,000 viewers. Up next on Fox Sports is the inaugural eMLS Tournament.

Esports Online: With the coronavirus and persons quarantined, esports has been flourishing online. As reported by StreamLabs and Stream Hatchet, Twitch, YouTube and Facebook all reported significant increases with online viewing in first quarter 2020. As an example, Amazon’s Twitch reached a record high 3.1 billion hours watched, up 17% from the previous quarter. Twitch also reported a 33% growth in unique channels and record high in average concurrent viewing with 1.4 million.

In first quarter 2020, YouTube reported 1.1 billion hours watched, an increase of 13% when compared to fourth quarter 2019. YouTube also reported a record high 500,000 concurrent viewers during the quarter. Facebook Gaming also had a strong quarter, reaching 554 million hours. This growth in gaming was validated by Verizon, which reported that, since the quarantine, video game usage in the U.S during peak hours grew by 75%. By comparison, overall web traffic was up by 20%, video streaming usage increased by 12% and social media usage was flat. Twitter said conversations about esports grew by 71% during the second half of March (when the coronavirus pandemic impacted live TV sports), compared to the first two weeks of the month.

Revenue: Esports’ popularity has been on the upswing for years. According to NewZoo’s latest Global esports Market Report from February 2020, global revenue will reach $1.1 billion in 2020 with China the largest market ($385 million). This is an increase of 15.7% from 2019 and more than double the revenue of 2016. NewZoo projects revenue to surpass $1.5 billion in 2023. Sponsorship is the largest revenue source, contributing 58% to the total, followed by media rights at 17% and merchandise/ticket sales at 11%.

Audience: Globally, the awareness of esports has also grown substantially. In 2020, 1.955 billion people were aware of esports, compare to 1.1 billion in 2016. The esports audience will reach 495 million worldwide in 2020, with 223 million defined as frequent viewers/enthusiasts and 272 million occasional viewers. This is a sizeable increase from 2016, when there were 121 million frequent viewers/enthusiasts and 160 million occasional viewers. Its projected by 2022 there will be close to 300 million frequent viewers/enthusiasts to esports.  

A McKinsey report said in the U.S., there are over 20 million esports fans, 83% are male and 84% are younger than 35. Among U.S. men under age 25, 38% are esports fans and on average watch nearly one hour of esports each day. Furthermore, 10% of esports fans report watching over 20 hours per week, although only 13% responded that esports is the only sport they watch. Among 18-34 viewers, the League of Legends is now the third most popular professional sports league after the NBA and NFL.

Video gamers between the ages of 18-25 spend 77% more time watching other players online than watching broadcast sports. A Nielsen analysis found over 60% of esports fans on Twitch do not watch linear TV on a weekly basis at all and half don’t have a paid TV subscription. The people in this age group are among the lightest viewers of television, are heavy users of streaming content, grew up playing video games and are a popular demographic to target among advertisers.

Advertisers: Since esports has a desirable viewing demographic and is growing in popularity, more “blue-chip” advertisers are sponsoring events. There are many opportunities and strategies for esports sponsorships. Nielsen reports sponsorships can range from on-air signage and branded content to digital overlays and apparel. Esports has evolved from experiential marketing for numerous advertisers. Many product categories targeting young males sponsor esports. The list includes soft drinks, quick service restaurants, consumer electronics, automotive, apparel, financial services, telecom and insurance companies. eMarketer projects ad revenue for eSports will reach $214 million in 2020, a 20% increase from $178 million in 2019.

Gambling: With live sports on hold, casinos, which would have booked hundreds of millions of dollars with live sporting events are looking at esports to recapture some of the lost revenue. In April,  Nevada Gaming Control permitted wagering on multiple esports events. This could popularize esports even more. Sports gambling has now been legalized in 17 states.

The coronavirus is expected to quicken trends already happening in the entertainment and sports industry. For example, consumers could subscribe to more streaming video content bolstered by several new launches. Cash-strapped consumers could accelerate cord-cutting. Studios could release movies in theaters and for at-home viewing simultaneously. Some newspapers may entirely forego printed editions and produce only online content. To this list you can also add broadcasters, who may add more esports to their programming lineups in order to reach a coveted younger audience.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2020/04/21/esports-is-filling-the-programming-void/#4e6db323533b

#Esports gambling revenue set to double this year, research finds SPONSOR: Esports Entertainment Group $GMBL $TECHF $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $FDM.ca $TNA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 3:43 PM on Friday, April 17th, 2020

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Esports gambling revenue set to double this year, research finds

30% of current esports gamblers have started within the last month

  • Research from global consumer research agency 2CV and market researcher ProdegeMR has revealed that esports gambling revenue is set to double from $7 billion in 2019 to $14 billion worldwide in 2020 as gamblers seek new alternatives for betting during the sporting events shutdown due to the Covid-19 crisis.

The firms’ survey of 1,028 gamblers aged 18-64 looked at how the pandemic has impacted the gambling climate and the role esports can play in driving revenues for the industry, as reported by SportBusiness.

59% of gamblers have reduced spend on gambling, with 32% having actively looked for new things to bet on and 24% having shifted their focus to other forms of gambling. Also, 69% of respondents said that they had reduced spending on sports gambling, with over half (54%) having stopped spending on sports gambling altogether.

The survey found that 36% of gamblers have bet on esports in the last three months, with 30% of consumers who are betting on esports having only started doing so within the last month. The research also found that 22% of gamblers who have not previously tried betting on esports will consider betting on esports within the next three months, with football, motorsports and tennis proving to be the most popular choices.

62% of respondents said that they needed more information on the sector before gambling on esports. 45% said that esports did not have enough sports-based games, while the same percentage also cited the “assumption that they were more inclined to being fixed” as a reason for avoiding esports betting. Other reasons given for not betting on esports included the assumption that they are less regulated than other sports, that they are two complicated and that it is “too geeky.”

Martin Bradley, research director in technology and entertainment at 2CV, said: “By 2022, the number of esports viewers is estimated to rise to 644 million worldwide, this is up from 454 million viewers in 2019. The Covid-19 pandemic has led to many forms of sports associated with gambling being cancelled or postponed but is also a big opportunity for esports to get in front of this audience.”

“Short-term growth is likely to come from sport-based games, but there are huge opportunities to make this more long-term, as long as consumers are educated properly on esports and what it can offer, as well as considering which kinds of events are best suited to a particular audience,” Bradley concluded.

Source: https://www.yogonet.com/international/noticias/2020/04/17/52967-esports-gambling-revenue-set-to-double-this-year-research-finds

Esports Entertainment Group $GMBL Announces Closing of Above Market $8.4 Million Public Offering and Uplisting to Nasdaq $TECHF $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $FDM.ca $TNA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 1:06 PM on Thursday, April 16th, 2020
  • Common stock and Unit A Warrants began trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market on April 14, 2020, under the symbols “GMBL” and “GMBLW,” respectively
  • Company received gross proceeds of approximately $8.4 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other estimated offering expenses

BIRKIRKARA, Malta, April 16, 2020 — Esports Entertainment Group, Inc. (NasdaqCM: GMBL, GMBLW) (or the “Company”) a licensed online gambling company with a focus on esports wagering and 18+ gaming, today announced the closing of its previously announced underwritten public offering of 1,980,000 units at a price to the public of $4.25 per unit. Each unit issued in the offering consists of one share of common stock, one Unit A Warrant to purchase one share of common stock and one Unit B Warrant to purchase one share of common stock. The common stock, Unit A Warrants and Unit B Warrants were immediately separable from the units and were issued separately. The common stock and Unit A Warrants began trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market on April 14, 2020, under the symbols “GMBL” and “GMBLW,” respectively. Esports Entertainment Group received gross proceeds of approximately $8.4 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other estimated offering expenses.

Each Unit A Warrant is immediately exercisable for one share of common stock at an exercise price of $4.25 per share and will expire 5 years from issuance, and each Unit B Warrant is immediately exercisable at an exercise price of $4.25 per share and will expire one year from issuance. 

Esports Entertainment Group has granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to 297,000 additional shares of common stock, and/or 297,000 Unit A Warrants, and/or 297,000 Unit B Warrants, or any combination thereof, to cover over-allotments, if any. On April 16, 2020, the Company issued additional Unit A Warrants to purchase 209,400 shares of the Company’s common stock and additional Unit B Warrants to purchase 209,400 shares of the Company’s common stock pursuant to the partial exercise  of the underwriters’ over-allotment option in connection with the offering.

Maxim Group LLC acted as the lead book-running manager for the offering. Joseph Gunnar & Co., LLC acted as co-book-running-manager for the offering.

The offering was conducted pursuant to the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-231167) previously filed with and subsequently declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).  A prospectus relating to the offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.  Electronic copies of the prospectus relating to this offering, when available, may be obtained from Maxim Group LLC, 405 Lexington Avenue, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10174, at (212) 895-3745.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

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]

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

Esports Entertainment Group’s $GMBL CEO Participates in “The Convergence of Gambling and #Esports” Panel $TECHF $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $FDM.ca $TNA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 5:40 PM on Wednesday, April 15th, 2020
  • CEO, Grant Johnson, is participating as an industry panel expert in Eventus International’s “The Convergence of Gambling and eSports” webinar on Thursday, April 16, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. ET (12:00 p.m. GMT).
  • The connection between gambling and eSports has always been a pertinent one, but never has it been more relevant as the present time wherein traditional sports and events have been brought to a standstill in an effort to maintain social distancing

BIRKIRKARA, Malta, April 15, 2020 — Esports Entertainment Group, Inc. (NasdaqCM: GMBL, GMBLW) (or the “Company”), a licensed online gambling company with a focus on esports wagering and 18+ gaming, today announced its CEO, Grant Johnson, is participating as an industry panel expert in Eventus International’s “The Convergence of Gambling and eSports” webinar on Thursday, April 16, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. ET (12:00 p.m. GMT).

The connection between gambling and eSports has always been a pertinent one, but never has it been more relevant as the present time wherein traditional sports and events have been brought to a standstill in an effort to maintain social distancing. With the global sports calendar on pause, eSports have practically become the only game to play in town.

“The Convergence of Gambling and eSports” webinar is expected to be a lively debate exploring the ultimate merger of two powerhouse industries: gambling and eSports.

Johnson will be joined in the insightful discussion by moderator Keith McDonnell, CEO of KMigaming, as well as James Coxon, Business Development Director at SBTech, and Marek Suchar, Head of Partnerships at Oddin.

To register for the “The Convergence of Gambling and eSports” webinar, click here https://www.eventus-international.com/ei-online

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]

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