The 2025 Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill criminalises online play for money and the promotion and advertising of the same. It bars banks and payment providers from processing transactions for cash games. Penalties include fines and up to five years in jail.

Proponents of the ban cited the risks associated with gambling, including financial losses. India Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said iGaming providers “exploit users with false promises of profit”. The bill protects the public “and avoids a big evil that is creeping into society”, he said.

Critics counter that the law will simply send punters to unregulated offshore sites, a view echoed by those players interviewed by Agence France Presse (AFP). “We have done this before and will do it again,” said one player, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We will go back to our old ways of making money.”

Fantasy sports fan Adarsh Sharma predicted offshore will “see a sudden boom” as Indian bettors migrate to illegal sites, using virtual private networks and proxy credit cards to make transactions.

“A habit once formed cannot be broken easily,” Sharma told AFP. “It is an addiction, and people will find ways to gamble.”

Constitutional challenges ahead

The addictive quality of real-money games is just what concerns Vaishnaw.

“The middle class loses all their earnings,” he said in a 21 August interview with ABP News. “One after another, incidents are coming up where a family member ends life by suicide.”

Vaishnaw pointed out that the law also calls for the promotion and development of non-gambling games, including esports and online social games.

Meanwhile, Indian gaming company A23 has challenged the law, slamming it as state-run paternalism. More litigation could follow, said Meghna Bal, director of New Delhi think tank Esya Centre. Article 19(1)(g) of the Indian constitution guarantees the right “to practise any profession or carry on any occupation, trade or business”.

The law “fails the test of proportionality”, Bal told TechCrunch. “Instead of safeguarding consumers, it dismantles compliant onshore companies while opening the door wider for illegal offshore betting platforms that are the real source of financial harm.”

Rohit Kumar, founding partner of public policy firm Quantum Hub, objected that the bill was pushed through virtually without debate. “Regulation is necessary, but abrupt moves like this undermine India’s reputation as a stable, predictable investment destination,” he said. “If concerns existed, the government should have signalled them clearly from the outset.”

Derailing a multibillion-dollar industry

Meanwhile, the economic consequences of the ban on fantasy sports are undeniable. Dream11, India’s leading fantasy sports platform with 260 million users, has pulled out of a $43 million sponsorship deal with the Board of Control for Cricket in India. And while no layoffs are in the works, CEO Harsh Jain said the firm is bracing for a 95% drop in revenue.

“The entire industry was caught off guard,” Jain said of the sudden legislation. “We first heard about the bill in the news on a Tuesday. By Wednesday, it was tabled in Lok Sabha, Thursday in Rajya Sabha, and by Friday the president had signed it into law. It was a complete shock.”

He added that the firm does not plan to mount a legal challenge to the new law but lamented that, in hindsight, the industry failed to strongly self-regulate.

“Multiple self-regulatory bodies were proposed, but we never united under one,” Jain told Storyboard18. “A few of us signed a code of ethics six months ago. But we should have done much more earlier to protect consumers and keep bad operators out.”

He agreed that the ban is likely to increase patronage of illegal sites. “Whenever something is banned, the black market usually grows. We’re already seeing offshore betting firms offering aggressive discounts to Indian users. The government has said they’ll crack down on such operators, and I hope they succeed. But on the internet, it’s much harder to control.”

The legislation bars banks and payment providers from processing transactions linked to cash games. Offenders face fines of up to Rs21 crore (US$113,000) and/or up to three years in jail. Celebrities and influencers who back real-money games would also face criminal charges. 

Proponents of the ban cited the risk of gambling addiction and financial losses. India Federal IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said iGaming has robbed 450 million Indians of more than Rs20,000 crore, leading to “depression and suicides” in some cases. He did not offer data to support his claims.

Meanwhile, critics of the bill insist that banning legal real-money games will drive gamblers to illegal, unlicensed operators who pay no taxes, observe no regulations and offer no player protections.

Mumbai-based gaming lawyer Jay Sayta complained to the BBC that the ban was pushed through virtually without debate. Smrita Singh Chandra, former communications officer for iGaming provider Dream11, agrees. In a LinkedIn post, she slammed the “overnight ban”, which was introduced “without transition, nuance, or consideration of economic realities”.

“Declaring a platform illegal after years of validation, taxation and judicial recognition isn’t just wrong,” she wrote. “It is deeply unethical.”

Loss of jobs, industry, tax revenue

The shutdown of gambling apps has caused upheaval in the sports world.

Forced to pull the plug on its fantasy betting platform and bracing for a 95% drop in revenue, Dream11 has terminated a longstanding sponsorship deal with the Board of Control for Cricket in India. My11Circle, partner of the Indian Premier League, has also shut down real-money gaming operations, as has Flutter. Mobile Premier League said it may need to cut about 60% of its domestic workforce.

Per industry estimates, the real-money sector in India supports some 200,000 local jobs and contributes Rs1.764 crore in yearly taxes.

Jaya Chahar, founder and CEO of JCDC Sports, told ABC Asia the ban “pushes fan engagement away from regulated Indian platforms into unregulated offshore spaces, which defeats the very intent of consumer protection”.

Attorney Nandan Kamath, founder of the GoSports Foundation, said that while the law is well-intentioned, over time it may create more problems than it solves. “The law immediately shuts down an avenue of deep digital engagement that could allay certain personal and social harms from activities that nurture addictive behaviours,” he said. “But effective enforcement against offshore and illegal operators will be key – and that’s an area where we have had limited success.” 

He foresees a possible court overturn of the ban. “Rarely have absolute restraints such as bans been upheld,” he said. “The government may argue public health, social order and even national security. But courts will closely assess whether there are less restrictive alternatives.”

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of India will hear all challenges to the ban. According to Reuters, Indian gaming company A23 was the first to throw down the gauntlet, calling the law a “product of state paternalism”. A23 says the law is unconstitutional when applied to skill games.

The measure’s proponents cited the potential risks associated with online gambling, including addiction, debt and mental health issues, particularly among the young and poor. Lamenting the “unchecked expansion” of the industry, they expressed concern about “financial fraud, money laundering … and, in some cases, the financing of terrorism”.

They also pointed to Article 47 of India’s constitution, which obligates the state “to intervene when a digital ecosystem threatens public health, order and societal well-being”.

Billion-dollar industry on the line

The move could threaten an estimated INR313,365 (US$3.6 billion) industry that includes fantasy cricket apps played by millions in India. They include Dream11, MPL, MyTeam11, Howzat and League11.

According to Reuters, Dream11 users pay as little as INR8 (US$0.10) to create fantasy cricket teams, with a total prize pool of INR1.2 million. The action explodes during the Indian Premier League season from mid-March until the end of May.

For supporters of the ban, it’s not all fun and games. In the language of the bill, online gambling “often uses manipulative design features, addictive algorithms … while promoting compulsive behaviour leading to financial ruin”.

If enacted, the law would bar any person or entity that “shall offer, aid, abet, induce or otherwise indulge or engage in” real-money online gambling. Offenders would be subject to fines or jail terms of up to three years.

Industry trade groups have slammed the bill, saying it could “strike a death knell” for a sector that employs thousands of Indians and has drawn significant foreign investment. In a letter of protest, the All India Gaming Federation and the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports said banning “responsible” Indian platforms will simply force players underground, to offshore and unregulated providers.

“Instead of protecting people,” they said, “this bill risks exposing them to fraud, exploitation and unsafe practices.”

Bill also promotes India esports

While cracking down on so-called “money games” the bill also recognises esports as a growing part of healthy gaming culture. Esports are defined as “competitive games of skill played in virtual environments with rules and recognition”.

In 2022, the government recognised esports as a multi-sport event under the Youth Affairs and Sports Ministry, distinct from the broader category of gaming. At the same time, it set up and funded the eSports Federation of India. The new bill would also create a National Esports Authority to promote competitive gaming, regulate casual online social games and create rules for fair play, safety and compliance.

Officials contend that government support of esports will attract foreign investment, create jobs and lead to international tournaments hosted in India.

According to the Times of India, the government’s cabinet has passed the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025, which now heads to parliament.

The machines are otherwise identical to the games previously banned by the state. Once the buy-in amount is lost, the player can make another deposit. If the player has won, he can collect the winnings in cash from the operator.

Hanover County District Court Judge Hugh McConnell dismissed a misdemeanour charge against a convenience store owner for operating banned skill games, because the state law banning the games defines them as devices requiring players “to insert a coin, ticket or token” to activate play.

McConnell ruled that since the new QVS2 game doesn’t require players to insert a coin, ticket or token, the game was not subject to the state’s ban.

Ban lifted, then restored

A 2020 Virginia law banned skill games, which are considered illegal slot machines by the regulated casino industry and law-enforcement agencies. Governor Glenn Youngkin agreed to delay enforcement of the ban for one year to aid small businesses that were relying on them to get through the Covid-19 crisis.

A lawsuit filed by small business owners to claim the ban unconstitutional was upheld, but the Virginia Supreme Court overturned the lower-court ruling, making skill games illegal as of October 2023. In 2024, Youngkin vetoed legislation to legalise skill games after lawmakers rejected his bid for stronger regulations.

The modified game was introduced last summer. Shortly after it was introduced, state Attorney General Jason Miyares issued a memorandum to prosecutors and law enforcement agencies, saying the new machines are basically the illegal games with an unimportant tweak to get around the state ban.

A breach of trust

Youngkin said POM’s exploitation of a loophole in the law amounted to breaking trust with the state, per the Charlotte Daily Progress. POM instead, he argued, could have engaged in good-faith negotiations on possible legalisation of the games.

In his ruling, McConnell, in addition to holding the games didn’t fall under the state’s narrow definition, also found that the law on skill games was too ambiguous to give business owners an understanding of which games are legal or not.

State Senator Bill Stanley, who has supported legalisation of the machines, lauded the decision in a statement to the Daily Progress. “Today, justice for the little guy won over government overreach and the blatant attempt of the casino interests to exclude small businesses from participating in the gaming industry,” Stanley said.

“The EKG Awards recognise top performance, and we are grateful to each of our customers who allow us the privilege of entertaining players with our leading game content, hardware, systems and more,” said Aristocrat Gaming CEO Craig Toner in a press release the day after the awards ceremony.

“Both in land-based and online sectors, we are committed to creating the best seat in the house for players and these awards are a testament to our talented teams across the globe who are delivering on this commitment.”

Increasing competition

While Aristocrat once again landed the top award, it yielded its prior dominance of the individual categories to some of its closest rivals.

In 2022, Aristocrat won nine individual awards. In 2023, the company claimed six – both years more nods than any other supplier. Last year was the first year another supplier claimed more individual awards than Aristocrat. In 2024, Light & Wonder scored seven to Aristocrat’s five.

This year, Aristocrat received only one individual award in addition to the Best Overall nod. Its new King Max cabinet won recognition as Top Performing New Premium Cabinet. IGT and Light & Wonder dominated the individual categories. IGT logged the most individual awards with seven, with L&W right behind at six.

IGT’s awards included Top Performing New Premium Game for Tiger & Dragon Cash On Reels, Top Performing Third Party IP Branded Game for Whitney Houston, Top Performing Video Poker/Keno Game for Mega Hot Poker, Top Performing Game-EMEA for Magic Treasures Dragon, Most Innovative Land-Based Game for Tiger & Dragon Cash On Reels, Top Performing New Online Table Game for Blackjack Poker & Pairs Surrender and Best Overall Supplier of Online Content.

Light & Wonder’s Huff N Even More Puff was named Top Performing New Core Video Game and Double Blazing 777 2X3X5X received recognition as the Top Performing New Core Mechanical Reel Game. Its 88 Fortunes game was named Social Slots Game of the Year and its StacKing Kong got the nod as Most Innovative Online Game. L&W also was named Most Improved Supplier-Premium and its SciPlay subsidiary was named Social Casino Operator of the Year.

The rest of the awards programme offered some expected results, plus a few newcomers to the awards.

Repeats and newcomers

Zitro repeated its crown for Top Performing Game-Latin America with Mighty Hammer Link Up. Interblock was once again named Top Performing Electronic Table Game Supplier. Sega Sammy won its first two EKG Slot Awards. Its Genesis Atmos was named Top Performing New Core Cabinet and its Railroad Riches-Sheriff game got the nod as Top Performing Game from an Emerging Supplier.

Another newcomer, Incredible Technologies, won the award as Most Improved Supplier-Core.

AGS and Ainsworth both landed awards on the igaming side – AGS won for Top Performing New Online Slot Game in 3X Ultra Diamond, while Ainsworth won for Top Performing Omnichannel Slot Game in San Fa Pandas. White Hat Studios was recognised as the Most Improved Supplier of Online Content.

EKG Awards hall of fame

Finally, two new members were inducted into the EKG Slot Awards Hall of Fame. In the Game Development category, the inductee was Dominic Tiberio, who joined Bally Manufacturing in Chicago in 1963. He developed the groundbreaking Money Honey game, the first electro-mechanical slot machine. Tiberio then produced winners for all incarnations of Bally, from Game Maker to Black Gold and more. He retired in 2008.

    On the Slot Operations side, the Hall of Fame inductee was Robert Allen, whose distinguished career ranged from his first job as slot floor supervisor in 1984 at Harrah’s Marina Casino to 14 years heading slots at the Tropicana in Atlantic City, 10 years as corporate vice president of slots for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians, and seven years as corporate vice president of casino operations at Pinnacle Entertainment. He retired in 2017.

Voting for the land-based category winners for the EKG Slot Awards came from more than 120 qualified slot directors. They represent more than 320 casinos across the US and Canada and roughly 330,000 total slot machines. For the igaming and social casino segments, winners were determined by voting from a distinguished panel of industry experts.

The GRAI was established as part of the new Gambling Regulation Act 2024, which was passed by the Irish parliament on 16 October 2024. During these early stages the GRAI put out a public note seeking a chairman and board members, as well as licensing experts to lead regulations. 

GRAI taps regulatory and healthcare experts to fill roles

Announcing its formal launch this week, the regulator reported seven staff members had been appointed to its board. This is being led by Paul Quinn, former CEO of the nation’s government procurement office.

Celine Craig, a former media commissioner, and Rita Purcell, the current deputy CEO of international and legal at the health products regulatory authority, have been appointed to roles within the GRAI, as has current senior psychologist and clinical lead for the Irish healthcare’s mid-west addiction services, Dr Colin O’Driscoll.

Anne Marie Caulfield was appointed as GRAI’s CEO back in 2022 to help set up the regulator and guide its creation. Caulfield will remain in the CEO role long term.  

“Today marks a new era for the regulation of gambling in the Irish state,” Ireland’s minister for justice, Jim O’Callaghan, said in a statement yesterday.

“[The gambling act] is designed to meet the challenges of gambling responsibly in 21st century Ireland, providing clarity for operators and for consumers and taking a responsible approach to balancing the freedom to gamble with the safeguards to protect people from falling prey to addiction.”

How will the GRAI be funded?

During  the final parliamentary debates in October, parliament members raised concerns about the role of the regulator and how much power they would actually exert over the gambling industry.

But the bill’s rapporteur deputy, James Browne, assured the house of the GRAI’s regulatory powers and reiterated that the industry will fund the regulatory entity.

“I can assure the deputy that this regulatory authority will not be toothless or fruitless. It will be a very powerful regulatory authority. It will regulate an industry that we estimate is worth €6 billion,” he told the house.

“The regulatory authority will be funded by the industry by way of levies. The impact on the taxpayer once it is up and running should be zero.”

Gambling Regulation Act 2024

Ireland’s new gambling legislation has also come into force today and hosts a raft of measures that aim to regulate gambling and reduce problematic gambling.

The 2024 bill repeals a number of existing gaming laws and brings together Irish gambling legalisation under one framework.

Under the Gambling Regulation Act, operators are prohibited from taking credit card or credit facility payments. The placement of ATM machines in gambling locations is also banned.

The act prohibits inducement measures commonly taken by operators such as VIP treatment, free bets, free credit and free hospitality.

A national gambling exclusion register that allows any person to exclude themselves from specific gambling activities or indeed from all operators will also be launched under the GRAI’s authority.

Social media advertising has also been restricted and adults will have to opt in to receive marketing communications.

TV and radio advertisements are prohibited between 5.30am and 9pm to protect children. The sale of clothing with gambling branding to children, or at events where children are present, is also banned.

The operator said it had developed a number of patents within the streaming and live sports data verticals, including technology that allows players to view live odds and place bets while watching sports.

Panda’s previous filings also alleged that large swaths of the sports technology suppliers’ businesses were using Panda’s patents. These include Genius’ LiveData, LiveTrading, Genius Trading, BetVision and in-Play Multibet products.

Sportradar had also been accused of infringing Panda Interactive patents in its video streaming products. These consist of its Sportradar emBet, Sportradar OTT and Sportradar Live Channel Trading brands.

In a statement released today (3 March), Panda Interactive said it had amended its complaints to suggest that the two parties had blocked new competitors in the market. It also suggested the two parties had “coerced” sportsbooks into using their technology as a condition to accessing real-time sports data via their exclusive partnerships with major sports leagues.

It is seeking a court order against Genus Sports and Sportradar to stop them from continuing the alleged anti-competitive conduct.

Panda Interactive legal action

Commenting on the case, Donald Schupak, Panda Interactive’s chairman, said: “The defendants’ bullying takes bad behaviour to new heights – illegally using our own patented technology against us by packaging it with their platform, tying it to their exclusive data and effectively shutting the door to fair competition.”

Meanwhile Panda CEO Kevin April said the suit was a necessary response to the two parties’ conduct.

“Many in the industry have raised concerns about how Genius Sports and Sportradar operate and their strong-arm tactics have coerced the market at the expense of all layers of sport,” April said.

Sportradar has refused to comment on the case. In a statement emailed to iGB, a spokesperson for the company said: “Like most commercial enterprises, we do not comment on pending litigation matters – even unfounded litigation.

“That said, we can assure you that we operate our business in compliance with existing laws and regulations. We are confident in our defence of this matter and intend to defend these allegations vigorously.”

Panda Interactive is represented in the lawsuit by the US legal firm King & Spalding.

A similar proposal failed to gain traction in the 2024 legislative session. But this year, the odds may be in its favour for financial reasons.

The Chinese special administrative region (SAR) faces a budget deficit of more than HK$100 billion (£102 million/€124 million/$128.6 million). That’s more than twice the shortfall projected at the start of 2024.

Hong Kong’s economy grew 2.5% in 2024, down from 3.2% in 2023. Trade tensions with the United States could deepen the SAR’s fiscal crisis. In response, the cash-strapped government is laying off tens of thousands of civil servants and searching for new sources of revenue. An expanded gaming industry could help.

Tapping a billion-dollar revenue stream

In his annual budget speech on 26 February, Hong Kong finance secretary Paul Chan said legal hoops betting could eventually add HK$1.5 billion per year to government coffers.

It would also “combat illegal betting activities in an effective manner”. Turnover for underground sportsbooks were estimated at HK$70 billion to HK$90 billion last year.

Hong Kong bettors may now legally wager on horse racing, football matches and public lotteries, all run by the Hong Kong Jockey Club. The HKJC will soon submit a proposal to add NBA betting.

The South China Morning Post reports that the deal could be done as early as September. The 2025-26 NBA season begins in mid-October.

Activist group: more sports betting “disastrous”

Critics of the plan are already warning about the potential risks of legal sports betting, especially the potential for addiction.

In a statement issued yesterday, the Hong Kong Committee on Children’s Rights called the government proposal a “disastrous move” that could glamourise sports betting and make it more accessible to vulnerable populations, including the young.

“We must not take gambling problems too lightly and underestimate the bad effects of gambling on children and youngsters,” the group wrote. “Once the scope of legalised gambling is expanded, another wave of expansion will be inevitable.”

According to the Hong Kong Free Press, the government will call for a public-comment period before legalising the bets. If the measure is approved, sports bettors would reportedly be restricted to online bets only.

Support for legal hoops betting in Hong Kong is apparently on the rise as a way to generate tax revenue and also stamp out black-market operations. 

The move would help the Chinese special administrative region (SAR) address a whopping budget deficit of more than HK$100 billion (£101.6 million/€122.5 million/$128.6 million) for the year. That’s more than twice the figure projected at the start of 2024.

PwC Hong Kong reports that the SAR government will have fiscal reserves of HK$639.8 billion at the end of March, enough to cover just 10 months of total government expenditures.

Reaping new revenue

Hong Kong bettors can already legally wager on horse races, football matches and public lotteries. All are run by the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

A proposal to add NBA wagers was floated last year, but it did not pass muster with finance secretary Paul Chan. Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, however, is all for it. In 2024, he estimated that about HK$350 billion in illegal bets per year are made in Hong Kong. Basketball represented about 15% of that.

A legal, regulated industry could capture up to 60% of bettors who now patronise underground bookies, Engelbrecht-Bresges has suggested. That could mean HK$52.5 billion in turnover a year and HK$1.5 billion in new taxes.

Those benefits would not accrue for some time, however. According to the Dimsum Daily, the Jockey Club would need at least a few years to get the system up and running. Football bets, for example, were legalised in 2001 but did not go live until 2003.

Then as now, lawmakers justified the expansion due to “large and persistent demand” and the proliferation of illegal operations. The underground market is “linked to other criminal activities… and cannot practically and fully be tackled by law enforcement alone”.

An about-face for Chan?

Despite the potential windfall, Chan continued to express concern about the social costs. In the past, he has rejected calls for expanded betting solely as a government cash cow.

Home and youth affairs secretary Alice Mak also has reservations. In a December note to the Hong Kong Legislative Council, she wrote: “It is the government’s policy not to encourage gambling.”

Hong Kong currently allots HK$26.4 million to combat gambling addiction. It must “optimise efforts to prevent and alleviate problems related” to the pastime, Mak added.

The Commission has encouraged operators to review customer profiles and monitoring procedures. This is to ensure customer risk profiles align with the “full range of risk” such as customer transactions, geographic location and product risk.

Pierce noted there are a number of “customer triggers” that are proving ineffective at handling money laundering and terrorist financing risks.

Highlighted by Pierce are procedures that do not “appropriately” consider a customer’s salary and wealth and thus fail to identify irregular spending.

The Commission believes operators are “over-relying” on self-declarations and open-source information with regard to money laundering and terrorist financing.

Additional missteps include allowing vast sums of money to be transacted before any customer AML review has taken place.

Operators failing to check their own information and relying solely on financial triggers is also increasing risk.

Pierce stated operators should consider “realistic and effective monetary and non-monetary thresholds” when determining if further information should be acquired from customers. Pierce explained that dialogue should be opened with users at an early stage in the customer relationship.

The Commission is of the view that operators are not following their own procedures to acquire source of funds information in the review process.

“We expect source of funds information to be requested on a risk-based approach but, where this is done, it should not be treated as a tick-box exercise,” Pierce said.

“It is key that staff are given sufficient guidance on how to review documents and identify red flags, how to verify source of funds information and how to record their decision making,”

Emerging online threats

The Commission’s enforcement director has also detailed several nascent threats that it is dealing with, including the growth of crypto and AI.

Pierce noted there has been a rise in customers using artificial intelligence to forge identification documents and source of funds information.

The watchdog has seen increased cases of “ID farming”, a practice where threat actors collect personal data to acquire bank accounts that are subsequently used to open gaming accounts.

Mule accounts, user accounts designed to launder money, have also increased, as have the levels of fraudulent activity in the betting sector.

Lastly, Pierce noted that while crypto currencies are not a new risk factor, the challenges they present continue to grow.

“As crypto currencies become more prevalent, we expect more payment providers to offer crypto payment facilities. Operators need to have a full understanding of the services provided by their payment providers,” Pierce said.

Earlier this month, the Gambling Commission reported that online gross gambling yield in Great Britain had increased 21% year-on-year during the fourth quarter of 2024 to £1.54 billion (€1.85 billion/$1.92 billion). Additionally, overall online bets and spins were up by 8% year-on-year to 25.9 billion.

This is despite the fact that average monthly active player accounts declined by 3% in the fourth quarter.

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) has expressed concern in the proliferation of illegal betting in the UK following the release of a new study that shows a significant rise in player activity across illegal gambling websites in the UK.

Published by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities’ council on anti-illegal betting and related crime, the report shows 522% growth in website traffic to unlicensed sites between 2021 and 2024,

During that time unique visits to 22 of the most popular non-licensed sites skyrocketed, the report claimed. From January to September 2024, more than 600,000 unique visits were reported every month.

In the same period, the report claims unique visits per month to 10 legal UK licensed sites grew by just 49%.

“From the outset of the Gambling Act Review, British racing has repeatedly warned of the unintended consequences of well-meaning policy decisions on our sport, including the threat of inadvertently growing illegal market activity,” BHA acting chief executive Brant Dunshea said. “This study certainly demonstrates that very concerning threat is becoming reality.”

More illegal gambling websites blocked in Australia

On the subject of illegal gambling, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has issued blocking orders for eight websites.

JokaRoom, AUDPokies888, Aura Play, Instant Casino, Leon, Rich Papa, UUSpin and Wild Pokies all face being blocked. ACMA has requested Australian internet service providers block access to each site.

Some 1,154 illegal gambling and affiliate websites have been blocked since ACMA made its first blocking request in November 2019.

In addition, approximately 220 illegal services have exited Australia since ACMA started enforcing its new illegal online gambling rules in 2017.

“ACMA is reminding consumers that even if a service looks legitimate, it’s unlikely to have important customer protections,” ACMA said.

Aristocrat Interactive welcomes new igaming MD

In the US, Aristocrat Interactive has appointed Nir Hakarmeli as the managing director of its igaming and sports division.

Hakarmeli joins Aristocrat Interactive having worked in the gambling industry since 2014. He started out as head of gaming at William Hill before moving to Ladbrokes Coral.

Hakarmeli then became chief marketing officer of Addison Global, the company behind the MoPlay brand. He was most recently managing director for international at Evoke.

“What excites me most about this role is the opportunity to drive growth by delivering a diverse range of innovative offerings to operators worldwide,” said Hakarmeli, as he officially took on his new position at Aristocrat Interactive in January.

“The chance to contribute to this growth and lead a team with the potential to become a true global leader in the coming years is incredibly motivating.”

Abios partners Kindred on esports betting

Finally this week, Kambi Group subsidiary Abios has entered into an esports betting deal with Kindred Group.

As part of the agreement, Abios will provide its range of esports betting solutions to Kindred. This includes odds, data, widgets and always-on content.

This will be in addition to the esports odds service Abios currently provides to Kindred as part of Kambi’s turnkey sportsbook service. 

The new content will be available across Kindred’s Unibet and 32Red brands.

Ben Colley, sportsbook director of Kindred, said: “Esports continues to grow in popularity and it’s essential that we offer our customers the best possible experience in this exciting category.”

In its initial release of GSGB data in July 2024, the GC noted in-person betting on “non-sports events” represented the vertical with the highest average proportion of high-risk players (PGSI score of eight or higher).

It outlined the relative difference between verticals in terms of how players typically scored on the PGSI. This presented a number of verticals which could be considered higher-risk.

The PGSI method scores participants on their gambling behaviours. A score of eight or higher indicates a person has experienced “adverse consequences” due to gambling.

The Gambling Commission said that although this research was informative, it did not consider how a range of other factors could influence the link between different gambling activities and PGSI score.

The latest report therefore looked at the relationship between a player’s involvement in multiple gambling activities and any problematic behaviours they have shown, as well as how frequently they gambled and whether that impacted their PGSI.

Many forms of gambling were tested such as casino products, both land-based and online, as well as sports betting and online instant wins and scratchcards.

In its second research model, the Gambling Commission considered whether problematic behaviour while playing a specific vertical persists even after considering a person’s broader gambling involvement.

Its third model looked at a player’s age, sex, education level, employment status, household income quintile, area deprivation, marital status and ethnicity, all of which have been previously identified as being associated with PGSI scores.

What do the results look like?

Across all verticals, model one and two brought down the average ratio of players scoring a PGSI of eight or above, however the Gambling Commission considers some verticals were still closely associated with problem gambling.

It found when buying National Lottery tickets (both online and in-person), the odds ratio of a PGSI score of eight or more was significantly lower among those that purchased these in the past 12 months than those who did not.

However, participation in activities such as online slot games and non-sports betting were still found to be “significantly associated” with PGSI scores of eight or more, even after gambling frequency was considered.

Other games closely associated with problem gambling after taking into account all the new variables were online instant wins, sports betting and casino games, both in-person and online.

The Gambling Commission report found that these activities are “all significantly associated with PGSI scores of eight or more when broader gambling involvement and demographic and socio-economic status were taken into account.”

Engaging with these gambling formats showed a “potential increased risk of adverse consequences” for users.

“Notably, many of the gambling activities most closely associated with a PGSI score of 8 or more represent those which are faster, continuous gambling formats (casino, slots, online instant wins),” the GC said in its report.

“However, the results also highlighted betting on non-sports events and betting on sports/races in person as being significantly associated with a PGSI score of eight or more. It is less clear what is driving these associations.”

Gambling activities that showed less association with higher PGSI scores were football pools, in-person bingo, sports betting and national lottery online instant win games.

Evidence supports regulation

In conducting the Gambling Commission study, researchers provided participants with a list of 18 forms of gambling activities legally available in the UK. Subjects were also asked about any private gambling activities they had recently taken part in.

The study set out to test if the previous conclusion that “greater gambling involvement better characterises disordered gambling than does any specific type of gambling” was valid.

It found that while gambling involvement was an important factor in obtaining high PGSI scores, some activities have elevated risk profiles.

Other studies had previously put forward this finding and suggested that these problem gambling formats require “additional regulatory attention”. The paper notes that its evidence supports this conclusion.

As a result, the firm, which holds a 4.8% shareholding in Penn, has nominated William J Clifford, Johnny Hartnett and Carlos Ruisanchez to Penn’s board of directors.

HG Vora’s three nominees

Hartnett is a former CEO of Superbet and has previously held director roles with Flutter’s Paddy Power Betfair business and Sportsbet. He also held other roles within the Flutter business, including as chief development officer during its acquisition of FanDuel.

Clifford is a former Penn National Gaming CFO, having held that position for 12 years up to 2013. Most recently, he has acted as a senior adviser for Gaming and Leisure Properties.

Carlos Ruisanchez is the co-founder of the hospitality group Sorelle Capital and Sorelle Hospitality. Ruisanchez was the CFO for Pinnacle Entertainment for five years up to 2018 and the founding of Sorelle. While at Pinnacle he was involved in its 2013 acquisition of Ameristar. Penn acquired Pinnacle in 2018 for $2.8 billion (£2.3 billion/€2.7 billion).

Penn annual meeting and financial losses

The nominees will be voted on at Penn’s 2025 annual meeting, which has not yet been scheduled. Shareholders do not need to take early action on the nominees.

The founder and portfolio manager of HG Vora, Parag Vora, said about Penn in a statement: “To date, there have been no repercussions for the board’s persistent bad judgement and disappointing shareholder returns.

“We believe this is in part due to Penn’s weak corporate governance, which disenfranchises shareholders and entrenches board members while rewarding its CEO with excessive compensation.”

Penn’s most recently reported results for its Q3 2024 saw the group post a net loss of $36.7 million. However, year-on-year this was significantly lower than its Q3 2023 loss of $724 million that was attributed to Penn’s divestiture of the Barstool brand back to its founder Dave Portnoy for $1.

The group posted revenue for Q3 2024 of $1.63 billion, up from $1.61 billion year-on-year.

In the nine months ending 30 September, Penn reported revenue of $4.9 billion, down year-on-year from $4.96bn. The group posted a net loss for the nine-month period of $178.2m, an increase from the previous period’s loss of $131.9m.

Penn will report its full-year results on 27 February.

Penn entered into a $1.5 billion partnership with Disney-owned ESPN to create ESPN Bet in 2023. ESPN Bet went live in Washington DC in January, taking its current market access to 20 states in the US.

In a statement issued by Penn’s board of directors, it said it was “committed to creating long-term value for all shareholders” and that it would review HG Vora’s proposed director nominees, presenting its “formal recommendation” on the election of directors in its filings to the US Securities and Exchange Commission ahead of its 2025 annual meeting.

The case in question has been brought to court by a plaintiff named as Mr Ls. They are described as a person with “an iPhone and a gambling problem”. He is being represented by Sirius Legal managing partner Bart van den Brande.

Mr Ls states that between January and November 2021 they spent €67,813 on loot boxes in the game Top War: Battle Game. The mobile app was developed by Hong Kong-based River Game.

Loot boxes, which when purchased give players randomised in-game rewards and items, are classed as games of chance in Belgium and have required an operator licence since 2018.

The plaintiff’s case is aimed at Apple rather River Game. It argues that the US firm should not allow games that violate Belgian gambling legislation in the country’s Apple app store. Mr LS is seeking damages from the US tech giant.

Questions referred to European Court of Justice for clarity around EU directive

Apple claims that if an infringement of the gambling legislation has taken place, it is not liable due to its position as a hosting service under the EU’s Electronic Commerce Directive adopted in 2000.

That directive states that providers of “information society service” and the “storage of information” are not liable for the information stored at the request of service recipients.

However, the claimant’s court action claims the EU’s directive excludes gambling activities from its own scope and that Apple has no immunity in this instance. 

Apple argues that the European Commission’s “safe harbour provisions”, a piece of legislation that followed the EU directive, shields companies that store and process information and therefore protects it from liability in this case.

The Antwerp court has asked the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to answer prejudicial questions regarding the directive and Apple’s contested liability.

It asks the CJEU if gambling activities are excluded from the Electronic Commerce Directive’s liability protection? If so, it also asks “should this concept of ‘gambling activities’ be defined under national law, or is it an autonomous concept of EU law?”

Furthermore, it queries whether software offered for sale on an online platform such as Apple’s app store falls within the concept of ‘information’.

Implications for Digital Services Act

The Electronic Commerce Directive, which was in place during Mr Ls’ alleged time of law violation, was subsequently replaced in 2022 by the Digital Services Act (DSA). However, a CJEU response to the court’s questions could have implications for the DSA and its definition of safe harbour and service provider’s liability.

Commenting on the case, Guillaume de Villegas, legal counsel at Bird and Bird, told iGB: “The European Commission, in its application of the DSA, seems to indicate that software is “information” stored at the request of the recipient and thus that app stores qualify as hosting services in relation to app developers.

“However, the Belgian Court noted that, in the absence of any debate and definitive position on this topic in case-law and doctrine, it considered it necessary to refer a prejudicial question on this issue to the CJEU. If the CJEU were to contradict the, implicit, position of the European Commission, this could have a significant impact on the DSA’s application.”

iGB has contacted Apple for comment.

Last year, the UK’s games industry trade body UK Interactive Entertainment published a number of guidelines that called for technological controls around loot box access, such as restricting them to under-18-year-olds.

One example of the skill factor, for instance, is a feature that permits the player to place a “wild” symbol anywhere on the reel grid within a specified time interval to complete a winning combination.

Casino, industry opposition

The bill is not without its detractors. Among them are the state’s casino operators, the American Gaming Association (AGA) and the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM). They have long battled the spread of the games, contending they are illegal, unregulated slot machines. A central arguing point is that the games operate without assurances of their fairness and with no responsible gaming or anti-money laundering protections.

They also point out that the skill games are untaxed, providing no revenue to the state. Thus, the games represent unfair competition to casino slots, for which operators pay an effective state tax of 54%.

Pennsylvania courts, meanwhile, have returned several decisions in favor of POM. In those cases, the games were seized by state authorities. The manufacturer consistently points to those decisions as evidence of the legality of the games.

Skill games = unfair competition?

POM has maintained that the fact casino slot revenues keep setting records is evidence the skill games are not harming the casino slot business. Operators and slot manufacturers, meanwhile, point to the extensive background checks and licensing fees to which they are subjected. Companies like Pace-O-Matic do not face such requirements.

Yaw, who has benefited greatly from campaign contributions from skill-game manufacturers, has submitted bills to legalise and regulate the games for the past few legislative sessions. However, none have reached a floor vote. He has the support of owners of bars, private clubs, small businesses and charitable organisations that benefit from the revenue.

“Skill games are a piece of the economy in our state,” Yaw told The Center Square. “They cannot and should not be ignored.”

Mike Barley, chief public affairs officer at POM, told the publication that legalisation and regulation would support 15,000 workers at small businesses and volunteer organisations across the state.

“We ask lawmakers to pass this measure because it has helped many of these businesses and organisations stay afloat as they deal with inflation and worker shortages,” he said.

Bill proposals

Yaw’s bill would set a minimum age to play the games and would require machines to be connected to a central collection and control system. This is to ensure accurate collection of taxes. The tax rate that has been floated by proponents is 16%.

The taxation issue has been a particular point of opposition among the state’s casino operators. Last July, operators sued the state to force a tax on skill games, stating that the fact they are untaxed means their own 54% tax on slot revenues is unconstitutional.

A panel of experts at the July conference of the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States agreed that the games are illegal. But they noted it would be difficult at this point to enforce a ban on the games, since some estimates conclude there are as many as 100,000 of them in operation across Pennsylvania.

The report offers valuable insights into esports betting, supported by industry-wide data gathered by Clarion. Industry experts have also provided their views for a 360-degree perspective of the topic. Esports odds provider Oddin.gg collaborated on the report.

You can read more esports news on iGB.

The games will tip off in October 2025, when the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns meet for two pre-season games at the 14,000-seat Venetian Arena.

NBA teams previously played in multiple big cities in China between 2004 and 2019.

“Bringing pre-season games to Macau will showcase the excitement of the NBA to fans in one of the world’s emerging hubs for sports”, said Mark Tatum, NBA deputy commissioner and chief operating officer. “We have a long history of being here in China.”

That history was interrupted in 2019. At that time, Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey expressed support for anti-government protests in Hong Kong. Morey soon back-pedalled, but it was too late from the Chinese government’s perspective. The plug was pulled on the popular games.

A year later, the country shut down due to Covid-19. The special administrative region of Macau did not fully reopen its borders until January 2023.

“Fantastic for the fans”

The China games began in 2004 in Shanghai and Beijing and continued unabated for 15 years. There were also games in Shenzhen and Guangzhou. The league also made a one-shot appearance in Macau in 2007.

“So the return now through a partnership with Sands China, I think, is fantastic for the fans”, said Tatum. “And it’ll give an opportunity for fans to experience live NBA basketball in their market once again.”

Basketball is hugely popular among the Chinese, with millions of fans watching games through streaming platforms. The Rockets, in particular, gained a massive following in 2002, when they signed Shanghai native Yao Ming as centre. He went on to become an eight-time NBA all-star.

According to WION News China is the largest global market for NBA sports.

Dumont: Deal a “win-win-win”

With the return of the NBA, Sands China is doing its part to diversify entertainment offerings in the city, as mandated by the government.

The deal was brokered by Sands president and COO Patrick Dumont in an example of what the Dallas Morning News called “ping-pong diplomacy”.

Dumont is also part owner of the NBA Dallas Mavericks with Miriam Adelson. Chinese billionaire Joe Tsai, chairman of technology giant Alibaba Group, owns the Nets.

Dumont called the deal a “win-win-win, where the NBA wins, the city of Macau wins and China wins”.

Mainland games in the future?

Tatum said the NBA has “no current plans” to return to cities on the Chinese mainland.

“We have a limited number of teams… a limited number of opportunities to play internationally. That being said, we have a long history of playing games in mainland China and I think at some point down the road we would consider it, But right now, our focus is on Macau.

“We know we’re going to be here in Macau and China, so that’s our focus for the next several years.”

Basketball Hall of Famers Tony Parker, Ray Allen and Tracy McGrady marked the occasion with a celebrity game on 7 December.

The US-based Sands Corporation will promote the events with an NBA Flagship Store at the Londoner Macao, one of five properties Sands owns in Macau.

Decree 6: Cumbersome, unclear and ineffective

According to the Tuoi Tre News, the conversation centred on Decree 6, implemented in Vietnam in 2017. The legislation ostensibly opened the door to legal betting on horse races, greyhound races and international football. It also laid out a framework for sports betting operators.

But speakers at the Hanoi seminar said the rules are vague, prohibitive and out of step with the times.

For gamblers, Decree 6 limits legal gambling to 20 pilot jurisdictions in Vietnam and caps bets at VND1 million (£33.20/€40/$42). For operators. It requires demonstrated capital of at least VND1 trillion for horse racing and football bets and VND300 billion for dog races. It also requires that 5% of revenue go to the state. Experts argue for 5% of profits.

But the biggest barrier, in the internet age, may be the reliance on paper and phone bets, as Decree 6 does not permit mobile and online gambling.

Business leader Nguyen Ngoc My, chairman of the Vabis Group of Ho Chi Minh City, said Vietnam policymakers must embrace digital applications, as igaming is an “inevitable and irreversible strategic trend”.

Rules could change in 2025

Hoang Ngoc Nhat, chairman of Thien Phuc Joint Stock Company, said Vietnamese gamblers spend up to $10 billion annually, mostly on football, but the majority of revenue now leaves the country.

He argued for business-friendly regulations to keep that taxable bounty at home, instead of enriching offshore operators.

VAFIE chairman Nguyen Mai called sports betting a “regulated sector but without [the government’s] willingness to manage it”. But that could change in the new year.

According to The Investor, the National Assembly Standing Committee has set 2025 as the deadline for the Vietnam government and the ministry of finance to amend the decree. Suggestions made at the seminar will be filed with the ministry in hopes of developing the industry.

As economist Can Van Luc noted, sports betting is “a cultural, recreational and tourism need” that will go on regardless of Decree 6. The government might as well reap the benefits.  

Since then, my focus has shifted to creating opportunities for women in motorsports, an industry I know all too well for its male-dominated nature. I’ve used my experience to build platforms for women, collaborating with like-minded organisations and companies to help young women navigate the challenges of this industry. Whether it’s delivering speeches, participating in global events, or working hands-on to develop strategies for creating inclusive environments, I’ve made it my mission to pave the way for the next generation.

The birth of Init Esports

My journey into the esports world began in 2019, when a visit to Italy introduced me to something unexpected – my niece’s dedication to video games. Watching her immerse herself in gaming for hours made me curious. Could there be a way to blend this virtual enthusiasm with real-world motorsport? I was determined to find out.

What I discovered was a rapidly growing industry with immense potential, but it was clear something was missing – there was no platform for female sim racers. That’s when Init Esports was born. Four years later, we’ve not only filled that gap but also transformed into a major player in the esports and sim racing world. We’ve created electrifying events, shone a spotlight on talented women racers and built a community that champions inclusion and excellence.

More than half of gamers globally are female, so we’ve tapped into an underserved market. These women are talented, driven and ambitious and, with Init Esports, we’re here to elevate them. Init Esports’ mission is simple: to empower women in esports and motorsports, providing the tools and support they need to reach their full potential.

Empowering women through virtual racing

Motorsports can be a challenging world to break into – especially for women. But in the virtual realm, we’ve created an entirely different story. Through Init Esports, we’ve built a welcoming, inclusive space where women can thrive.

One of our proudest achievements is the Sim 4 STEM programme, which introduces young girls to the motorsports world through STEM activities. Girls from K-12 and college levels get hands-on experience with roles they might one day fill on a real motorsport team. They solve real-world problems using technology, all while developing critical thinking and teamwork skills in a fun, supportive environment. Studies show that gamers often excel in STEM fields and we’re helping them realise that potential, showing them pathways into futures they may not have considered before.

Energy and community

Complementing this is our Screen to Speed programme, a virtual sim-racing experience that gives female drivers a taste of track racing in a safe, thrilling virtual space. The energy is contagious and the excitement is real. With each event, we’re growing a community of passionate racers and the possibilities are endless.

The success of Init Esports can be summed up in one word: community. From the beginning, we’ve cultivated a space where people come together to support each other, grow together and celebrate their shared passion. Being part of a community not only boosts confidence but also drives success. At Init Esports, we foster that spirit, helping women take bold steps forward in their careers, both on and off the virtual track.

The Future: Full throttle ahead

The past four years of Init Esports have been an incredible journey and we’re only getting started. The esports and motorsports worlds are full of opportunities, especially for women. My advice to anyone thinking about joining this space? Go for it. Educate yourself, trust your instincts and dive in head first. There are no shortcuts, but if you stay true to your passion and keep moving forward, the rewards are immense.

I’ve spent my entire career breaking barriers, proving that the impossible is possible and I’m not done yet. Whether on the track, in the business world, or in the virtual realm, my mission remains the same: to create pathways for the next generation of women to achieve their dreams. With Init Esports, we’re making that happen every day.

But Japan dominates the field, with a total of 19 entrants. Forever Young from Hokkaido’s Northern Farm is among the contenders to win Saturday’s $7 million (£5.4 million/€6.4 million) Longines Classic, along with Irish-trained City of Troy and US favourites Fierceness and Next.

Japan contingent “exceeded expectations”

In 2021, Japan sent eight horses to Del Mar and came away with two trophies: Loves Only You in the Filly & Mare Turf and Marche Lorraine in the Distaff. That momentum is now a tsunami.

The volume and diversity of Japanese entries “exceeded all of our expectations”, Breeder’s Cup executive vice president Dora Delgado told the BloodHorse. Japan-bred horses “are kind of breaking out – they’re covering the gamut from dirt to turf, babies. They’re all over the place.”

In seven races, three-year-old Forever Young has lost just once: a third-place photo finish at this year’s Kentucky Derby.

Otherwise, he’s unbeaten since his maiden outing at Kyoto in October 2023. He won the Mombetsu and Kawasaki later in the year, and the Saudi and UAE derbies in 2024. After the loss at Churchill Downs, the frequent flyer won the Japan Dirt Classic in Ohi on 2 October. To date, the Yoshito Yahagi trainee has earned almost $3 million.

Japan’s appetite for sports

By law, those living in Japan may only wager on horse racing, a national lotto and certain motorsports. But they make the most of these options and horse racing generates the most interest. According to Statista, last year Japan residents wagered more than $23 billion on the sport.

Those living in Japan are restricted to betting on four international races. In 2023, they were responsible for $19.2 million of the almost $25 million in separate-pool wagering at the Breeder’s Cup.

The country’s sports-loving fans watch their favourites compete in simulcasts from around the world. For example, an estimated 15.9 million Japanese watched the 2024 World Series. As the New York Times reports, that’s more than 10% of the entire population of Japan – and more than the American audience of fewer than 11.45 viewers.

Japan’s favorite Major League Baseball player is Shohei Ohtani, a five-time all-star who pitches and is a designated hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ohtani started his career with Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters before signing with the Dodgers in 2018.

Japanese fans were rewarded for their devotion to baseball when the LA Dodgers, including Ohtani and starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, rallied to beat the New York Yankees, 7-6 in Game 5 on 30 October. With the win, the Dodgers won their eighth World Series in franchise history.

Rooting for their favourites, two-legged and four-legged

There’s no question Japan has become a force in international horse racing. For the Japanese, it’s a matter of pride, prestige and the potential for big money from a breeding perspective.

On Saturday, Forever Young and two other Japanese horses, Derma Sotogake and Ushba Tesoro, will enter the gate for the mile-and-a-quarter Longines Classic. US Racing calls them part of “Japan’s juggernaut”.

Trainer Yahagi says his colt is ready to run. “We had a frustrating experience in the spring (at the Kentucky Derby), so I have a strong desire to get revenge,” he told the news outlet. “I hope to show off a strong Forever Young again. He will continue to do his best and I want to win the next in the United States.”

Who’s involved?

Among those banned for life are midfielder Jin Jingdao, forward Guo Tianyu and goalkeeper Gu Chao, all of China. They can no longer take part in football or football-related activities. Seventeen others received five-year bans.

In a press conference on Wednesday, South Korea’s Son Jun-Ho protested his innocence. A tearful Son said he was “dumbfounded” by the “ridiculous charges”.

“They threatened that if I didn’t admit to the charges, my wife would be arrested,” he declared. “I said I hadn’t done anything like that.”

China targets sports-related crime

The bans are the latest salvo in Beijing’s war on corruption in sports.

In March, a court sentenced former CFA chairman Chen Xuyuan to life in prison for accepting bribes worth MOP88m (£8.4m/€9.98m/$11 million).

At the same time, former CFA vice-president Wang Dengfeng got 17 years for embezzlement and bribery. In August, another former VP, Li Yuyi, got 11 years for accepting bribes.

A losing game

News reports including one on ESPN poured salt on the wound, calling Chinese soccer a “notoriously underperforming sport”, despite president Xi Jinping’s vow to make home teams more competitive. China has qualified just once for the World Cup, in 2002. It lost all three matches and scored no goals.

The men’s national team currently ranks 87th in the FIFA world rankings, just behind Curaçao (pop. 150K), and just ahead of Equatorial Guinea (1.7m). China has a population of about 1.4bn.

On 5 September, China lost 7-0 to Japan in a World Cup qualifier. Coach Branko Ivankovic called the outcome “humiliating”.

Land-based casinos generated P49.48bn in revenue, down from P51.7bn last year. Pagcor’s owned-and-operated casinos, under the Casino Filipino brand, added P4.2bn, down 14.7% from the same period in 2023. Bingo contributed P4.69bn, also down from P5.85bn last year.

Egames up more than 500%

The standout performer was the electronic gaming sector, which grew 525% over last year, to almost P31bn.

The sector “continues to surpass targets”, said Pagcor chief Alejandro Tengco. Egames could help compensate for “any shortfall resulting from the president’s order banning offshore gaming operations”.

Last month, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr banned POGOs. Marcos ordered the industry to cease operations at once, and wind down permanently by the end of 2024.

Impacts of POGO ban

POGOs, first introduced in 2016, have been repeatedly linked to online scams, human trafficking, money laundering and murder. The ban means the loss of P20bn in annual revenue. But POGO critics say it cost almost as much to monitor the crime-ridden industry.

It’s been reported the shutdown will leave up to 30,000 Filipinos out of work and decimate the real estate rental market.

Blood and money: E-sabong for revenue?

Several lawmakers sparked outrage by suggesting the government generate additional revenue by regulating e-sabong, or online cockfighting.

Deputy speaker and Quezon representative David Suarez said cockfighting, including e-sabong, could be a big moneymaker. “How can we properly… regulate this in such a way where the government can earn income?” he asked.

At a Pagcor budget meeting, Representative Marissa Magsino seconded the proposal.

E-sabong is “happening everywhere”, she said. “It’s better to just make it legal rather than keep it illegal and we’re not gaining anything from it.”

The Philippine Inquirer called the idea “outrageous”. It cited the 2021 disappearance of 30-plus “sabungeros”, or cockfight organisers, who reportedly clashed with industry kingpins. In 2022, the blood sport was banned by then president Rodrigo Duterte. The missing were never found.

The idea of reinstating legal e-sabong is “a terrifying reminder of our politicians’ short memories”, the editors wrote. It would simply substitute one crime-laden platform with another that is “intrinsically linked to human trafficking, torture and scams.

“Talk about jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.”

With the first three months of 2024 now under everyone’s belts, we can reflect on the performance data outlining the shifts in betting behaviours and predict what’s to come for the year ahead in esports betting.

Most popular esports titles Q1 2024

Reviewing the performance of all esports titles during 2023, we found that Dota 2 had overtaken LoL as the second most popular esports title by turnover for odds and data platform PandaScore’s clients.

But in 2024 LoL jumped back into second place as the new season commenced and keen interest in domestic competitions in China and Korea returned and the North American scene experienced a resurgence.

Conversely, we’re now seeing the impacts of the scuppering of the Dota Pro Circuit format as Dota 2 returned to a more decentralised tournament model last year, much like Counter-Strike. In September 2023 Dota developer Valve discontinued its Dota Pro Circuit tournament citing it had become “less exciting, less varied and ultimately much less fun”.

Elsewhere, the performance and popularity of ebattles (esoccer and ebasketball) in Q1 also highlighted the vertical’s strong correlation to the regular sports calendar. Ebasketball accounted for a third of total ebattles turnover as the NBA regular season fast approached its pointy end.

Live betting on the big 3

Considering the average across all titles, Q1 results showed that the big three titles (Dota 2, Counter Strike, LoL) solidified their positions at the top thanks to the strong live betting options available. The 60-40 split between live and pre-match betting in esports remained for Counter-Strike and League of Legends, but Dota 2 is more heavily indexed to live betting.

Multiple factors contributed to the higher presence of live betting in Dota 2. The complexity of the game lends itself to bettors that are familiar with the gameplay and confident in their decision-making during matches. The length of matches – generally between 40-60 minutes – means there’s simply more time for live markets to be open.

Most popular tournaments in Q1

Counterstrike’s PGL Major was undoubtedly the highlight of the quarter in terms of overall turnover with both its main event and European qualifiers ranking in the top 10 competitions for overall turnover.

The tournament was the first major to be played on Counter-Strike 2 rather than the old game CS:GO. A thriller for fans and bettors it stood head and shoulders above number two IEM Katowice, one of the strongest turnover generators every year.

On the Dota 2 front, the Dream League has always been popular for bettors, but the shift away from the structured Dota Pro Circuit has seen this competition step up to the plate to offer fans and bettors more of what they want.

LoL’s strong overall performance in the quarter is buoyed by its top performing tournaments: China’s LPL is a consistent top performer and Korea’s LCK usually makes the cut too.

The surprise this quarter is seeing the return of the North American LCS to the top 10. Viewership and turnover suffered last year when the league shifted to a mid-week slot, but having returned to weekends, the competition has mostly bounced back to its former self.

With major competitions in Q2 like LoL’s Mid-Season Invitational or Valorant’s regional leagues and Shanghai Masters, operators could see a more diversified performance across their esports portfolio through to the end of June.

“Maybe in the next ten years, it surpasses football.”

In a country synonymous with o jogo bonito the idea it may be usurped may seem extreme. But Seckelmann’s firm represents a range of high profile sportspeople, including surfers, skateboarders and, yes, footballers. It’s now starting to represent more and more esports players, not to mention increasing buy-in from betting operators. 

There’s a vast audience on offer, says esports veteran Leo de Biase. Portuguese is “a language nobody speaks”, he says with a laugh. But because of esports’ popularity in Brazil, it is now the second most prevalent language on Twitch after English. 

De Biase has worked in esports and gaming for more than 25 years, spanning LAN centres, time at Nvidia and has worked to bring some of the world’s leading esports leagues to Brazil. He agrees with Seckelmann; esports is established in the mainstream. 

Growing pains for Brazil esports

However, while betting sponsorship provides some funding he points out there is a big gap compared to traditional sports. While ad slots in a Serie A match will sell for BRL300m, granting exposure to an audience of five to eight million, a Free Fire tournament, watched by double that number, will only sell sponsorship for around BRL15m.

And when it comes to betting Brazil has a young and engaged population, but that isn’t necessarily a demographic with big spending power, Marek Suchar, co-founder of esports betting specialist Oddin explains. “The average bet size is less than half of what you would find in North America,” he points out. 

It’s also a relatively immature market, Suchar continues. Brazil has no legal gambling heritage,and betting has only been legal – but not regulated – since 2018. A new betting product in esports, in a new market, means there have been instances of sharp bettors taking advantage of delayed streams and weak odds to profit. 

In the regulatory framework due to come into force from 1 January, there is no official wording around esports, Seckelmann adds. However, there is a general consensus that it meets the criteria to be considered a sport, with this stance supported by Brazil’s ministry of sports. “But this is a discussion point that is not 100% clarified,” he says. 

What titles drive esports betting in Brazil?

But for the structure of the market, what games are performing well? To De Biase, Free Fire is “the game of the people”, and the most popular title by a huge margin, albeit one that is not yet a key betting title. Usual suspects such as Counter-Strike (CS) and League of Legends also perform well, he says, alongside Ubisoft titles including Rainbow Six and Valorant.

Data from Loadout Esports & Gaming, shared exclusively with iGB, shows a particular affinity for CS, with 7% of the LatAm region watching the title, one of the key betting titles in esports.

Suchar points out esims could become crucial titles in Brazil. There’s huge potential in efootball, he suggests, meaning the esports audience hasn’t quite fallen out of love with the beautiful game just yet.

This is supported by Loadout’s data, showing a crossover between football and esports viewers. A survey of 1,000 esports enthusiasts found that 95% also watch football, surpassing the crossover between esports and the NFL in the US.

Brazil’s second sport

After all, aside from football, there isn’t really a second sport in Brazil. Yes, there’s some interest in basketball and volleyball. An American football game taking place in Sao Paulo suggests the NFL sees an opportunity to cultivate a new fanbase. 

But as Seckelmann says, esports is the second biggest sport in the market. Sponsorship in football is already close to saturation point, with the biggest brands moving away from club deals to league branding. People will wonder where else to invest. 

And according to Loadout’s surveys, there is a significant crossover; 38% of regular esports viewers bet on the competitions.

“I think everyone will jump in,” De Biase says. “It will bring more and more money into the industry and there will be concern about keeping sponsorship under control.

“But it’s much needed money since traditional brands aren’t pouring millions and millions into esports. I was more worried regarding federations and confederations than I am with betting and igaming,” he adds. 

“They are super supportive and we need that kind of incentive for our ecosystem.”

According to the New York Times, Mizuhara is negotiating for a plea deal.

Throughout the affidavit, Ohtani is referred to as “Victim A” and, in a press conference, US Attorney Martin Estrada said “Mr Ohtani is considered a victim in this case.” Major League Baseball released a statement saying that it “will wait until resolution of the criminal proceeding to determine whether further investigation is warranted”.

Since the story broke 20 March, Ohtani, the two-way Japanese baseball star who signed baseball’s richest contract during the off-season, has maintained that he was duped. Thursday’s filing appears to support the claim that Ohtani is considered a victim.

Mizuhara’s betting part of a bigger investigation

Mizuhara, who was also Ohtani’s manager and handled daily tasks for him, is expected to appear in court on Friday (12 April) and, according to ESPN, his lawyer declined to comment Thursday.

Mizuhara’s betting is linked to a massive illegal bookmaking ring with ties to former minor-leauge baseball player Wayne Nix that the federal government has been investigating. Nix is not named in the affidavit, nor is Mathew Bowyer, the Orange County-based illegal bookmaker who allegedly took Mizuhara’s bets. Although Bowyer is unnamed, details in the affidavit point to his identity.

So far, Seymour wrote, the investigations have resulted in “criminal charges and/or convictions of 12 criminal defendants and one money-service business”. The investigation is ongoing.

In the affidavit, Seymour details how Mizuhara changed the contact information on Ohtani’s account to Mizuhara’s cell phone number and email address. Mizuhara also “falsely identified himself” to bank authorities and told Ohtani’s financial advisors that the baseball player was denying them access to his accounts.

Mizuhara initially set up the bank account into which Ohtani’s Los Angeles Angels salary was deposited in 2018. While Mizuhara used funds from Ohtani’s account to fund his gambling and cover his debt, the former interpreter had winnings deposited into his own account.

Gambling quickly got out of control

According to the affidavit, the interpreter began gambling in September 2021, and quickly began to rack up debt. He did not bet on baseball, but did bet on a range of other sports.

As early as November 2021, Mizuhara was already running into problems paying his debts. According to text messages in the affidavit, in some cases he could not write funds and attempts at PayPal transfers were cancelled. Mizuhara called the process “super stressing”.

While Mizuhara struggled to pay the bookmaker, the bookmaker continued to extend Mizuhara’s credit and offer him free-play options. While Mizuhara often asked for increases in credit, in March 2022, he asked the bookmaker to lower his limit to $100,000, saying that he would “get too reckless with 300”.

By November 2023, according to text records, Mizuhara knew that he was in trouble. He texted the bookmaker, who was demanding payment, saying that he had “ended up losing a lot of money on crypto” and that he “took a huge hit obviously with the sports too”. He also asked the bookmaker if he could settle.

When he was betting, Mizuhara bet an average of $12,800 per wager, according to the affidavit. The size of the bets ranged from $10 to $160,000 and Mizuhara placed a total of about 19,000 bets, or an average of 25 bets per day. In total, Mizuhara placed $142.3m in winning bets and $182.9m in losing bets, leaving him $40.7m in debt.

Reflecting on 2023, co-founder and CEO Steven Salz highlighted the operator’s diversification as the main reason for its success. He said growth in new markets such as traditional sports, casino and fantasy, alongside its core esports offering, allowed it to emerge from 2023 as an “increasingly diversified” business.

“Last year we gained meaningful traction in new segments,” Salz said. “This is widening our opportunity set and positioning us for sustainable growth in the medium- to long-term. 

“We’re happy to have finished the year with all-time high customer economics, diversified revenue streams and a reinforced competitive moat around Gen Z betting entertainment and experiences.”

Rivalry looks beyond esports

This diversification strategy has led Rivalry into various new markets and areas. Among its new launches in 2023 were two significant roll-outs in the regulated Ontario market in Canada.

In March, Rivalry announced the launch of its online casino product in Ontario. Just a few months later, Rivalry followed this up by extending its Casino.exe sports betting brand into the market.

This expansion, coupled with a rise in demand to license in-house casino games, which in turn is accelerating the advancement of its B2B vertical, sets Rivalry up for potentially more growth in 2024.

“Our operational excellence across product and brand marketing last year are seen across positive KPI trends and continued year-over-year growth,” Salz said. 

“Ultimately, we are proving that we can acquire and retain a coveted Gen Z demographic through an entertainment-led product set, culturally relevant brand and a team unafraid of pushing past a long-standing industry status quo.”

Records tumble in 2023

While Rivalry did not publish its full results for 2023, it did reveal certain key figures to show its progress during the year.

Revenue was the headline figure, with this driven by a 92% hike in casino revenue to $6.4m. Casino also represented 52% of betting handle for the year, with total betting handle rising 82% to $423m.

Rivalry also noted all-time high average handle per customer – up almost 30% – and a record low cost of customer acquisition, down 15%. In addition, total player registrations eclipsed two million in 2023. 

All this, Rivalry said, contributed to a 66% increase in gross profit to $16.2m for the year. The operator also noted a $1.0m drop in total operating expenses to $38.9m, helped by lower marketing expenses, offsetting increases in general and administration and technology and content expenses incurred to support the growth of the business. 

Revenue growth, combined with reduced spending, left a lower net loss of $24.3m for 2023.

Positive figures despite mixed Q4

The strong preliminary figures came despite a somewhat mixed performance by Rivalry in the last quarter of 2023. 

During Q4, revenue fell 32% to $6.5m. Rivalry put this down to less favourable sportsbook outcomes compared to an abnormally favourable result experienced in 2022. Betting handle, however, edged up from $83.9m in 2022 to $85.2m.  

Gross profit was, unsurprisingly, lower in Q4, dropping 40% to $2.0m. However, there was better news in terms of net loss, which was cut from $12.3m to $9.0m. Net loss adjusting for accruals, other non-cash items and one-time costs, would have been approximately $7.0m.

Where next for Rivalry?

Keen to build on its overall success in 2023, Salz detailed Rivalry’s current strategy. During Q1, he said the operator has been strategically deploying capital from Q4 investment in areas that are driving customer acquisition and revenue. This includes amplifying proven marketing strategies, releasing higher margin products and developing proprietary betting experiences.

Salz expects this to begin materialising in its results throughout the first half of 2024 and beyond.

With this, Rivalry has re-affirmed guidance and anticipates achieving profitability in H1 2024.

“The year ahead is rife with new, innovative product releases arriving in Q2 and continuing throughout 2024,” Salz said. “In addition to the strength of our core roadmap, we are in the process of unlocking what we believe to be two of the most material developments to our business model since launching Rivalry in 2018. 

“The first is a B2B vertical to license in-house developed games. The second is exploration and development within the crypto ecosystem – each representing an impactful growth catalyst on our path to profitability this year.

“I have never had more confidence in our product roadmap and what Rivalry is building this year. Apart from new products, original games and proprietary features, we have been working to dial up the overall feel and entertainment value of our core product to provide a tech-savvy, next-generation customer with a tailored experience that is well-differentiated within the larger sports betting marketplace.”

The group operates three core divisions in Allied Esports International (AEI), Allied Mobile Entertainment (AME) and Allied Experiential Entertainment (AEE), with a core focus on the esports market.

Allied owns a series of global properties, runs live events and offers production services across the esports sector. It counts HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas as its flagship venue, while also running the Allied Esports Trucks 18-wheel mobile gaming arenas.

CEO Yinghua Chen praised the “substantial” progress Allied made during 2023. This includes the acquisition of a majority stake in mobile games developer Beijing Lianzhong Zhihe Technology, which completed in August.

This, Chen said, places Allied in a strong position for further growth in 2024 and beyond. 

“We made substantial progress during fiscal year 2023 and have entered fiscal year 2024 in a position of strength,” Chen said. “AEI, AME and AEE are all poised for growth as we execute on our strategic objectives this year.

“With Beijing Lianzhong Zhihe Technology now integrated into our business, AEE finalising events and expanding its presence in Asia and the continued demand we have for our AEI properties and content, we are extremely excited for the year ahead and very confident in our path forward.”

Allied net loss down to $3.6m

Taking a closer look at the 2023 results, in-person activities remained the primary source of revenue at $5.0m. This was level with the previous year.

Revenue growth was driven by other operations within the business. Multiplatform content revenue hiked 42.9% to $2.0m, while casual mobile gaming generated $698,522, whereas in the previous year this was not part of the Allied business.

As for spending, total costs and expenses across the business were 21.0% lower at $14.3m. This was helped by a 29.6% drop in general and administrative expenses – Allied’s main outgoing – to $7.6m. 

Lower spending resulted in a lower operating loss of $6.6m, compared to $11.8m in 2022. However, bottom line was improved by other income helping reduce overall loss.

Expense income reached $46,684, while interest income amounted to $3.0m. As such, this left Allied with a net loss of $3.6m, in contrast to the $10.8m loss posted in the previous year.

In addition, adjusted EBITDA loss improved from $8.6m in 2022 to $4.6m.

Positive end to 2023

Full-year growth was helped by a strong finish to 2023, with Q4 proving successful for Allied.

Revenue in Q4 was some 75.0% higher at $2.1m. Again, this was driven by the impact of the Beijing Lianzhong Zhihe Technology acquisition, with this generating an additional $698,522 in casual mobile gaming revenue.

Total costs and expenses were marginally higher year-on-year at $4.0m. However, revenue growth meant operating loss was reduced from $2.7m to $1.9m.

Other income totalled $30,730 and interest income $792,103. This resulted in a bottom-line net loss of $1.1m, an improvement on $1.7m in 2022.

As for adjusted EBITDA loss, this was reduced from $1.7m in the previous year to $1.2m.

Total betting turnover also increased significantly. This was in spite of the broader esports sector undergoing a market correction that included reduced budgets and consolidation of professional teams.

Along with the growth in overall turnover, margin performance either maintained or improved upon previous years for many suppliers and operators.

The total pool of bettors has grown and they’re placing larger bets than before, with overall turnover continuing to grow year-on-year. The results from 2023 show that esports betting is a genuinely evergreen vertical that consumers have become more comfortable and interested in.

Let’s dive into them a bit more.

Which esports titles are popular for betting?

Counter-Strike’s popularity and strong betting culture mean that historically, it either dominates or accounts for a significant portion of total turnover every year. Responsible for 60.2% of total turnover for PandaScore’s clients, that is still very much the case. However, other esports segments are now growing and chipping away at Counter-Strike’s supremacy.

Namely, Dota 2 has firmly cemented its second-placed spot among bettors, while League of Legends (LoL) has experienced a dip in performance. The Chinese and Korean domestic LoL competitions have traditionally been very popular, with the North American League Championship Series (LCS) following closely behind. However, this year we’ve seen reduced viewership numbers for the LCS and the volume of total bets have followed a similar trend.

The introduction of football ebattles to the PandaScore offering has yielded some noteworthy results. Garnering 5.7% of total turnover for the year in its first year is an incredible start. However, there is always an important caveat with these fast-esports type titles: they’re largely EA Sports FC matches designed and marketed as quick esports matches for sports bettors.

They play a key role in the product suite of a sportsbook, but it’s important to note that the bettor profile for this segment is generally quite different from other esports titles.

Additionally, the shift to a shorter, sharper season in Valorant was always going to have interesting implications for betting. The good news is that Valorant is steadily continuing to grow in total turnover and is head and shoulders above the many other titles that make up esports’ long tail.

Valorant vs. the long tail

Aside from the big three esports titles of Counter-Strike, Dota 2 and LoL, it’s worth taking a more granular look at the other long-tail titles and how they shape up against Valorant.

Valorant’s popularity and growth as a budding new title is clear as day, with Call of Duty sitting atop the list of other esports titles. With US regulation rolling out on a state-by-state basis, Call of Duty is still a title to watch considering the entire professional scene is now based in the United States. Mind you, Valorant appears to be a trendy title in North America for esports fans, so it remains to be seen whether any other long-tail title will nip at the heels of the Riot Games first-person-shooter game.

Live betting runs the show

Over the past few years, we’ve seen bettors prefer live betting even more than previously, shifting from a 55-45 split to an even bigger slice – around the 65% mark. This follows similar trends in sports betting and is a strong indicator of improvements to the live betting experience, as well as innovations like betbuilders to capture greater interest.

Most popular competitions for esports bettors in 2023?

Echoing the overall turnover breakdown, the most popular competitions of the last 12 months are largely in Counter-Strike. It’s common to see ESL Pro League competitions this high, as they’re month-long seasons featuring 32 teams and a lot of matches. The Paris Major was arguably one of the biggest Counter-Strike tournaments ever, with hometown heroes Vitality taking the title in Paris.

The elephant in the room is the absence of any Dota 2 tournament in the top 10, including the penultimate tournament of the year, the International. Despite yielding a greater overall turnover for the year compared to LoL, the way the competitive season – the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) – was structured meant there was an incredibly high volume of matches. This resulted in Dota 2 turnover being distributed across a much wider range of decently performing tournaments, as opposed to the big-ticket items in other titles.

Game publisher Valve is scrapping the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) structure in favour of a more decentralised, grassroots structure. What this means for betting, only time will tell.

Pandascore sees positive signs for 2024

Valve’s upheaval of the DPC has resulted in some top-tier tournaments leading the charge and ESL stepping up to provide some wide-sweeping qualifiers.

The LCS is shifting back to weekends after mixed results with midweek matches – the weekend timeslot being incredibly popular with LoL fans and bettors alike. And considering the increasing legalisation of esports betting across different US states, we could see a bump in turnover and bet volume on the LCS.

Operators and suppliers remain bullish on Valorant, eager to find out if the newly established Partner Program yields improved stability, consistency and quality of the professional circuit. Greater league stability invariably leads to greater connections to teams and players, a key touchpoint for esports bettors when they place their wagers.

The first Major of the recently launched Counter-Strike 2 kicks off in March and, while this and changes to the competitive structure could lead to shifts in betting behaviour, it’s safe to say betting on Counter-Strike will continue to be strong across the board.

Brazil, being the continent’s most populous country, stands the highest in potential forecasts, with Mexico also predicted to contribute heavily to revenues projected to be as high as $300m across the continent by 2027.

Esports giants such as Unikrn, Stake and Rivalry are all making moves in the region and LatAm looks to be on the way to becoming one of the dominant global esports markets with increasing competition.

This is helped by the emergence of top LatAm organisations, such as FURIA and MIBR from Brazil, all of which have the potential to turn it into one of the esports world’s most exciting opportunities.

Unikrn live in Brazil

After esports betting platform Unikrn was acquired by Entain in October 2021, the brand was relaunched in December 2022.

Having secured market entry in Brazil, Unikrn is now live in the country. Chief executive Justin Dellario is excited to try and maximise the huge potential of the region.

“Esports betting is quite large in Brazil,” Dellario said in an interview with iGB. “And in Canada, a place where we currently operate.”

Dellario also explained that Unikrn was looking to expand into new markets, but “only when we have the confidence we can operate locally, sustainably, in a way that’s safe for customers”.

In February, Unikrn announced a new partnership with esports organisation Team Liquid in Brazil. The move allowed both Unikrn and Team Liquid to increase their presence in Brazil.

That was one of a number of deals Unikrn struck in 2023, also agreeing a global esports partnership with esports entertainment business Blast in March.

Another strategic move saw Unikrn partner with esports platform Gamers Club, offering custom odds for Gamers Club players.

Unikrn received a blow in October, though, with Entain revealing it was to scale back B2C operations within its Unikrn esports betting arm.

Rivalry’s growing LatAm interest

Specialised esports betting operator Rivalry was one of esports’ success stories in 2023. Set to be a key fixture at ICE 2024’s esports conference, Rivalry exceeded revenue expectations for the year.

Rivalry posted record revenue of $8.7m in Q3, a 22.5% increase year-on-year. The $29.2m of revenue accumulated for the first nine months of 2023 was also a 69.8% year-on-year hike.

Rivalry made moves in the Brazilian market in 2023, with an October marketing campaign featuring esports influencer Gustavo “Baiano” Gomes. Rivalry planned to grow its level of engagement with esports fans in Brazil.

That came after Rivalry secured an exclusive partnership with Tribo, a Brazilian CS:GO content group, another attempt to expand its presence in the country.

Obstacles to LatAm esports growth

While LatAm is certainly a region showing impressive esports growth, the market is still facing plenty of hurdles to further expansion.

One of those comes in the form of regulation, with Argentina, the third-most populous country in LatAm, currently unregulated in regards to esports.

Technology is also proving to be an issue, with the level of infrastructure in certain regions a problem pointed out by Maria Bashkevich, head of marketing at Uplatform, in an interview with iGB.

“The technical infrastructure varies not only from country to country but even inside one country,” Bashkevich explained. “For example, in Brazil, where north and south are absolutely different in terms of smartphone adoption. The same applies to the payment solutions, as having local payment methods is a must for the region. Only thorough research will help operators utilise the undoubtedly colossal potential of the region.”

As we’ll see from this article, Entain and Esports Entertainment Group have had mixed fortunes throughout 2023, while Rivalry has surged ahead.

Entain and Esports Entertainment Group

Starting with Entain and Unikrn, both had ambitious plans at the beginning of the 2023. Entain relaunched the brand in December 2022, with a target of global domination.

However, despite the launch happening to great fanfare, 12 months have passed since the relaunch and little has happened. So much so, that in a recent statement to iGB, Entain says that it will be scaling back direct-to-consumer operations with Unikrn.  

The other big name at the start of 2023 is Esports Entertainment Group (EEG). However, following a turbulent year, Rivalry again has surged ahead.

Arguably, the company has been in trouble since May 2022, when it admitted “doubt” it could stay in business for another year. In October 2022, its future lay in the hands of a creditor after EEG defaulted on convertible notes issues in 2021.

EEG also announced the sale of its Bethard online casino and sportsbook business in February, with the sale totalling €9.5m.

Since then, with its net loss widening despite significant cost savings, we haven’t seen anything change just yet. Igelman remains upbeat however and we might just see a 2024 rebound.  

Rivalry surges ahead

Onto Rivalry. Without a doubt this super-cool brand has definitely picked up the Entain and EEG slack and surged ahead. That’s certainly the opinion of Pinnacle, who were one of the main investors in its 2023 £5.9m financing round.  

The Toronto-based operator has smashed every revenue expectation so far this year, while its unique positioning in the market makes it the esports brand for all the Gen Z and millennial users out there.  

Catering to this audience is clearly bearing fruit – with 80% of its customer base claimed to be under 30. 

By engaging its millennial and Gen Z audiences with its “down with the kids” approach, its campaigns have been crammed with internet-speak, memes and sought-after influencers.  

Rivalry’s lack of profit: the last step to dominance

However, in its latest earnings report announced at the end of November, we can still see that the company is struggling to turn a profit. This, in our opinion will be key for it to stay ahead of the pack in the year ahead.

Looking more closely at its financials, we can see it remained at a net loss in Q3 despite posting record revenue of $8.7m (£6.9m/€7.9m), while comprehensive loss at the business also widened.

In what will no doubt be its biggest challenge in the year ahead, it wants to make the market its own.

Despite making record revenue, increased operating costs and foreign exchange loss offset the revenue hike in Q3. This meant comprehensive loss for the quarter widened to $6.0m, compared to $5.6m in 2022.

Reflecting on Q3, co-founder and CEO Steven Salz praised Rivalry for revenue growth amid a “challenging” capital markets environment. He said this will stand the business in good stead for further growth in Q4 and beyond.

Over to you to, Rivalry.

The business paid the monthly dividend for November 2023, as announced last month. In line with Series A preferred stock terms, unpaid dividends will continue to be accrued.

EEG chief executive Alex Igelman said the suspension will free up more capital for EEG to reinvest in the business. He added that this would create greater value for shareholders in the long run.

“We are temporarily suspending the dividend on our 10% Series A cumulative redeemable convertible preferred stock, as we believe we can effectively reinvest the capital in the business in order to drive the greatest return on capital for shareholders,” Igelman said.

“This is an exciting time for EEG, as we execute on our turnaround strategy and position the company for long-term success. 

“Management and the board of directors will continue to monitor the financial performance of the company to determine the appropriate time to reinstate the dividend.”

Revenue drops 71.9% in Q1 at Esports Entertainment

The suspension comes on the back of a tricky Q1 for EEG. Last month, the business reported a 71.9% fall in revenue to $2.7m (£2.2m/€2.5m) in Q1 after the sale of its Bethard business earlier in the year.

The group agreed to sell the Bethard online casino and sportsbook business in February for €9.5m. The sale completed later in the same month with EEG offloading the business in full.

EEG also noted the winding down and liquidation of Argyll entities. Revenue-producing operations ceased in December, with this impacting on year-on-year comparisons.

The sale and winding down meant costs were lower, but net loss still widened from $4.2m to $4.8m. However, adjusted EBITDA loss improved from $1.0m to $354,870.

CEO Igelman said he remains positive about long-term growth plans. He pointed to the recent deal to acquire a 30% minority interest in esports content producer Drafted.gg, saying this will further support long-term ambitions.

However, increased operating costs and foreign exchange loss offset the revenue hike in Q3. This meant comprehensive loss for the quarter widened to $6.0m, compared to $5.6m in 2022.

Reflecting on Q3, co-founder and CEO Steven Salz praised Rivalry for revenue growth amid a “challenging” capital markets environment. He said this will stand the business in good stead for further growth in Q4 and beyond.

“We are proud to have delivered a record third quarter while exercising discipline on costs amid a challenging capital markets environment for growth companies,” Salz said. “Now, with our recently announced capital infusion, we will be able to go back on the offensive, while still maintaining our path to profitability.”

Betting handle rise accompanies revenue growth

Taking a closer look at the three months to 30 September, sportsbook was the main revenue source for Rivalry. Revenue from this segment was 42.6% higher at $8.7m in Q3.

Rivalry also reported growth in its casino business, with revenue rising by 50.0% to $1.5m.

Elsewhere, Rivalry said total betting handle across its offering jumped 50.4% to $105.7m. Of this total, $50.4m came from casino gaming, with Rivalry saying this was helped by recent launches, including the roll-out of its Casino.exe brand in Ontario in Canada.

Year-on-year cost increases hit bottom line

As for expenses, cost of revenue was 5.9% lower at $4.8m for Q3. However, operating costs increased by 14.8% to $9.3m. This left an operating loss of $5.3m, shorter than the $6.0m loss posted in 2022.

Rivalry also noted $367,457 in foreign exchange loss at $4,872 of interest expense. Based on this, the operator was left with a net loss of $5.6m, an improvement on $6.0m last year.

However, after also accounting for $363,133 in negative foreign exchange translation difference, this pushed comprehensive loss to $6.0m. Last year, Rivalry posted a shorter comprehensive loss of $5.6m after benefiting from $401,071 in positive foreign exchange translation difference.

Brighter picture in the full year

Looking to how Q3 impacted year-to-date performance, this, on the whole, made for positive reading. Rivalry posted $29.2m in revenue for the nine months to 30 September, an increase of 69.8%.

Sportsbook operations accounted for $24.3m of this total, up 50.0% from last year. Gaming revenue reached $4.9m, rocketing 345.5% from $1.1m in 2022.

Cost of revenue climbed 29.0% to $16.0m and operating expenses were 19.5% higher for the period at $28.2m. However, such was the impact of its revenue growth that operating loss shortened from $18.8m to $15.0m.

Rivalry reported $190,423 in foreign exchange loss at $12,435 in interest expenses. This left it with a net loss of $15.2m, an improvement on last year’s $18.8m loss.

After including $1.4m in negative foreign exchange translation difference, comprehensive loss hit $16.7m, but this was still shorter than $19.1m in 2022.

“Years of consistent performance, flattened opex multiple quarters in a row, demonstrated triple-digit growth year-over-year across core metrics year-to-date with all-time high average handle per customer, average revenue per user and record low cost of customer acquisition over that same period gives me high conviction in Rivalry’s future,” Salz said. 

“It is this proven operating leverage, supported by an improving sportsbook margin profile resulting in more revenue per dollar wagered, now fuelled by growth capital, that is creating a significant opportunity set for Rivalry. 

“It is that combination which gives us confidence to reaffirm our first half 2024 profitability guidance.”

That initial surge two years ago has never quite recaptured its momentum and it disappeared from the mainstream, with a big dip in 2023 and, at best, a plateaued market.  

This year, therefore, has been all about the uppers (Rivalry), the downers (Entain and Esports Entertainment Group) and a big fight over data (Bayes and Grid).  

Esports: the downers ahead of ICE 2024

Let’s start with the downers. Entain has been up to plenty… and also not a lot. No stranger to flashing the cash, Entain arguably put plenty of eggs into one basket when they acquired Unikrn, the industry’s first dedicated esports operator back in 2021.  

Entain and Unikrn

With ambitious plans, Entain then relaunched the brand in December 2022, with a target set for global domination. 

Nothing has happened since then and, less than 12 months after the relaunch, Entain has seemingly applied the brakes to this effort.  

In a recent statement to iGB, Entain says that it will be scaling back direct-to-consumer operations within Unikrn.  

“This is to ensure that our business is structured as effectively as possible and so that we can best deliver on our strategy and growth plans,” Entain says. Conclusion: interesting indeed.  

There might be some excitement on the way, however. In June Entain acquired Tiidal Gaming NZ, who own esports betting developer Sportsflare, for £7.9m. Nothing has been announced since then, but they are definitely one to watch as there is no doubt some sort of plan in the works.  

Esports Entertainment Group

Next up is Esports Entertainment Group (EEG), another who seems to have bet it all on black. In its Q1 2023 report released this week, the company posted a staggering 71.9% fall in revenue to $2.7m, which makes for dismal reading.   

Arguably, the company has been in trouble since May 2022, when it admitted “doubt” it could stay in business for another year.

But stay another year it did and, following its previous CEO, Grant Johnson, being given the boot, this year has been all about the new CEO, Alex Igelman. 

Like any brave leader, he has given the company a radical revamp throughout 2023.  

First up was the sale of its Spanish gaming licence for just under £1.0m, as well as shedding its Bethard business for £8.3m.  

Following on – and with an eye for the esports content market – EEG snapped up Esports content producer Drafted.gg in November.  

Just like with EPSN BET’s launch, we think we’ll see something similar one day with an esports-style focus, offering a fully closed entertainment platform spanning betting and content.  

With its net loss widening despite significant cost savings, we haven’t seen anything change just yet. Igelman remains upbeat however and we might just see a 2024 rebound.  

Esports: the uppers ahead of ICE 2024

Onto this year’s success story – specialised esports betting operator Rivalry. Set to be a key fixture at ICE 2024’s esports conference, we’ll be hearing plenty more about this brand in 2024.

This super-cool brand has definitely picked up the Entain and EEG slack and surged ahead. That’s certainly the opinion of Pinnacle, who were one of the main investors in its 2023 £5.9m financing round.  

The Toronto-based operator has smashed every revenue expectation so far this year, while its unique positioning on the market makes it the esports brand for all the Gen Z and millennial users out there.  

Catering to this audience is clearly bearing fruit – with 80% of its customer base claimed to be under 30. 

By engaging its millennial and Gen Z audiences with its “down with the kids” approach, its campaigns have been crammed with internet-speak, memes and sought-after influencers.  

Its move into casino, with its Casino.exe mobile app launched in Ontario in March, should prove to be a strong diversification.  

This seems like a very good idea given its “unique learnings regarding betting behaviours” about Gen Z.  

Translated into plain English, they likely mean that Gen Z doesn’t have a lot of money to spend.  

Esports: the data battle

Last up is the big fight going on at the back end. This one’s all about official and non-official data. Big-name suppliers Bayes and Grid are the gate keepers for official source esports data, and they’re fighting to protect it.

In short, these are the only two providers on the B2B side that can offer original source data. A bit like with Genius Sports and Sportradar, but with esports. 

So, what’s the issue? In short, we have third-party suppliers offering operators non-official data. 

This is easy to offer. For example, Valves games such as CS:GO, DOTA2 offer open source data access.

The demand for third-party data is clearly there, as it’s much cheaper for tier two or tier three operators competing with very low margins.  

The battle is being fought over IP, third-parties are selling the product as “official source data”, which they do not have the rights for.

So, in effect, a pirated product – packaged as a legal product. In the eyes of the courts, this is (most of the time) not legal.

The legal fight continues, such as the one between Bayes and anyone who dares to get in their way.

The market is yet to find a proper equilibrium and the ongoing fight over official data provision will no doubt continue.

The big question for this year and indeed the next is actually defining esports data and who has the right to use it. 

Until then, expect plenty more litigation – and likely a big barrier to further market growth.  

GR8 Tech elevates igaming with GR8 Sportsbook

GR8 Tech celebrated a standout year with the launch of GR8 Sportsbook offer, a major development in the igaming industry. This innovative sportsbook platform features an extensive selection of sports, esports and 24/7 fantasy sports, providing an unparalleled non-stop betting experience. Boasting the capacity to handle over 25,000 daily events, managed by an in-house trading team, it ensures a dynamic and engaging betting environment. Discover the future of online betting with GR8 Sportsbook!

Esports Entertainment also noted the winding down and eventual liquidation of Argyll entities. Revenue-producing operations were ceased in December, with this having an impact on year-on-year comparisons.

However, despite this decline, CEO Alex Igelman remains upbeat about long-term prospects at EEG. He referred to the recent restructuring of the business and how this will support its growth and help reduce costs.

Shortly after the end of Q1, EEG also agreed to acquire a 30% minority interest in esports content producer Drafted.gg. Igelman said this will further support its long-term ambitions.

“In recent months, we have thoroughly reviewed our company, focusing on the expected trends in esports and igaming,” Igelman said. “This review involved a detailed analysis of every aspect of our business, identifying unprofitable operations and contracts. 

“We have taken firm actions, setting the stage for a bright future. While this restructuring incurred one-time expenses, the long-term benefits will far outweigh these costs as we continue to expect a yearly reduction in operating expenses of more than $4.0m. 

“This is a transformative time for the company. It marks a fresh start and forging a path towards maximising our success potential, which we believe will lead to substantial revenue growth and increased long-term shareholder value.”

Revenue down across igaming and games segments in Q1

Looking to Q1, revenue in the three months to 30 September was down across both core segments at EEG. Revenue from igaming, comprising online betting and casino, fell 76.7% to €2.0m and gaming revenue from esports and other activities dropped 27.3% to €733,768.

EEG said its Lucky Dino business had been impacted by worsening investment and market conditions and regulatory changes in Finland and the UK from fiscal 2023. This, EEG said, continues to decline.

On the subject of geographical performance, US operations drew $733,768 of all revenue, with interactional activities generating $2.0m.

However, the sale of certain assets meant cost of revenue was slashed by 81.3% to $602,026 in Q1. Costs were also lower across sales and marketing and general and administrative, with total operating expenses falling 51.0% to $7.7m.

Net loss widens despite significant cost savings 

After accounting for $214,989 in other income, pre-tax loss amounted to $4.8m. Despite the cost savings, this loss was still wider than $4.2m in 2022.

EEG did not pay tax, meaning net loss for the quarter was also $4.8m, compared to $4.2m last year. 

However, adjusted EBITDA loss improved from $1.0m in Q1 of 2022 to a $354,870 loss this year.

CEO forecasts bright future for EEG

Concluding Q1, CEO Igelman swung back to EEG’s long-term vision. He said a renewed focus on developing initiatives to expand esports and igaming solutions will help to create a more comprehensive, end-to-end offering of online betting options for customers.

“Through our various partnerships, we have established a robust ecosystem that benefits our clients and customers alike,” Igelman said. “A key priority for us is maintaining the highest standards of gaming integrity and audit processes and we remain committed to ensuring that our content adheres to strict regulatory requirements for skill-based wagering. 

“Our intention is to commission a thorough integrity audit of Drafted.gg by a third-party to meet state-by-state standards and support our expected rapid expansion within the sizeable US market. 

“We are excited about the future prospects of EEG, fuelled by the potential of our strategic investments and are confident that the future is bright.”

Participants receive packs of items – football players – with multipliers. A star running back might come with a 1.3x multiplier, for example. GameBlazers team owners can then use their items to field a roster of players within the salary cap.

The novel approach must contend with existing competition in the DFS space and the proliferation of online sportsbooks and casinos. Struthers says GameBlazers is more than up for the challenge.

“So many of the dollars in this industry have gone to the gambling side,” he says. “But look at video games in general and it’s a bigger category. We wanted to take that underlying concept and iterate on it, bring some new ideas to the fantasy side.”

Changing the game

The daily fantasy arena has no shortage of major players. DraftKings and FanDuel are chief among them, two companies almost solely responsible for launching the industry into the limelight. The space also gave rise to popular pick’em platforms.

Struthers praises GameBlazers’ competitors and sees them as a launchpad: “FanDuel, DraftKings, they’re great products,” he says. “We want our players to have more decision-making opportunities to showcase their skills and knowledge, though.”

There isn’t much differentiation among existing fantasy platforms, according to Struthers.

“There’s a homogenous feel to all of it,” he observes.

GameBlazers aims to break that formula down and give its players more opportunities to feel in charge. Everyone who signs up for GameBlazers gets a free item pack on sign-up. It’s not completely random, Struthers notes, but there are random distribution elements in the system to keep things fresh. GameBlazers brought developers from FIFA Ultimate to assist with this aspect.

Participants can use their free pack to set a lineup and/or purchase additional packs.

“It makes for a lot more diversity when you’re setting a lineup,” Struthers says. “You don’t have the same player items as everyone else. The multipliers make the game more dynamic and there are fewer opportunities for ties.”

While the mechanics of GameBlazers are slightly different from other DFS platforms, the user journey will feel familiar to most.

“Once you sign up for the platform, you’ll be brought to our Franchise Pass area,” Struthers explains. “From there, you can claim your starter pack. This kickstarts the pack opening experience. You get to tactilely flip over each of the items and see which players you’ve received.”

With items in hand (virtually, of course), GameBlazers players can jump right into a contest.

A polished platform

GameBlazers doesn’t want to bite off more than it can chew. Struthers and the company carefully choose what to work on and which features to roll out.

One such effort has led to discussion about how best to showcase NFL player images.

“We’ve tried to take a lot of the same profile images that people are used to seeing on DraftKings or FanDuel, for example,” Struthers says. “In football, you don’t get to see a lot of the guys’ faces, so it’s a nice way to showcase the players.”

Struthers says GameBlazers is also looking into dynamic action shots to round out player profiles.

While images go a long way in rounding out the GameBlazers look and feel, the game mechanics and fantasy management options are the real stars of the show.

Players can’t trade items, but they can buy or sell them. This distinction was the product of careful deliberation from the GameBlazers development staff.

“Overload is a very real thing,” Struthers says. “Implement everything too quickly and then you have a big stretch of your ecosystem under development at the same time. For now, we’re seeing how the marketplace plays out, fixing any issues, and focusing on that area before we start throwing new features at players.”

That’s a measured approach – words I never thought I’d use to describe a DFS startup, admittedly – and it seems to be working. Struthers and GameBlazers want to make the best possible platform for all players and they aim to stay level-headed and focused on that approach.

The crux of the idea is to make things simple and functional for players. Look to a DFS player’s first moments with GameBlazers for an example.

“You’re able to play with your starter pack items right away,” Struthers says. “From a design standpoint, that was important to us. There are 50 million or more fantasy players in the US and only a small fraction are willing to spend money on it. Having a free-to-play element was important to us.”

Of course, purchasing additional packs can be an advantage. “You get a better variety of players,” Struthers says.

It’s never required and it all feeds into the GameBlazers ethos.

“You’re the owner, general manager and coach of your fantasy franchise,” Struthers says.

Ownership over a fantasy team extends into the long term at GameBlazers.

“We’ve included contract extensions,” Struthers elaborates. “Our items exist either in perpetuity (until a player retires) or they expire 12 months from the pack open date. A contract extension allows you to extend that player beyond 12 months. We’re excited to build on that feature over time.”

Why GameBlazers?

In a world of sports betting and other fantasy platforms, what’s the unique appeal of GameBlazers?

According to Struthers, the concept of ownership and description-making is key.

“There is something for everyone,” he says. “Every layer wants a different level of control. We’re made for players who want more opportunities to manage their roster and make decisions that matter.”

He continues: “There are so many things you can do with GameBlazers that you can’t do anywhere else. You can retain players that have value for years to come. You can open new packs to expand your options.”

GameBlazers also has a Battle Pass Mechanic, allowing players to level up as they play.

“It gets players more excited for what they’re doing in a given week,” Struthers says. “As you win, as you play, you get benefits from doing so, which rewards you for your time and effort. It’ll become a bigger part of our platform over time, too.”

Target markets and challenges

GameBlazers is meant to encompass a wide swath of the population in terms of who the platform is made for. Struthers emphasises the importance of casting a wide net in marketing the business.

“I didn’t want to focus on one single demographic,” he says. “There are so many niche products out there, but we’re wide open. We’re approved for ages 13 and up and we have an entirely free-to-play element that I think will change how people think about fantasy.”

One challenge for GameBlazers? Making its mark in jurisdictions with legal online sports betting.

“A lot of the challenge comes from pure dollar share,” Struthers notes. “Being a startup in this space, it’s hard to differentiate yourself and get brand awareness out there. And when you’re dealing in states that have all this money pouring into user acquisition, it’s hard to stick out.”

Still, Struthers believes in GameBlazers and says the product has a lot of compelling elements to set it apart from the core sports betting experience.

What’s next?

The list of goals for GameBlazers is long and flush with various improvements and features.

“We’re looking to integrate more partnerships, add items to our digital store and potentially get real-life items.”

The biggest item on the roadmap, however, is a native mobile app. That’s coming next year, Struthers says.

Looking ahead, Struthers says, simply: “There’s a lot on our roadmap.”

Producer Drafted.gg currently operates two content production studios. One is located in the Czech capital of Prague and the other in the United Arab Emirates. Drafted.gg provides games for sports such as football, basketball and cricket, with matches streamed live online across Europe and Asia.

Reflecting on the agreement, Esports Entertainment CEO Alex Igelman says it supports the group’s strategy of embedding wagerable content into its esports and igaming offering. He adds that this represents the first step in a broader planned collaboration.

“We’re excited to obtain a minority interest and participate in a revenue-sharing agreement that Drafted.gg has in place,” Igelman said. “This initial investment and collaboration allows us to seamlessly add a best-in-class provider to our robust ecosystem.”

Esports Entertainment could purchase remaining Drafted.gg stake

Looking at future collaborations, Igelman says plans are in place for Esports Entertainment to acquire the entire Drafted.gg business. This, he adds, depends on the performance of the content and Esports Entertainment’s ability to onboard its first US sportsbook.

“We firmly believe that the vast array of content, comprising thousands of short-cycle games available each month, will be well received by esports bettors in the US,” Igelman said. 

“We are also confident in our ability to successfully onboard Drafted.gg content with leading US sportsbooks.”

Acquisition will support wider B2C efforts 

Igelman adds that the deal fits in with wider developments at Esports Entertainment. This includes its switch to a B2C focus.

In April, newly appointed CEO Igelman outlined B2C expansion and confirmed divestment plans. The latter of these included the sale of its Bethard business, which has already been agreed in February. 

Also in April, Esports Entertainment entered an agreement to exchange much of its debt with company stock. This allayed many fears over the company’s future, with the group as recently as December 2022 considering exiting igaming.  

“The company’s recent focus has turned towards developing initiatives to further broaden our esports and igaming solutions in order to create a more comprehensive, end-to-end offering of online betting options for our customers,” Igelman said.

“This announcement perfectly complements our impending Delasport sportsbook offering and our collaboration with Oddin.gg, a leading esports betting solution entity. Through these relationships, and coupled with Drafted.gg’s live esports content, the company has built a comprehensive ecosystem for the benefit of our clients and customers.

“Most importantly, our unwavering commitment is to uphold the highest level of gaming integrity standards and audit processes. This ensures content we generate complies with rigorous regulatory requirements tied to wagering on skill-based content.

“Overall, we could not be more excited about the outlook for this strategic investment and the importance of this collaboration.”

The 12 months ended 30 June were rocky for EEG, following a financially difficult 2021. In October 2022, its future lay in the hands of a creditor after EEG defaulted on convertible notes issues in 2021. These notes had a principal value of $35.0m. In December, EEG then considered abandoning igaming altogether and also confirmed the exit of former CEO Grant Johnson. That same month, it narrowly escaped delisting from the Nasdaq stock exchange.

More exits came in January 2023, with Daniel Mathews resigning from the positions of CFO and COO. Later in the month former CEO Johnson launched a lawsuit against EEG, claiming his dismissal from the company had infringed upon his employment contract.

EEG announced the sale of its Bethard online casino and sportsbook business in February, with the sale totalling at €9.5m. April saw newly-appointed CEO Alex Igelman outline EEG’s B2C expansion and confirm divestment plans and also saw EEG enter an agreement to exchange much of its debt with company stock.

Financial update

Total revenue for FY23 totalled $23.0m (£18.9m/€21.8m), compared to $58.4m for 2022. But the cost of revenue declined overall, landing at $8.8m, a fall of 63.6%.

Sales and marketing expenses were minimised the furthest, tumbling 77.0% to $5.9m. General and administrative expenses came to $28.9m for the year, declining by 43.6%. Net loss totalled at $32.2m, a stark contrast from the $102.2m loss recorded in EEG’s 2022 financial year.

Igelman said EEG had undertaken a number of strategic decisions that he hopes will strengthen the company moving forward.

“Over recent months, the company has undertaken a comprehensive examination of our organisation, focusing on the anticipated trajectory of the esports and igaming sectors,” explained Igelman. “Through this process, we conducted a deep dive into our business from top to bottom and pinpointed operations and contracts that weren’t profitable, leading to decisive actions that have set us up for a promising future.

“Although the restructuring came with one-time expenses, we are confident that the long-term advantages will significantly outweigh these costs.”

Ongoing focus on initiatives

He added that EEG expects a $4m reduction in annual operating expenses moving forward and says the company reduced total liabilities by an estimated $51.8m since January this year.

Igelman continued by explaining EEG’s “recent focus” – developing initiatives related to its esports and igaming offerings.

“Overall, we believe the company-wide initiatives we have undertaken this year will place us in a stronger financial position and at the forefront of the rapidly growing esports wagering market which is poised to grow significantly by 2025,” Igelman continued.

“As a result, I could not be more excited by the outlook for our business.”

However, less than 12 months after the relaunch, Entain has seemingly applied the brakes to this effort. In a statement to iGB, Entain says that it will be scaling back direct-to-consumer operations within Unikrn.

“This is to ensure that our business is structured as effectively as possible and so that we can best deliver on our strategy and growth plans,” Entain says.

“Unikrn has developed an industry-leading offer around esports betting. We see significant opportunities to leverage these capabilities through our existing global brands.”

Entain did not disclose any further details about Unikrn and the future of the division.

Focus on M&A for Entain

The statement comes on the back of Entain completing its latest acquisition as part of an ongoing M&A strategy.

Last week, Entain completed its acquisition of sports modelling, forecasting and analytics specialist Angstrom Sports. The deal is valued at up to £203.0m (€234.7m/$247.2m), with Entain paying an initial £81.0m.

Other recent acquisitions include SuperSport in Croatia, purchased by Entain at the end of 2022. Entain also recently acquired Polish sportsbook operator STS Holding.

Meanwhile, Entain has signed off on a series of M&A bolt-on deals, including Angstrom last week.

In June, Entain purchased Tiidal Gaming NZ, owner of esports betting developer Sportsflare for CA$13.2m. This meant it added a number of betting products optimised for esports – alongside Unikrn.

Earlier this year, Adam Greenblatt, who has led the BetMGM venture since its formation in 2018, spoke to iGB about the importance of tech and product-focused deals in the industry.

The first complaint related to F1 Clash – Car Racing Manager, a game in the Apple app store in May 2023. Accompanying text states the game was free to download but some in-game items can be purchased with real money.

The complainant criticised the listing for not making clear the game also contained random item purchasing. More commonly known as loot boxes, these features allow players to unlock random in-game items in exchange for real money.

Hutch Games misinterpreted advertising guidance

In response, Hutch Games said users could progress in the game regardless of whether they decided to spend money. As such, it did not believe material information was omitted from the ad that prevented consumers from making an informed decision on whether to download the game.

Hutch Games referenced CAP guidance on advertising in-game purchases. These state if virtual currency can be earned in the game, then in-game storefront and any inducement to purchase items would not be considered advertising. As the in-game Bucks currency could be earned as well as purchased, it believed the CAP code did not apply to the ad.

However, after being notified of the complaint, Hutch Games said it understood that it had misinterpreted the CAP guidance. As such, it will update the product listing on the Apple app store.

ASA says ad misleadingly omitted material information

Ruling on the case, the ASA noted the argument that in-game currency could be earned as well as purchased. However, it said this distinction only applied to in-game storefronts and inducements to purchase items within a game.

“We further understood that product listings on app stores were within the scope of the CAP code, regardless of whether any virtual currency could be earned in the game,” the ASA said.

The ASA also referred to the reference to in-game purchases in the advert. It said no further information was given on the nature of those in-app purchases or whether it was possible to purchase loot boxes in the game. 

“We therefore considered the information in the ad was not sufficient for consumers to understand that the in-game purchases included loot boxes,” the ASA said. “Because the ad did not make clear that the game contained loot boxes, which we considered was material to consumers’ decisions to download the game, we concluded that the ad misleadingly omitted material information.”

The ASA ruled the ad breached CAP code (edition 12) rules 3.1 and 3.3 over misleading advertising. As such, the ASA said the ad must not appear again in its current form. It also told Hutch Games to make clear if other games contain loot boxes.

Similar ruling in second loot box case

Looking at the second complaint, this was very similar in nature. A case was raised for Rebel Racing and that the advert failed to disclose that loot boxes featured in the game.

Hutch Games put forward almost identical arguments in that players can progress with or without spending real money. It also said the Keys in-game currency could be earned as well as purchased. 

However, it again said it had misinterpreted CAP guidance on adverts in-game purchases.

The ASA reached a similar conclusion. It acknowledged Hutch Games’ statements but also flagged a lack of information in the advert over the nature of in-app purchases or whether it was possible to purchase loot boxes in the game.

“Because the ad did not make clear that the game contained loot boxes, which we considered was material to consumers’ decisions to download the game, we concluded that the ad misleadingly omitted material information,” the ASA said.

The ASA added the ad must not appear again in its current form. In addition, it said Hutch Games must make clear if other games contain loot boxes.

“Following discussions with the ASA, we acknowledge that a mistake was made on our store page listing for our games Rebel Racing on the Google Play Store and F1 Clash on the Apple App Store,” said a Hutch spokesperson.

“We have immediately corrected this mistake. We are ensuring that all future listings contain the correct information going forward.”

Link between loot boxes and gambling

Much has been said and written about the apparent relationship between loot boxes and gambling. Concerns have been raised about featuring an element of gambling – exchanging money for a random item – in video games that are played by children.

In July, UK Interactive Entertainment (Ukie), the UK’s games industry trade body, published guidelines on the provision of loot boxes, in which it has recommended age-restricting loot boxes to over-18s.

Ukie’s guidelines came as a result of the technical working group. This was set up in July 2022 by the department for culture, media and sport (DCMS).

The group was created in response to the government releasing its findings from a call to evidence regarding loot boxes. This launched in September 2020.

Loot boxes have also caused a stir in other markets. This week’s Federal Congress on Gaming and Gambling in Germany will discuss these and a range of other issues. Robert Hess from Gluecksspielwesen.de last week summarised the current stance on loot boxes.

WestLotto, North-Rhine Westphalia’s state lottery, also recently called for discussions with politicians, scientists and industry stakeholders about loot box regulations.

Titles with in-game purchases linked to elements of chance like paid loot boxes will receive a minimum classification of M. This rating in Australia refers to ‘mature’, whereby games are not recommended for children under the age of 15.

Computer games containing simulated gambling, such as social casino games, will be legally restricted to adults only. These games will be given a minimum classification of R18+.

Announcing the decision, the government referenced recent research by the Australian Institute of Family Studies. This found young people who played simulated gambling games are 40% more likely to spend real money on gambling as young adults.

The government said it consulted with a number of parties before making changes to video games guidelines. These include key industry and community stakeholders, the Australian Communications and Media Authority and the Classification Board.

“The government is determined to protect vulnerable Australians from gambling harms – including children who may be exposed to gambling through video games,” the minister for communications, Michelle Rowland MP, said.

“I thank the states and territories for joining with us to make real changes that will protect children from gambling-like content through these changes to our classification scheme.

“Research shows that children exposed to gambling-like content may be more vulnerable to gambling harm later in life. We are determined to intervene early to keep children safe.

“These changes represent another step in our work to modernise the National Classification Scheme so that Australians can make better informed choices about what they – and those in their care – watch, read and play.”

Ongoing efforts to combat gambling harm in Australia

The announcement marks the latest effort by the government to address gambling harm in Australia.

Other recent initiatives include a ban on the use of credit cards for online wagering. Earlier this month, the government tabled legislation to push ahead with this proposal.

The Interactive Gambling Amendment (Credit and Other Measures) Bill 2023 seeks to ban credit cards and other credit-related products. It also covers digital currencies.

Australia already has a ban on gambling with credit cards at land-based facilities. The bill seeks to bring online gambling in line with this, effectively placing a blanket ban on all credit card gambling.

Meanwhile, the government has introduced evidence-based taglines to replace “Gamble Responsibly” and implemented nationally consistent training for staff working in the sector.

Consumers now also have access to the BetStop national self-exclusion register. They can exclude themselves from gambling with all Australia licensees for periods of between three months and a lifetime. 

In addition, the government is set to introduce mandatory customer pre-verification. This requires operators to verify a customer’s identity when they register for a new account and before they can place a bet.

The integrity body alleges Holmlund placed bets on matches he played in between 27-28 March 2023. He is also accused of placing two bets against his own team on 31 March 2023.

ESIC said overall, Holmlund made 17 bets on various CS:GO matches between 29 March and 1 May 2023.

Breaching ESIC’s code

As such, ESIC charged Holmlund with several breaches of its code. This included section 2.1.1, which prohibits conspiring to fix a match.

Additionally, it charged Holmlund with several other breaches relating to its betting code. These consisted of betting on matches he participated in and concealing this from ESIC, as well as bringing esports into disrepute.

ESIC, “considering the gravity of the allegations”, opted to suspend Holmlund from all ESIC member events.

On X, formerly Twitter, Holmlund denied the allegations. In a statement he said he first heard of the charges on 30 August, but was told no further actions would be taken.

“Today they decided to make a public statement, that is extremely injustice [sic],” he said. “They are accusing me of several stuff I didn’t do, and that’s fairly obvious, still, if I come out publicly with them I am breaking the confidentiality,” he said.

Holmlund said he is willing to cooperate with ESIC on the matter, and intends to submit a final answer to the charges with his lawyer on 6 October.

The deal remains subject to certain closing conditions, but is expected to close by the end of September. 

Founded in Beijing, China in April 2022, Zhihe mainly develops card and Mahjong casual games. During its first nine months of operation in fiscal year 2022, Zhihe posted $10.0m in revenue.

“We are delighted to announce our strategic investment in Beijing Lianzhong Zhihe Technology Co,” Allied CEO Yinghua Chen said. “In just over a year, Zhihe has made remarkable strides in the expansive mobile games market, which will harmonise seamlessly with our strategic goals and the establishment of our Allied Mobile Entertainment (AME) subsidiary.

“Zhihe brings a compelling library of popular mobile games that will bring significant traction to AME, while also providing distribution channels for our current portfolio of casual mobile games that are in the process of testing and pre-public launching. 

“We look forward to working with their leadership team to drive future value and realise the synergies of our businesses.”

Wider growth plans at Allied

The announcement comes on the back of Allied posting its second-quarter and first-half results earlier this week.

Revenue in the three months to 30 June was $3.3m, 182.3% up from $1.2m in the previous year. For the first half, revenue was up 25.0% to $4.5m. 

Speaking after the results were published, Chen talked up the potential of further growth, referring back to a major restructure of the business late last year.

Details of this were revealed in December 2022, including restructuring the existing esports business. Allied also widened its focus to include a broader array of entertainment and gaming products and services.

The initiative included establishing two new subsidiaries in AME and Allied Experiential Entertainment (AEE). AME is focused on the mobile games market, while AEE operates within entertainment live events, experiential entertainment venue operation, management and consultation.

In addition, the business rebranded from Allied Esports Entertainment to reflect its new direction. Q2 was the second full quarter since the restructure.

In addition, the business rebranded from Allied Esports Entertainment to reflect its new direction.

Q2 was the second full quarter since the restructure, with Allied reporting both a rise in revenue and a decline in net loss. President and CEO Yinghua Chen said this was partly due to the changes rolled out as part of the restructure.

New subsidiaries, new markets

These included the establishment of new subsidiaries Allied Mobile Entertainment (AME) and Allied Experiential Entertainment (AEE). AME is focused on the mobile games market, while AEE operates within entertainment live events, experiential entertainment venue operation, management and consultation.

According to Chen these two subsidiaries have allowed, and will continue to allow, Allied to pursue a wide range of strategic opportunities.

“We expect that AME and AEE Entertainment will enable us to break into new markets, creating additional revenue streams and enhancing our financial performance within the next 12 months,” Chen said.

“This restructuring aims to optimise our resources and provide investors with greater clarity on our business outlook and direction.”

Multiplatform content drives revenue growth at Allied

Looking at Allied’s Q2, revenue in the three months to 30 June was $3.3m (£2.6m/€3.0m), up 182.3% from $1.2m in the previous year.

Of this total, $2.0m came from Allied’s multiplatform content operations. This was 6,927.8% higher than 2022’s figure, driven by the release of the second season of the “Elevated” content series.

In-person revenue also increased by 18.2% to $1.1m during the quarter, helped by a new naming rights agreement for one of Allied’s venues. 

Net loss slashed in Q2

Operating costs were 2.1% lower at $4.7m in Q2 while increased interest led to an additional $704,013 in income. As such, quarterly pre-tax loss was $691,218, a significant improvement in $3.7m last year.

Allied did not pay tax, nor did it note any foreign currency translation adjustments. As such, net loss for the quarter was $691,218, in contrast to $3.8m in 2022.

In addition, Allied noted adjusted EBITDA for the quarter improved from a loss of $2.7m to a $1.1m loss.

Allied net loss more than halves in H1

Turning to the first half, revenue in the six months to 30 June hit $4.5m, up 25.0% year-on-year. This included $2.5m worth of in-person revenue and $2.0m multiplatform content revenue.

Operating costs were cut 22.0% to $8.5m and Allied noted a further $1.5m in additional income. This left a pre-tax loss of $2.6m, compared to $7.4m in 2022.

After accounting for minimal foreign currency translation adjustments, net loss remained at $2.6m. This was less than half the $7.5m loss posted in the previous year.

In addition, adjusted EBITDA improved from a loss of $5.3m to negative $3.2m.

“We’re very excited about the remarkable progress we have made and the opportunities that lie ahead,” Chen said.

GG.bet already has a presence in Europe, South America and Asia. The operator is licensed by gaming regulators in the UK, Curacao and Malta.

Rednines previously operated in the UK under the Dr.Bet brand, offering online casino and sports betting products.

Dr.Bet will now automatically redirect users to the new GGbet.co.uk domain. All current customer accounts and active balances will be carried over to the new site.

Important step

GG.bet will offer UK customers the opportunity to bet on sports events, as well as esports. There are also casino and live casino offerings on the site.

Sergii Mishchenko, CEO of GG.bet’s UK operation, said the deal marks “an important step for the development of our company”.

He added: “The UK betting market is highly competitive. As a result, we decided to continue operating under a strong international brand that will allow us to stand out among other bookmakers.”

GG.bet offers bets on over 30 different esports disciplines, including CS:GO, Dota 2, League of Legends and Fortnite. The operator features 400 matches, each with up to 350 markets, every day.

Last year, the operator launched a “smart” personalised feed, offering customers the opportunity to tailor matches and bet types.

Worldwide growth

The franchise deal comes as the influence of esports continues to grow worldwide.

According to GG.bet, the UK esports betting market expanded by 47% over the past three years.

The operator wants to expand its presence in Europe, building on numerous tournament partnerships over the past two years. These included official deals covering PGL Stockholm and PGL Antwerp.

GG.bet also sponsors high-profile esports teams NAVI and Team Vitality.

In February, GG.bet extended a partnership with esports live data provider Bayes Esports.

Abios will provide odds for in-play markets, player propositions and a selection of pre-game markets covering CS:GO tournaments.

The odds feed is accompanied by Abios widgets. This will allow fans to watch matches and see pre-game and in-play statistics.

Comprehensive offering

Dragoni’s sportsbook and esports platform also features a database of statistics from large and small tournaments. These are complete with a comprehensive offering that includes tournament brackets, player statistics and map win rates for teams.

“This collaboration reflects our commitment to providing our users with a top-tier esports betting experience,” Mark Cole, co-founder and CEO of Dragoni, said.

“By leveraging Abios’ industry-leading data solutions, we will enhance our platform’s capabilities and empower our users with the most accurate and reliable information available.”

A decade in the making

Abios is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Kambi acquired Abios almost two years ago, helping to drive growth at the provider.

Abios CEO and founder Oskar Fröberg said that the statistics platform will engage fans “across the UK and beyond”.

“Dragoni have done a tremendous job utilising our esports resources, including data, widgets and odds, to create a completely new and unique product,” he said.

Alongside this recommendation, Ukie’s new guidelines presented 10 further loot box rules. These included implementing technological controls to access loot boxes, which would require parental consent to circumvent and increasing awareness about these rules.

Weber (pictured) says that WestLotto wants to see similar guidelines adopted in Germany.

“Initially, it is only a matter of a voluntary commitment by the providers – but closely monitored by the government,” Weber said. “So, that’s where the exchange takes place, which we also urgently need in Germany when it comes to loot boxes.”

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) welcomed Ukie’s recommendations, praising the particular focus on young people. DCMS established Ukie’s Technical Working Group in July 2022.

Gaining perspective

Weber says that research is a key prerequisite for the proposed roundtable talks.

“WestLotto is not demanding a complete ban on loot boxes either,” he continued. “But our social task must be to protect children and young people from gambling-like elements in games and to prevent them from developing problematic gaming behaviour as early as adolescence.”

One of WestLotto’s central demands is further research into hidden opportunities to gamble in video games. This is also pinpointed in the UK recommendations.

Evolving regulatory landscape

The regulatory landscape regarding loot boxes is evolving across the globe.

In January, the European parliament spoke out in favour of developing uniform regulations for loot boxes. Late last year, an amendment was tabled to Australia’s existing media classification bill that would restrict video game loot boxes to over-18s.

There remains a lack of guidance in Germany, but there has been some progress. In January this year, German video game age-rating body Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle started to consider the presence of loot boxes in its rating process.

Weber hopes to use the UK’s recent moves as a springboard to encourage Germany to address loot boxes in gaming.

“… we should now take this initiative from Great Britain as an opportunity to continue promoting the protection of minors and clear rules in Germany,” he said.

The group was created in response to the government releasing its findings from a call to evidence regarding loot boxes, which was launched in September 2020.

This was convened due to concerns that young people using loot boxes in video games were effectively gambling underage. Loot boxes often require real money to unlock in-game features or tools.

Main recommendations

As such, the Ukie guidelines have recommended that loot boxes are made completely unavailable to young people, unless enabled by a parent or guardian.

“Publishing these shared principles for how the industry approaches loot boxes is a UK first and provides us with a clear direction moving forwards,” said Daniel Wood, co-CEO of Ukie. “The principles will improve protections for all players and underlines the industry’s commitment to safe and responsible play.

“We look forward to working collaboratively across industry and with others to implement them over the coming months.”

In a statement released today (18 July), DCMS said that it welcomes these developments. It said that it hopes they strengthen player protection measures – particularly in reference to young people.

“The government welcomes this guidance which, if fully implemented, has the potential to enhance player protections in line with the objectives set out in the government response,” said DCMS.

The suggested guidelines

In total, Ukie has presented 11 guidelines for loot box use. It recommends that technological controls are put in place to prevent under 18s from using loot boxes. These technological controls would require parental consent to circumvent.

This must also be coupled with driving awareness around these technological controls.

DCMS specifically praised this recommendation for parental consent and called on the wider industry to tighten up its rules on parental controls.

“We welcome the clear commitment in the new industry guidance to use technological controls to restrict anyone under the age of 18 from acquiring a paid loot box without the consent or knowledge of a parent or guardian,” DCMS continued.

“As part of implementing its guidance, we call on industry to increase and monitor the uptake of parental controls and to ensure widespread adoption of current best practice of default £0 spending limits on child accounts, applying both to loot boxes and other in-game purchases.”

Keeping players informed

In addition, Ukie’s guidelines suggest that the presence of loot boxes in a game must be disclosed before purchase or download. This is so the player can be fully informed.

While recommendations like these are unsurprising, Ukie also suggests a number of more unexpected measures.

This includes the formation of an expert panel on age assurance in the games industry and a commitment to lenient refund policies on loot box purchases that have been carried out without the knowledge of a parent or guardian.

In terms of the lenient refund policy, DCMS said this was an important “backstop” in order to block financial harms from occurring.

“We recognise that, even with these improvements, parental controls and age assurance technologies may not always prevent children from purchasing loot boxes without prior parental consent,” the statement continued. “Refunds are therefore an important backstop to further mitigate the risk of financial harms which may be associated with loot boxes.”

Similar moves elsewhere

Loot boxes have long been a criticised aspect of gaming, In July 2022 – one day after the call to evidence results were released, Dame Rachel de Souza, the UK Children’s Commissioner deemed loot boxes as “inappropriate”.

She urged video game developers to address the effect non-regulated loot box access could have on young people.

Also in July 2022, in Spain, the country’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs published a draft bill that would address the regulation of loot boxes. At the time, Spain was seen to be the first country in the EU to regulate loot boxes specifically.

This process dates back to February 2021, when Spain’s regulator Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ) opened a consultation posing how loot boxes should be regulated.

Meanwhile, from 1 January 2023, German video game age-rating body Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle began to consider whether loot boxes should factor into its age-rating system.

Summer has arrived but the final release date for CS2 remains a mystery. With a chance that the game could be launched any day, Clay Bartolo, trading operations leader at Pandascore, poses some key questions about what the launch could mean for the esport and how this can impact trading.

Updated graphics, adjustments to maps and tweaks to mechanics raise a lot of questions about how the markets are going to be priced. The quirks of the competitive calendar and how this interacts with the launch could also throw another spanner in the works.

Early planning for Counter-Strike 2

Alongside the launch announcement came news that the recent BLAST.tv Paris Major would be the last major on the current title CS:GO, with the first official tournament on the new CS2 being the PGL Major Copenhagen in 2024. This means we’re still a while away from seeing the new competitive environment in action, making it difficult to make any definitive assumptions. However, there are some features of CS2 that can be examined to inform our look ahead.

Adjusting to game mechanics

While the core structure of the game isn’t changing, there are some important changes to mechanics that we know are coming:

●     shooting through smoke grenades creates vision

●     fire from Molotovs takes longer to spread

●     player movement is tweaked

●     changes to maps creating new dynamics and opportunities

The specific impacts of these changes on the competitive environment are tough to predict, as even tiny changes can reveal new strategies and game plans. However, even though the first official tournament takes place in March 2024, the game itself will be launching for general play months beforehand. This means we will be getting a glimpse of the potential impact of these changes months before the first official tournament takes place.

One thing that is certain is that form and skill will not necessarily carry over from a team’s performance in CS:GO. From a team’s strategic preferences, how they prioritise training, to how much time they have spent in the CS2 environment before the switch, any and all of these factors could result in even a top team in CS:GO struggling in CS2.

In the first few tournaments and particularly the first major, the teams that can adapt quickly to the changes will be rewarded. This means that a big strategic question for teams is how they will handle the transition period. When will they switch to the new game, are they going to train for both games and, if so, for how long?

Scheduling may favour the underdogs

With the competitive circuit as it currently stands, top-tier teams are likely to be playing CS:GO until at least the December player break. These teams will be trying to balance their desire to be competitive in the new game with their desire to maximise winnings in the final CS:GO tournaments. For lower-tier teams that have no big tournaments coming, there’s a much higher probability that they will make the switch earlier and focus their training on the new game. For teams that aren’t present at DreamHack or the big BLAST competitions, there is an opportunity to build an edge come time for pro-CS2 because they have more practice and familiarity with the new game.

There could even be some teams withdrawing from some CS:GO tournaments to smash low-tier CS2 tournaments to prepare for the Regional Major Rankings (RMR) qualifiers. Practising in public lobbies and scrimmages won’t be enough, teams will want to get as much competitive practice as possible to build match fitness for when it comes time to qualify for the major.

All these variables mean that traders will need to take on more factors than just historical data. For example, if a lower-tier team already has a few unofficial CS2 tournaments under their belt, an adjustment would need to be made. This means that overall we can expect more conservative, considered approaches when it comes to pricing CS2 markets in the early days.

This, Victoria police said, would allow its detectives to commence an investigation as soon as possible.

The Victorian Crimes Act was also amended in 2013 to add four criminal offences directly related to corrupting the betting outcome of an event. The type of sporting event is not specified in these offences, but instead refer to the corruption of a betting outcome.

The SIIU conducted the first Australian law enforcement investigation into match-fixing in esports in 2019. Five men were charged with offences including engaging in conduct that corrupts or would corrupt a betting outcome and using corrupt conduct information for betting purposes.

Such offences are subject to maximum penalties of 10 years’ imprisonment.

Vulnerable targets in esports

Assistant commissioner for intelligence and covert support command, Chris Gilbert, said that given the demographic of esports, players can be potentially more vulnerable targets than those involved in traditional sports.

“They are often young adults who could be more susceptible to corrupt approaches by criminal entities due to minimal prize money and a lack of focus on integrity and education by game developers,” Gilbert said.

“Victoria police will continue to target the infiltration of esports by any potential offenders, including by organised crime syndicates.

“Alongside this agreement with ESIC, we’ve developed strong relationships with a number of esports stakeholders and wagering operators and we’ll continue to work together to target any suspicious activity.

“It’s important that people understand these are significant criminal offences with substantial penalties and we will take any reports of suspicious activity seriously.”

ESIC’s director of global strategy, Stephen Hanna, added: “Collaboration between law enforcement agencies and ESIC is essential to ensuring a fair and safe environment for esports competitors and fans. 

“Esports is a global industry that requires a global response to maintain integrity. By working together with law enforcement agencies, we can better identify and investigate suspicious betting activity and protect the integrity of esports competitions.

“We look forward to continuing to collaborate with Victoria police and other law enforcement agencies to safeguard esports.”

The company provides advisory services to resort operators, investors, regulatory bodies, private equity funds, banks and developers.

Prior to this, Soper served as president and CEO of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority. He also had a spell as international president of Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment.

Earlier in his career, Soper spent almost 14 years with Mohegan Sun, including spells as president and CEO of facilities in Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Here, he oversaw the launch of online gambling within the organisation.

“I am honoured to welcome Robert, a highly esteemed and widely renowned leader in the resort and gaming industries, to our board of directors,” EEG CEO Alex Igelman said. “He brings an impressive track record and deep relationships across the industry that I believe will add tremendous value to our company as we execute on our strategic turnaround. 

“His willingness to join our board illustrates his confidence in the company’s ongoing transformation, as well as our significant potential within the igaming and esports sectors.”

EEG people moves

The appointment comes after EEG earlier this month also announced the return of Damian Mathews as its chief operating officer.

Mathews was previously chief financial officer of EEG from April 2022 to December 2022 and also served as COO for a number of months.

He stepped down from both roles in December but remained as a member of EEG’s board, a position he has held since June 2020.

Entain struck the deal in March and will purchase all issued and outstanding shares in the supplier.

The purchase price will be retained by Tiidal for 180 days. During this time, Tiidal will be able to access the funds to attend to any working capital adjustment. Tiidal can also access 20% of the funds at any time to pay reasonable costs related to the deal.

Upon the closure of the deal, Tiidal granted 2,500,000 restricted share units to its CEO, as part of his employment agreement. In addition, 1,910,700 common shares were issued to Sportsflare personnel.

Following these issuances, Tiidal had 87,603,908 shares issued and outstanding.

When the deal was first announced Thomas Hearne, chief executive at Tiidal, said that Sportsflare “will be a great fit with Entain’s strong presence in the industry”, adding that the deal will “maximise value for Tiidal shareholders”.

Entain’s esports investments

The conclusion of this deal builds on Entain’s recent moves in the esports space.

In December last year, it relaunched Unikrn, the esports betting brand that it acquired in October 2021. As part of the deal, Entain acquired Unikrn’s technology and its esports betting platform.

At the time Entain said it was aiming to roll out Unikrn in other regulated markets.

In March this year – two weeks after the acquisition of Tiidal was announced – Unikrn agreed to a multi-year partnership with Blast, another esports entertainment business. This partnership stipulated that Unikrn would appear within Blast’s event coverage and promotions.

Entain’s M&A activity

Entain supports its esports plans with investments in disruptive technologies, through its innovation hub Ennovate. The London-based hub is investing £100m in virtual reality and blockchain solutions, of which £40m will be allocated to UK businesses.

The core real-money gaming business is growing through bolt-on regional acquisitions. Entain is accelerating growth in the Netherlands with BetCity and in the Baltics with Enlabs.

In Eastern Europe, its presence grew through the acquisition of Croatia’s SuperSport. The operator works with Czech investment fund Emma Capital to seek out further deals in the region.

Last week Entain updated the market on two recent M&A deals – Tab NZ and 365scores. Entain entered into a 25-year partnership with Tab NZ last month, while plans to purchase affiliate 365scores were announced in April.

If passed into law, the bill would allow bets to be placed on sports and horse racing in North Carolina.

Read the full story on iGB North America

Betting options available to players include football, soccer and basketball events, as well as esports competitions based on games such as CS:GO, League of Legends and Dota 2.

Rivalry has been active in Ontario for some time having secured a licence in the province in April of last year.

Read the full story on iGB North America

Record revenue was accompanied by an all-time quarterly high betting handle of $120.2m. The operator was also able to reduce its net loss by 47.3%.

Reflecting on the quarter, co-founder and chief executive Steven Salz hailed Rivalry’s ongoing content and brand strategy, saying this will drive further growth in 2023.

“Our position at the intersection of esports and entertainment continues to create operating leverage in the business and drive organic growth,” Salz said. 

“Rivalry’s content and brand strategy is setting the industry precedent for betting entertainment. This allows us to acquire customers profitably and engage them through authentic touchpoints without having to consistently deploy additional marketing and promotional spend for growth. 

“It is this approach that is generating breakthrough industry economics, user engagement and charting a path to profitability that we are very bullish on.”

Record Rivalry Q1

Breaking down Rivalry’s performance in the three months to 31 March, sportsbook activities generated $10.3m in revenue, up 119.2% from $4.7m in 2022. Gaming revenue also hiked 4,786.4% from $33,956 to $1.7m.

Rivalry also noted that user registrations reached 1.5 million at the end of Q1, up 114.0% year-over-year. Millennial and Gen Z consumers represented 97.0% of active users.

Turning to spending, cost of revenue was 58.5% higher at $6.5m, while operating expenses increased 25.0% to $9.0m. Rivalry’s main operating costs were general and administration, which were up 80.0% to $4.5m in Q1.

This left an operating loss of $3.6m, an improvement on $6.6m in 2022. However, when also including a $320,360 gain on foreign exchange, this left a smaller net loss of $3.3m.

Rivalry also reported negative $654,836 worth of exchange rate differences from translation operations. This meant total comprehensive loss was $3.9m, some 47.3% lower than in Q1 of 2022.

“Building innovative products, which add to an overall unique and interactive betting experience on Rivalry, will remain a strategic focus in 2023,” Salz said. “The competitive advantage of engaging and fun products is increased user activity and satisfaction.

“When combined with a profitable acquisition strategy, this creates a flywheel effect in the business generating consistent organic momentum and enhancing our operational efficiency.”

Strategic financing

Rivalry also referenced its recently announced strategic financing, which it said will allow the business to accelerate operational objectives and pursue strategic growth.

Led by sports betting, technology and payments stakeholders, Rivalry closed the first tranche of the private placement for gross proceeds on 5 May. This initial offering raised $6.9m in proceeds, with 4,611,013 subordinate voting shares sold at $1.50 each.

On 23 May, Rivalry closed a second tranche for aggregate gross proceeds of $382,499 by issuing 254,999 subordinate voting shares. 

After accounting for finder’s fees, Rivalry was able to raise a total of $7.3m and issue some 4,866,012 subordinate voting shares. An additional tranche of the placement is expected to close no later than 23 June.

At the time, Allied said focusing on a broader array of entertainment and gaming products and services, as opposed to seeking a single business combination transaction, would be in the interest of shareholders.

Allied’s chief executive Yinghua Chen said the group advanced on its strategic objectives in Q1 and that this will help it to continue to gain momentum in Q2.

“It has been a strong start to the year so far at Allied and we are continuing to gain momentum in the second quarter as we advance on our strategic objectives,” Chen said. “We are also excited to have recently announced our continued relationship with HyperX/HP on the Arena branding side and renewal of sponsorship from Progressive Insurance on our original content programmes. 

“These growing relationships are further evidence that Allied is recognised as an established name in the gaming entertainment community and that we offer an inroad to this crucial and fast-growing multi-billion-dollar gaming marketplace.”

Q1

Revenue for the three months to 31 March was $1.2m (£953,613/€1.1m), down from $2.2m in the corresponding period last year.

This decline, Allied said, was mainly due to the timing of its original “Elevated” content series, which recognised revenue for season one in Q1 of last year and is expected to recognise revenue for season two in the second quarter of 2023.

The business also noted that revenue was relatively flat on a quarter-on-quarter basis from Q4.

In terms of spending, costs and expenses were 38.7% lower at $3.8m, helped by a reduction in general and administrative expenses, principally cash, severance and stock-based compensation, as well as the timing and related expense recognition of the Elevated series.

The decline in expenses meant operating loss was cut from $3.7m to $2.7m while, after also including $761,904 in other income, including $734,449 in interest income, it resulted in a net loss of $1.9m compared to $3.8m in 2022.

Allied also noted a positive impact of $1,880 in foreign currency translation adjustments, which meant total net loss was $1.9m, in contrast to $3.7m last year.

Once completed, combined with a number of prior transactions, the agreement will reduce the company’s debt by approximately $42m, resulting in a largely debt free balance sheet. EEG said that the move represents “material progress” towards addressing the company’s remaining Nasdaq listing deficiencies.

EEG exchanges debt

The business narrowly escaped de-listing towards the end of 2022 and, after the exit of the CEO, put in place a plan to return towards listing suitability. The closing of the deal will see EEG able to demonstrate that it is in compliance with the Nasdaq requirement to have a minimum of $2.5m in stockholder equity spelled out in the exchange’s listing rules.

“We appreciate the tremendous support of our senior lender, who has agreed to exchange their senior convertible note to preferred equity, which we believe illustrates their confidence in the outlook for the business, while improving our balance sheet, enhancing cash flow and providing us greater financial flexibility to execute our new growth strategy,” said EEG CEO Alex Igelman.

Alto director Waqas Khatri himself expressed his belief in the company’s prospects.

“We are excited to support this debt reduction transaction, which not only demonstrates our confidence in the company’s leadership, direction and fiscal discipline but also reflects our belief in the new management team’s cohesive vision for the company’s technology assets,” he said.

“We applaud the company’s more operationally efficient business model and the team’s focus on creating long-term value and profitability. This transaction is a testament of our commitment to the company and we are honoured to be a part of its success story.”

EEG strategic reorientation

This week, Igelman announced a series of initiatives to divest itself of a number of revenue streams in order to focus on a more streamlined set of B2C operations. The executive re-emphasised the content of that letter, highlighting the proposed savings as placing the business on a sure financial footing.

“I recently outlined a series of initiatives, well under way, to focus our efforts on key business lines within the igaming, esports and e-simulator markets, while simultaneously streamlining operations,” he said.

“Through the actions already in place, we expect to reduce our operating expenses by over $4 million on an annualised basis and have identified further opportunities to reduce costs going forward.

“Including this latest note exchange, we have also reduced debt and other liabilities by over $27 million, year to date. As a result, I believe the company’s financial and operational outlook is back on track to capitalise on the esports opportunities ahead of us.”

Igelman, who was appointed in January this year, said that he carried out a company review and coordinated this with an action plan.

“Since joining the company approximately three months ago, I immediately undertook a top-to-bottom review of the entire organisation based on where I believe the esports and esports gambling industries are heading, and then tied this into a cohesive vision for the company,” said Igelman.

He explained that Esports Entertainment would now focus on expanding its B2C offerings, specifically through its Idefix platform. The company acquired Idefix as part of its $30m acquisition of Lucky Dino in March 2021.

“As a business-to-consumer (B2C) igaming operator in international markets, operating under our MGA licence, we plan to have a renewed focus on esports wagering through new betting content and offerings,” he said.

“Concurrently, the company is implementing strategies to expand its B2C esports wagering services through its Idefix platform, and we are in the final stages of integrating the Oddin.gg iframe solution on our platform for esports wagering.

“Eventually, we plan to offer an esports-first, Idefix-based B2B platform for sale and distribution to third parties.”

Divestment efforts

Igelman noted Esports Entertainment’s multiple divestment efforts, many of which have taken place this year. Igelman said that these sales took place to “streamline” its operations.

“In January of this year, we completed the sale of our esports Spanish gaming licence for approximately $1.2m,” he said. “On the immediate heels of this transaction, we completed the sale of the Bethard business in February for approximately $1.7m in cash at closing and further eliminated debt and liabilities to the Bethard business of approximately $7.5m.

“In March, we initiated the liquidation of Argyll Entertainment, an online gambling business in the UK with recurring losses.”

Igelman also explained the company’s decision to reduce its employee headcount, which was slashed by more than 37% this year.

“We have also reduced headcount from 158 full-time employees at 31 December 2022, to 99 full-time employees, inclusive of planned reductions,” he said. “Although we incurred upfront costs related to the restructuring, over time, these initiatives are expected to lower our operating expenses by over $4m on an annualised basis.”

Looking ahead

Despite a rocky start to 2023, Igelman praised the company’s “achievements” as “noteworthy” in his time as CEO.

“Esports Entertainment has extremely valuable and differentiated assets, which we believe will be key to the future of this industry,” he said. “I strongly believe that our achievements over a short three-month span are truly noteworthy.

“With the right leadership, direction and financial discipline, I am extremely confident we can establish Esports Entertainment as a leader in this rapidly emerging market, while unlocking value for shareholders.”

Beter has enjoyed “incredible success” in recent months, it explained, and intends to strengthen its existing partnerships, as well as work with more tier-one brands globally.

“We have made the strategic decision to take more control over the distribution of our content,” said Beter CEO Gal Ehrlich. “This decision is not a reflection of the incredible work our partner has done on our behalf, but rather an opportunity to align our distribution strategies with our long-term goals.

“We are confident that by taking a more active role in the distribution of our content, we will be better positioned to deliver on our commitment to provide the best possible experience for our customers and their players.”

Previously, the provider worked with sports data giant Sportradar to distribute its basketball, table tennis and esports products. That deal will expire at the end of May.

Prior to this date, the company’s products, including matches conducted within the ESportsBattle and Setka Cup tournaments, will be available via Sportradar.

“I […] want to express my gratitude to the Sportradar team for the incredible collaboration and teamwork we have enjoyed over the past three years,” Ehrlich added. “Throughout our partnership, our focus has always been on providing the highest quality content to operators and ultimately players and I can say with great pride that we have achieved this.”

Beter extends esports partnership

In February, Beter announced it would be extending its deal with Fortuna Entertainment Group (FEG) to supply the operator with its esports offering. Under the terms of the agreement, Beter will provide the operator with an esports odds feed and full coverage of esports events and tournaments.

“Working with leading operators gives us an excellent opportunity to continue driving the igaming industry with the best possible esports betting product,” said Beter esports general manager Evgeniy Bekker at the time.

“I am confident that our product will help FEG to enhance its position as a market leader while providing a significant boost to the quality of the services it brings to its customers.”

This comprises the 23% of those working in hospitality coming from Hispanic backgrounds, and the 19% who are black, both of which is above the total US workforce in general, and in line with the hospitality industry in specific. The 14% of employees who are of Asian descent means that the group is over-represented in the sector at around twice the national average.

“Consumers, policymakers and investors are raising their expectations for all businesses on how they contribute to society beyond the bottom line,” said AGA president and CEO Bill Miller. “Encompassing data from across commercial, tribal and manufacturing gaming verticals, the survey both highlights our industry’s leadership on diversity while presenting areas for continued progress.”

Improved situation

Among operators, this racial diversity is a departure from the situation a decade ago. In 2011, the percentage of operators from non-white backgrounds stood at close to 20%, as opposed to the 60% reported today. Black employees have also increased their proportion of the operator workforce, now making up 19% of the total, rising from 12% in 2011.

Gaming manufacturers also have a more diverse workforce than the broader electronic manufacturing sector as a whole; 45% of employees in gaming manufacturing are minorities, while 38% are in the sector as a whole.

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Entain relaunched Unikrn in December last year, following its acquisition of the esports operator in October 2021.

The relaunch consisted of taking Unikrn live in Brazil and Canada (minus Ontario), with an aim to enter the US sooner rather than later.

For Dellario, Unikrn has everything needed to be a success in regulated markets, plus a little extra.

“We have one of the most expansive offerings of markets and features for esports betting globally,” Dellario says. “We also have a full traditional sportsbook that lives right next to esports.”

The product doesn’t end there, though. Dellario notes other avenues the company offers to esports fans and gamers: skill-based wagering products, esports virtuals, live casino and more.

Targeting the new guard

Unikrn’s primary audience, Dellario says, is a “post-university, Gen-Z” demographic.

These players “are very digitally native,” he says. “They’re used to streamlined, inclusive experiences. They grew up with social media. There’s a significant customer base out there.

“They enjoy esports as a form of entertainment and they want to add our form of entertainment to that fandom. They’re likely to land with us if they want to start wagering because we’re one of the only esports and video game-focused betting operators.”

Dellario notes that Unikrn is only live in markets where it can get licensed.

“As part of the Entain group, we have no ambitions to operate in gray or black territories,” he says.

That ideology feeds into a larger goal at Unikrn: participating meaningfully in the esports ecosystem.

“We think about how to run a successful business and give customers an exciting offering, of course,” Dellario says. “But also we ask ourselves how we can participate in the health and sustainability of esports generally.”

That translates into partnerships with game publishers, players, teams, advertisers and other stakeholders.

Where esports and betting intersect

People enjoy esports for the same reason they enjoy traditional sports.

Dellario sees the appeal himself, citing all the exciting aspects of the space: “The fandom for the players, the fandom for the teams, the fandom for the actual competition itself, tuning in to see who’s the best in the world at something.

“Fandoms sometimes exist in your household between you and your friends. And consuming that form of entertainment has the potential to be made more exciting, more fun.

“Imagine watching a football match and sprinkling a few pounds on your team. It’s the same drive for esports bettors.”

In other words, esports are mainly different from traditional sports in that they’re new. They don’t have the same established staying power as football, basketball and the big global moneymakers.

Another key point Dellario addresses is the age of the audience. “You have to consider that a large portion of the audience is underage. We only want to speak to the adult audience. Still, the passions look very similar across sports and esports.”

Then there’s the question of markets. The US has made headway with sports betting but lags behind with regard to esports. Other global markets are ahead of the curve, so to speak.

“In Australia, you have a significantly engaged betting audience across everything,” Dellario says.

“Esports betting is quite large in Brazil,” he continues. “And in Canada, a place where we currently operate.”

As for engaging new markets, Dellario says it’s a waiting game. “We have to conform to consumer protection standards and regulations. We also have to educate our audience. It’s a unique challenge.”

What’s popular?

“Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, and Dota 2 are some of the largest games for betting,” Dellario says. “That also happens to correspond with them being some of the most viewed esports in the world.”

Operating a game as a service typically translates to more staying power in the space. Dellario cites League of Legends and Dota 2 as examples. “They’ve been around forever and they probably will be around forever.”

Newcomers emerge from time to time.

“Games will regularly peak in popularity around launch,” Dellario says. “Or shortly after a new content release. They’ll get viewership on Twitch or YouTube. Betting trends tend to reflect those peaks and valleys.”

Rainbow Six Siege and Valorant have both seen recent success thanks to a constant influx of innovative first-person shooter games. “Naturally, those types of games also rise in betting.”

The US opportunity

Dellario says there’s a market for esports betting in the US. “Video Games tend to also do some of the best growth and building and maintaining of their communities in the US.”

The state-by-state regulation makes things tricky, though.

“I think we need to see more acceptance, and also a definition of how esports will be regulated across several states,” Dellario says. “There’s an inconsistent definition of what’s allowed and not allowed. Some states just rolling up esports as a sport, it’s fine. Other states simply ignore esports.”

Ignoring esports in legislation can then spark further problems. Do esports roll into the sports umbrella? Do they count as something different? These inconsistencies make the US a unique challenge.

There are also gray market options. “Some customers might not know they’re using a product that isn’t necessarily legal or illegal,” Dellario continues.

To make the US a viable market for esports betting, Dellario says it’ll take time. “We need to get it right,” he says, referencing not just esports betting but the larger esports ecosystem.

Unikrn’s future

In the next few years, Unikrn has its sights set on new markets. “But only when we have the confidence we can operate locally, sustainably, in a way that’s safe for customers,” Dellario says.

“We’re also aiming to participate in the esports ecosystem meaningfully by forming the right partnerships and creating the best possible customer offering.”

Additionally, Unikrn looks to update its product and learn from its customers. “We’re trying to engage with our users and see what gives them value long-term,” Dellario says.

With the esports space on the up-and-up, Unikrn seems well-staged to make good on that opportunity.

They’ve already gone through the classic startup pivot. Abios started out as a B2C scheduling platform for fans to follow esports tournaments, fixtures and results. Products such as a Chrome extension were popular, but difficult to monetise. 

That prompted a pivot into data and a focus on APIs and visualisations. This B2B focus, of course, has paid off in spades.

“Sometimes we refer to our current business as one of our backup plans, but that’s not really the truth,” Fröberg says. “When we built the B2C platform we saw that as potentially a good business in itself, but we had a number of paths we could take. 

“One of these was B2B, one of these was building our own betting platform and we saw the best opportunity in B2B.”

Its APIs and visualisations also convinced a high profile betting business to enter the game. Kambi acquired Abios in a SEK270m deal in 2021.

Problem solving and passion

At a time when other companies in the sector are struggling, running out of runway or struggling to establish themselves, Abios is arguably an outlier. It secured funding from its early stages. Now with Kambi’s sports betting expertise it is shaping how esports betting is consumed. 

But they’re not sure about being tagged veterans. “We started out early; I feel young and alive still,” Janér laughs. 

To him, a business’ value lies in its ability to solve problems, which in turn contributes to Abios’ relative longevity. 

“Having worked on those problems for ten years, doing everything from handling real-time esports data from servers to working with analogue information, we’ve been solving these problems to an extent,” he explains. “That experience is very hard to replicate.”

A passion for the sector underpins this experience, alongside the right people. 

“By ‘the right people’ I mean people who know esports, who live and breathe it and who are passionate about entrepreneurship and building a company from the ground up. We have people around us who support us in every aspect, the best possible people in every single role and, if you have that, the rest takes care of itself.”

Facing down a market correction

While Abios now sits at the centre of esports betting’s effort to break into the mainstream, recent events have caused disquiet about the sector’s prospects. 

Plenty of esports betting operators have got banks and investors excited, raised capital then burned through it without much in the way of returns. Some pivot away from esports and launch a firesale of assets, some lurch from one crisis to another.

This isn’t confined to esports betting. Organisations’ valuations have also plummeted, in some cases by more than 90%. 

In Fröberg’s eyes the current struggles definitely serve as a market correction.

“Having been in the industry for ten years we’ve seen a lot of businesses come and go, a lot of brands that have created a lot of noise, raised loads of capital then are never heard of again two or three years later,” he says. “Around the pandemic years there were a lot of businesses that were listed, but were never able to show any end product.”

Ultimately having the macro environment take care of itself “is probably quite good for the industry”. Those that find the right product-market fit will stick around, and will come out strongly, he predicts. 

That’s not to say it’s necessarily a fair market correction. “We’ve seen a lot of ventures out there, where we think the idea is right, the product is good, but it’s a matter of timing,” he adds. “Maybe the industry isn’t mature enough, maybe it’ll take longer for these businesses to find their place.”

Janér points out it’s happening in every industry, in every country around the world. 

“Most people should have been a little bit attuned to the risk of this happening,” he says. “It impacts healthy companies less, but it impacts everyone.”

Standing up for esports’ future

Janér believes the digital-first nature of esports means the sector as a whole will weather the storm better than most. And there’s still plenty of optimism around the industry – considering how young the esports sector is in 2023, each year still marks a massive improvement on the one before.

He’s also excited by the technology available in the industry, which doesn’t exist in any traditional, analogue sports. “That’s bound to create some really interesting products and opportunities going forward.

Fröberg believes esports’ detractors either don’t know the sector, or haven’t done enough research. At worst, they might have a degree of prejudice around gaming in general. 

“It’s still a rapidly growing market that’s finding its way but if you have an intimate knowledge of the sector, you know it’s here to stay and it’s going to get bigger and better,” he says.

“There’s a lot of things that are exciting, but from a pure economic perspective esports audiences are still very young, and have low disposable incomes. As it matures these fans will be spending money to entertain themselves. That’s going to change the industry.”

Janér notes there are different pros and cons to all emerging, established and popular betting sports, and he can’t see why esports would be any less suited. However, there is still a “big lag” in terms of what information is available regarding the performance of esports across different platforms and customers. In short, the evidence could be there, we just haven’t seen it yet. 

“[But] it’s rooting in properly, and we’ll only see it grow from here,” he adds. “When it becomes as big as American football I can’t answer but it’s going to be in an interesting place.”

Life in the Kambi family

Of course, being part of a business that has successfully leveraged American football’s popularity to build a sizeable presence in the nascent US market is probably a good place to be as esports embarks on the same journey. 

That access to sports betting expertise, both in terms of the core product and the know-how to navigate a tricky regulatory landscape, is arguably what a lot of early-stage esports betting hopefuls have lacked. 

Janér says Abios was “a bit humbled” by just how tricky the sports betting industry is to navigate. 

That makes the partnership particularly valuable; Abios can lean on Kambi’s expertise around compliance, while Kambi has a “black ops team” for esports, providing an extra edge and products beyond the core wagering suite. 

The supplier is still “delivering infrastructure to the esports industry” as Fröberg puts it, although under Kambi’s ownership the focus zeroes in on the betting component. “It was obviously interesting as there was money to be made there, but beforehand we were just looking at it as one [of many] sectors to be in.”

Overhauling esports odds

So what does that mean for its product roadmap? The odds product is the focus, but it’s less about innovation, at this point, and more about rolling out new products and features. Although those plans are particularly ambitious – the odds product, Fröberg predicts, will be industry-leading by 2024. After 2024, that’s when they’ll start innovating. 

He argues it’s similar to the original API product. “[That] created the field and set the tone and really broke new ground. The same is true for our widgets and visualisations. 

“With odds we’re now bringing the best things traditional sports has to offer, bringing esports up to par with odds [in 2023] then next year we want to innovate, break new ground and try to find the types of products that have never been seen around traditional sports.”

Whether or not they consider themselves veterans, Fröberg and Janér have demonstrated staying power in a sector that is young, subject to growing pains and yet to convince all of the gambling industry of its value. 

There’s no secret sauce but if they were to give others some advice, it’s very simple: founders should move slowly, but deliberately.

Ignore the entrepreneurial jargon

“Don’t be too keen to get too big and make money too quickly,” Fröberg says. “When we started out esports was young, we didn’t aim to be a billion dollar business in three years.

“The industry was growing. We knew it would grow further.”

Equally crucial, he adds, is for esports entrepreneurs to think for themselves. 

“There’s all this entrepreneurship jargon that’s meant to be conventional wisdom of how you should grow businesses,” he says. Ignore it. “Keep your eyes open and see what your industry looks like, the competitive landscape and think for yourself. 

“Make smart, well-founded decisions based on your own analysis. That’s something we’ve lived by, that helped avoid stepping on many different mines.”

But while they’ve done ten years in the sector, neither Fröberg nor Janér feels they’re anywhere near finished. There’s plenty of innovation around data APIs, and massive opportunity to create something totally new around odds and betting products for esports. 

“We’re building infrastructure for esports,” Janér says again. “Whether we’re new or veterans, we’re happy to continue doing that.”

The agreement will also include branding on the Blast Premier tournament series and the upcoming Blast.tv Paris Major. Blast events are broadcast in over 150 territories and in 25 different languages.

“Blast is an epicentre of action for esports fans around the world and has produced some of the most memorable moments in the history of competitive Counter-Strike play,” Entain esports managing director Justin Dellario said. 

“Unikrn is built for these moments, when fans are looking for the deepest and best possible experience as they root on their favourite players and teams. We are thrilled to be Blast’s partner, and to bring our world-class insights and betting opportunities to its millions of fans.”

Entain relaunched Unikrn in December last year after acquiring the brand in October. The site is live in Brazil and in Canadian provinces other than Ontario, with Entain planning to launch the brand in other regulated markets this year.

As the report makes clear, government, regulators, brands and investors have seen the power of esports and video games to not only stand strong during the pandemic but also be a driver for jobs, investment, the economy and so-called soft power.

Elsewhere, the report looks at some of the most significant regulatory developments of the past year, in particular in the US, Europe and China, and offers a glimpse of what that could mean for other regions that may follow suit.

It also sheds light on mobile gaming and two long shots: virtual reality/augmented reality-based (AR/VR) esports, and blockchain gaming-based esports.

Esports report 2023: Moving closer to maturity, still room for growth is available to read below; interested parties can also download a pdf version by clicking on the icon.

Howard is joining the company as esports product manager. He comes from Kambi-acquired Abios as one of its leading esports data and odds providers.  

St Pierre has been appointed SIS’ new trading manager and has over ten years’ experience in trading roles.  

Adam Conway, head of esports and competitive gaming, expressed his enthusiasm over the new hires. 

“We are delighted to welcome Jacob and Aaron to SIS. Their knowledge and skills will only strengthen our competitive gaming offering as we continue to make positive strides with our industry leading product,” he notes. 

“This is a hugely exciting time for SIS, and to make such key hires is a testament to the company and our continued success in creating engaging esports betting opportunities for our partners and bettors alike.” 

The review concluded that shareholders’ interests would be best served by restructuring the existing esports business and widening focus to include a broader array of entertainment and gaming products and services, as opposed to seeking a single business combination transaction.

In addition, the business rebranded as Allied Gaming & Entertainment, with the group taking on the new name from 1 December.

While the initiative came too late in the quarter to have any impact on Allied’s performance in Q4 or the full year, chief executive Yinghua Chen said the restructure would support its growth plans in 2023 and beyond.

“Moving forward, we are confident that building upon Allied’s original focus of live events and multi-platform content, while also adding new revenue drivers such as live virtual entertainment events and online gaming tournaments, will result in future positive financial results,” Chen said.

Fourth quarter

Looking first at Allied’s performance in the fourth quarter, revenue for the three months to 31 December was $1.2m, a 36.8% drop from $1.9m in the previous year. 

Allied put the drop in revenue down to the non-recurring nature of its 2021 live streaming partnership with Trovo. Almost all revenue came from in-person operations, with just $428 attributed to multi-platform content.

However, despite the fall in revenue, Allied was able to reduce its operating costs by 33.3% to $3.8m, leaving an operating loss of $2.6m, an improvement on $3.8m in 2021.

Allied noted $954,077 in other income, including $755,209 in interest income, which meant a pre-tax loss of $1.7m, compared to the $3.8m loss in the previous year.

The group did not pay any tax during Q4, meaning net loss also stood at $1.7m, in contrast to the $6.3m loss posted last year, although the 2021 figures were impacted by a $2.6m loss on the sale of assets in the World Poker Tour (WPT) in July 2021. Allied sold its poker assets, including the WPT, to Element Partners for $105.0m.

Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the quarter reached a loss of $1.7m, although this was an improvement on the $2.1m loss in 2021.

Full year

Turning to the full year and revenue was 28.0% higher year-on-year at $6.4m, helped by an increase in sponsorship revenue and revenue from live-events that took place at its HyperX Arena and within its Allied Esports Truck operations.

Of this revenue total, $6.1m came from in-person activities and $251,558 from multi-platform content.

Operating costs and expenses were 12.6% down at $18.1m, which meant operating loss shortened from $15.8m in 2021 to $11.8m. After including $942,311 in other income, pre-tax loss was $10.8m, compared to $15.1m in the previous year.

Again, Allied did not pay any tax, meaning net loss also stood at $10.8m. This was in contrast to the $62.9m net profit posted at the end of 2021, although the previous year’s figures were impacted by the WPT sale, with this having resulted in a gain of $77.9m.

Allied also noted that adjusted EBITDA for the year reached a loss of $8.6m, though this was an improvement from $10.5m in 2021.

“We experienced positive momentum in 2022, with revenues up 28% over 2021, primarily driven by an increase in live events at our HyperX Arena in Las Vegas and our Allied Esports Truck along with sponsorship revenue from season one of our original content series, Elevated,” Chen said. 

“In addition, during the fourth quarter we rebranded as Allied Gaming & Entertainment to better reflect our positioning as a global experiential entertainment company and also concluded our strategic review process.”

He finds out how cryptocurrency and blockchain could be key to realising the potential of esports betting.

The purchase price will be retained by Tiidal in a holding account for 180 days following the closing, during which it may access the funds to satisfy any working capital adjustment or claims brought by Entain, and up to 20% of the funds to pay reasonable costs related to the deal.

The deal was negotiated at arm’s length and remains subject to certain conditions including the approval of Tiidal shareholders, with a vote to take place at a meeting on 26 April, and the receipt of all required consents. 

In addition, the agreement includes a $500,000 termination fee, payable by Tiidal Holdings to Entain in the case of certain terminating events.

Sportsflare counts Flash Markets, which allows users to bet in-game on live esports events, among its innovations. 

Strengthening Entain’s presence in esports

“I am incredibly proud of what the Sportsflare team has done over the last year; given the capital markets environment, we believed it was best to find a great home for Sportflare in order to maximise value for Tiidal shareholders,” Tiidal chief executive Thomas Hearne said.

“Sportsflare will be a great fit with Entain’s strong presence in the industry and our board of directors is confident that Sportsflare joining Entain is the best long-term solution for its employees and partners.”

In connection with the deal, Tidal Gaming Group, Tiidal Holdings and Sportsflare entered into a definitive loan agreement with Ladbrokes Group Finance, an affiliate of Entain. This arrangement includes a secured credit facility in the aggregate principal amount of up to NZ$1.7m, a NZ$1.2m advance of which was made on 2 February. 

Should the acquisition not be terminated but not complete in time, then further advances of NZ$250,000 will be made this month and NZ$250,000 next month.

Building on Unikrn relaunch

The acquisition further strengthens Entain’s presence in the esports betting vertical, and follows the relaunch of Unikrn in December last year.

Entain acquired Unikrn’s product, platform and technology in October 2021, then shuttered its customer-facing operations for redevelopment.

Beter covers 25,000 live events a year, with FEG now able to offer its customers a wider range of tournaments with a higher number of markets.

Beter’s partnership with FEG stretches back to 2020, having provided the operator with in-house tournaments across efootball, ebasketball, ehockey and CS:GO.   

“Throughout our time working together, Beter has proven to be a reliable and highly effective partner,” FEG’s head of trading operations Polinský Tomáš said. “We are very pleased with the results we have already achieved together and we’re excited to be taking our collaboration to the next level, to ensure we are offering our customers the very best solutions available. 

“We expect plenty more achievements and successes on the market with the professionals at Beter by our side.”

Beter esports general manager Evgeniy Bekker added: “Working with leading operators gives us an excellent opportunity to continue driving the igaming industry with the best possible esports betting product. 

“I am confident that our product will help FEG to enhance its position as a market leader while providing a significant boost to the quality of the services it brings to its customers.”

In 2023, the esports sector is undergoing a market correction. Headcount reduction, reduced advertising spending and some project closures indicate that esports is past the age of hype and easy money – the businesses that value substance and sustainability are the ones that will endure.

These changes have implications for esports betting as well. Notably, it’s not about touting some big bang theory of growth that has dominated the conversation, with big and brash marketing, lots of puff and a lot less substance. Gambling itself is generally a recession-proof industry, and it’s in this year that esports betting will take stock of what the real essence and measure of growth is.

Growing the pie sustainably

Leading into 2023, we’re confident that esports betting will continue to grow, and do so through the steady, sustainable growth that has become a staple at PandaScore. Rather than chasing that big bang growth or leaning on tournaments to do the leg work, offering a comprehensive, robust product from top to bottom is essential for operators and suppliers.

We found that operators who joined PandaScore in 2022 benefited from an average overall increase in turnover of 33% for their esports betting product. When looking into this on a main and side market basis, the composition hasn’t largely changed, but the total turnover amounts grew. Across all our customers, total turnover on Winner and Main markets in 2022 grew by 61% when compared to 2021 numbers.

Side markets betting also grew by 54% while retaining a similar share of overall turnover, indicating that interest in these markets and products like player props isn’t going to be left behind by influxes of new players only playing on Main markets.

From small operators through to Tier-1s, 2023 will be about growing overall turnover in a steady fashion with quality product iteration based on customer feedback. When looking at the esports sector itself, there are several strong indicators of sustainable growth this year.

Esports calendar stabilising

Through this first wave of capital investment and professionalisation of esports, consistency for teams, competitions and the overall calendar has been a challenge. Teams came and went as would tournaments which led to franchising (for better or for worse) and the establishment of more structured, returning competitions throughout the year.

More consistency in more game titles across the esports calendar means it’s easier for operators to guarantee content for bettors.

The top-tier competitions have mostly found consistency for a few years now, and we’re now seeing that same consistency develop in lower-tier tournaments to fill the gaps left by your S-tier and A-tier competitions.

The Champion of Champions Tour has given Counter-Strike a tournament outside of the top flight for teams to compete in a professional environment that runs for an extended period of time with global reach. The inaugural Central Europe Finals in Malta on 16-19 in February will be a litmus test for the popularity of CS:GO at this level with bettors.

Valorant continues to make leaps and bounds as an esport and betting product. Riot Games-endorsed competitions obviously lead the way, but we also saw a proliferation of more regional and locally backed tournaments last year. This was matched by bettors with great enthusiasm, with overall bet volume on B, C and D-tier competitions tripling from 2021 to 2022 while retaining margins of almost 10%.

The restructuring of the Valorant Champions Tour and the introduction of the Partner Programme also will create a more consistent calendar for top-flight competition, and hopefully the longevity that League of Legends has enjoyed.

Regulation and diversification

Everyone watches the US market closely, with good reason. Since PASPA and the gradual state-by-state legalisation, sports betting has been a dam bursting for many operators who’ve been first to market.

The same can’t be said for esports, largely because it is legislated inconsistently, with varying parameters that can help or hinder the performance of the vertical. Specific legislation for esports with an understanding of how competition and the calendar is structured will be rewarded, rather than lumping esports in with general sports regulation.

Instead of a dam bursting, esports will likely look more like a steady stream, building momentum over time given the right regulatory conditions.

Additionally, we expect a diversification of how data is provided and accessed, be it how data is captured and distributed, the provision of said data to operators through to how it’s presented to bettors through product.

Operators will move away from esports being in the bargain bucket. Tier 1 operators are looking for esports specialist providers with products catered to audience needs rather than a generic trading instrument as part of the sportsbook long tail.

Esports audience is still growing

In light of the market correction, the actual viewing audience for esports itself is still growing, indicating that the customer base shows no signs of shrinking. For 2023, equitable partnerships based on robust products, research and development will deliver sustainable growth.

At the end of the day, we want operators to grow their businesses. It’s why PandaScore works with our partners on a revenue share basis. Rather than cashing in on the value of the asset now, we’re putting the effort in to grow the vertical long-term. Our success is our customers’ success, and the success of the esports betting vertical.

GG.bet will also assume the designation of a Tier 1 Anti-Corruption Supporter, which ESIC said would reinforce the operator’s commitment to creating a fair and secure environment for players and stakeholders.

“Over the past few years, GG.bet has invested a significant amount of effort into the development of esports,” GG.bet chief executive Dmytro Voshkarin said. “We have worked closely with teams and have seen the relevance of creating a safe and fair environment to ensure healthy competition in esports.

“We are pleased to be working with ESIC, a partner with whom we share a common passion for bringing integrity to esports, and we believe this tutorial will be helpful in achieving this goal.”

ESIC’s director of global strategy and partnerships, Stephen Hanna, added: “Partnerships like this one with GG.bet are critical to our mission of promoting integrity and preventing corruption in esports. 

“We’re grateful for their support and look forward to working together over the next three years to create a stronger, safer esports industry for all.” 

The deal comes after ESIC this week announced its first-ever “Anti-Cheat Partnership” with global games protection and anti-piracy technology provider Denuvo by Irdeto.

Denuvo and ESIC will collaborate on developing a framework to implement anti-cheat technology within the esports industry.

Denuvo will provide ESIC with anti-cheat software, as well as periodic reports of data metrics related to integrity and industry risk with the aim of gaining insights into industry pain points and promoting fair play in esports.

Denuvo will also support ESIC in its continued delivery of integrity frameworks for the broader esports industry while providing access to its software capabilities.

“ESIC is proud to announce this new partnership category targeted at strengthening the role of anti-cheat providers in the maintenance of competitive integrity within the esports industry,” said Stephen Hanna, ESIC’s director of global strategy and partnerships.

“As a distinguished partner to the games industry, Denuvo is well poised as our first anti-cheat partner to work with us in finding and executing upon more sophisticated applications for anti-cheat technology to tournament operation,” Steve Huin, chief operating officer of video games security at Irdeto, added. “As gamers ourselves, we at Denuvo are dedicated to bringing fairness and fun back to online gaming and are therefore thrilled to ensure the same fair game opportunities will be available for the players of esports.”

The partnership is an expansion of previous deals, with the two parties claiming the development of match data infrastructure is necessary for esports to reach its full potential.

Both businesses will establish a dedicated team to innovate in the space of data-driven content creation and EFG will gain access to the existing technological product portfolio of Bayes Esports. The partners said they will also continue to collaborate on best-in-class practices to protect the integrity of esports, which includes the use of Bayes Esports’ integrity market monitoring and rightsholder protection.

Martin Dachselt, chief executive and managing director of Bayes Esports, said: “Besides being a great sign for us that shows that we are on the right track and that what we are doing is catching on with the industry’s most important players, it’s also a clear statement towards the grey market of the esports data industry.

“With the leader in competitive games and esports and data from over 12,000 matches by our side, we can move forward and continue to shape esports around official data, ensure the integrity of its biggest events and give those that hurt the long-term development of this industry through improper offerings no quarter.”

The partnership will include new data-driven Bayes Esports brand integrations in broadcast segments and at live events. Bayes will also develop data-driven and automated content-creation solutions for EFG and its partners, including the “Project V” tool that automatically synchronises video and data to create content such as highlight clips that can be posted on social media.

Bernhard Mogk, senior vice-president of global business development and commercial strategy at EFG, said: “Over the last couple of years, we were able to establish uniform industry standards for official data together with Bayes Esports. Because of our joint initiatives, we are at the forefront of preserving and promoting integrity in esports.

“We are excited to continue our long-term strategic partnership and to keep on innovating in the area of data-driven content solutions to create additional value that will contribute to the long-term commercial sustainability of the entire ecosystem.”

The business added that 30% of its overall handle and 15% of revenue – or around $3.3m – came from its casino product.

Rivalry added that 90% of its sportsbook handle, representing close to $120m, came from bets on esports. In addition, the operator said that 82% of its user base is under 30 years old, with its average customer age being 25.

“Our approach toward attracting the next generation of consumers is different from legacy operators,”  chief executive Steven Salz said. “We scale through word of mouth and organic market entrenchment of brand equity that allows us to operate without a dependency on excess bonusing and player subsidies.”

During the first 10 months of the year so far, Rivalry added that its average month-on-month revenue growth grew to 32%, while its bonus spend as a share of revenue was cut in half.

“We have high expectations for 2023, and are confident that it will be another year of record achievements,” Salz said.

In 2023, Salz said the business will continue to expand in more regulated markets, having been among the first operators to launch in Ontario and also launching in Australia last year.

Now, in a recent prospectus for a share issue, the business has revealed that Johnson has sued the business for breach of contract and wrongful termination.

Johnson argues in court filings filed in the Southern District of New York district court that EEG had breached his employment contract in its listed reasoning for his dismissal. EEG had terminated the former CEO’s contract “for cause” citing accusations of fraud, wilful misconduct and gross negligence.

Having removed Johnson for cause, Esports Entertainment Group did not grant Johnson any severance or any payment for the remainder of his contract, which ran until 2025.

He will be seeking more than $1m (£820,000/€920,000) in compensation, as well as 200,000 shares of EEG stock.

Allegations of fraud

Johnson executive stated that the accusations were false and that, even if true, they would not represent “for cause” under the narrowly defined definition listed in the contract, that requires “demonstrable and serious injury to the company”.

Johnson noted the Esports Entertainment Group board of directors had already looked into the issue in April 2022, and had unanimously opted not to investigate further. 

Esports Entertainment Group said it believes Johnson’s claims were baseless.

“The company believes the claims are without merit and intends to defend against the claims vigorously.”

Esports Entertainment Group followed on by stating that the suit did not threaten the company “in which an adverse decision could have a material adverse effect”, despite its already precarious financial situation.

Esports Entertainment Group finances

In the business’ May quarterly report, Esports Entertainment Group said there had been “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue as a going concern for at least year.

In its latest release, these financial troubles remain apparent.

EEG said the amount of cash the company had on hand as of 12 January 2023 stood at just $500,000.

Igaming closures and sales

In December, Esports Entertainment Group said it had considered the sale of its remaining igaming assets in order to pay down its debts.

This came after the announced closures of its SportNation and RedZone UK brands which the business said was due “a variety of reasons including the economics of operating a small igaming business in the UK market”.

The brands were both owned by Esports Entertainment Group subsidiary Argyll UK. The operator outlined its plans for winding down the business, which included surrendering its licence to the Gambling Commission and refunding customer deposits.

“As of 31 December 2022, approximately $200,000 still remained to be refunded to customers,” said the business. “Going forward, Argyll UK will comply with requests for refunds to the extent required by law and in accordance with Argyll UK’s terms and conditions.”

Esports Entertainment Group also shed some light on the status of the business’ ongoing sale of its Spanish igaming assets.

A letter of intent was signed in November 2022 and, while the deal was initially expected to close in December, it is now set to close this month. The total proceeds are expected to be $1m, in addition to a $1m deposit held by the Spanish regulator.

Esports Entertainment Group said that 65% of the resulting money will go to a notesholder after a previous default on its debts.

“The sale of the Spanish licence is subject to various closing conditions and we cannot assure that they will be satisfied. If the sale is not consummated, our liquidity position will be adversely impacted and this could further adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations,” said the company.

In the US, Elys’ focus is to provide end-to-end sportsbook services to business operators across the regulated market. The news of this partnership follows the recent announcement that Elys secured a licence in Ohio’s newly legal sports betting market.

USI’s integrity monitoring services from its proprietary dashboard to Elys Game Technology conducts analysis across dozens of data sets to identify any possible irregular sports wagering-related patterns. 

Michele Ciavarella, executive chairman of Elys, said the partnership will help the business detect suspicious betting.

“We are very pleased to be engaged with US Integrity as we prepare to expand throughout the North American regulated sports betting market in 2023,” he said. 

“We expect that our partnership with US Integrity could give us the ability to identify possible betting abnormalities in real time and enable potentially suspicious wagering activity to be identified immediately, creating a safe and engaging betting environment for our patrons as we implement our vision throughout the massive restaurant and bar market in the fast-evolving regulated US sports betting market.”

USI’s co-founder and CEO Matthew Holt said Elys had shown commitment to a high standard of integrity.

“US Integrity is proud to partner with Elys Game Technology and assist them with integrity monitoring. US Integrity’s mission is to provide conflict-free, best-in-class insights and compliance solutions to our clients,” Holt said.  

“We are looking forward to working with the exceptional team at Elys Game Technology and their expansion strategy throughout North America as the market continues to evolve. All of our partners are committed to the highest integrity standards and Elys’ commitment is no exception.

“These types of partnerships help ensure sports betting integrity and strengthen the unique and proprietary anomaly-detection tools we have developed at US Integrity.” 

The operator noted that his departure was not due to any disagreement with the company.

In his place, Michael Villani has been appointed as interim chief financial officer. 

Villani joined Esports Entertainment Group as financial controller in February of 2021. Before this, he worked as a director in the deal advisory practice of KPMG.

Villani will continue his current role as financial controller and will also act as the company’s principal financial officer.

He was with KPMG for a total of 18 years in both deal advisory and audit departments. Additionally, he previously served as chief financial officer of a Geneva-based hedge fund.

Ongoing trouble with Esports Entertainment Group

Mathews’ resignation follows the departure of former CEO Grant Johnson from EEG at the end of 2022. 

EEG has faced difficulties in the past number of years involving brand closures, a debt default and large operating losses. In May of last year, EEG revealed in a quarterly financial report that there was “substantial doubt” about its ability to stay in business for at least a year. 

In December of 2022, EEG escaped delisting, but had been told to drastically increase its share price by February to remain on the Nasdaq exchange. Since this date, the operator’s share price has only fallen further.

The company has previously announced its plans to scale back its igaming business, including exploring the potential sale of igaming assets. EEG has already confirmed the closure of its Argyll igaming operations – which operates RedZone and SportNation – in the UK and Ireland in December due to high operational costs and an inability to generate profit.

Additionally, EEG had announced the sale of its online casino business in Spain was expected to close by 12 December 2022. However, no current update on this plan has been revealed. Proceeds from the sale will mainly be used to pay down the principal on a senior convertible note.

On 3 January of this year, it was announced that Alex Igleman would take over as new company CEO. 

In recent years, Igelman co-founded Esports Capital Corp, a bespoke esports consultancy, as well as the FairP2P self-regulatory organisation focused on monetised competitive peer-to-peer skill-based gameplay.

Aside from this, Igelman co-founded the Spectrum Esports Advisors strategic alliance with Spectrum Gaming, in addition to the Millennial Esports Corp integrated mobile gaming publisher.

Prior to this, he spent over nine years as managing director at Gaming Research Partners and also spent time working in consultancy roles for Canada Bonded Attorney, Stronach Group and Progamingleague.com.

In addition, Igelman had spells as a counsel at Goodman and Carr, managing director for Canada at Businessdevelopment.com and as a barrister and solicitor. 

“I am thrilled for the opportunity to join EEG at this important time in its journey and to work alongside someone as experienced and respected as the new chair, Jan Jones Blackhurst,” Igelman said.

“The company is making significant strides to refine its focus on creating a valuable esports brand and is initially looking inward at some of its key assets to kickstart this process. The company also owns certain valuable assets and relationships in the esports sector and there is a substantial growing addressable domestic esports betting market for the company to take a leadership position in. 

“The company will continue to structure its operations and financial position to maximise value for shareholders. I look forward to bringing my experience into the leadership of the company and to focus on the execution of these transformative initiatives.”

Chair Blackhurst added: “We are excited to have Alex join the senior leadership team. He brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and fresh perspective as we move the company forward.”

Esports Entertainment Group troubles

The appointment comes after long-time CEO and chair Johnson stepped down last month in response to a request by the EEG board. Blackhurst was revealed as its new chair shortly after the announcement.

The change in leadership followed a tough few years for EEG, with brand closures, a debt default and large operating losses. In May, EEG revealed in a quarterly financial report that there was “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue as a going concern.

In October last year, the group said it was effectively at the mercy of an unnamed creditor after the business defaulted on its debt. 

In December, the business then revealed that it had escaped delisting, but had been told to drastically increase its share price by February in order to remain on the Nasdaq exchange.

The igaming business set out plans for restructure, with the sale of its online casino business in Spain expected to close by 12 December. Proceeds from the sale will mainly be used to pay down the principal on a senior convertible note.

Meanwhile, EEG also closed its Argyll iGaming operations – which operates RedZone and SportNation – in the UK and Ireland in December due to high operational costs and an inability to generate profit. EEG had already announced it would be shutting its RedZone and Sport Nation brands in the UK.

In addition, EEG said it would evaluate further strategic options for the igaming business, including exploring a potential sale of igaming assets due to increasing regulatory burdens and competition. 

“In the future, in addition to content relevant to the protection of minors, possible online risks – such as purchasing or communication options – can also be taken into account in the process of statutory age marking,” the body said. “Specifically, the independent USK committees can now check in individual cases whether any usage functions could pose an increased risk for children and young people, for example in relation to chats in the game or unwanted expenses.”

The new rules themselves note that a higher age rating for a game would be appropriate if a product were to “impair or jeopardise” a young person’s relationship with gambling, “promote gambling, contribute to desensitisation to gambling losses or give rise to unrealistic product expectations”.

Loot boxes elsewhere

Loot boxes have been a source of controversy across Europe.

In Belgium, the products have been banned since 2018. The Netherlands attempted to ban the feature, but a court ultimately overturned this ban. Spain considered banning loot boxes entirely, but instead opted to ban them only for minors.

In October, the group then announced that it was effectively at the mercy of an unnamed creditor after the business defaulted on its debt. 

Earlier this week, the business revealed it had escaped delisting, but must drastically increase its share price by February to remain on the Nasdaq exchange.

Given these financial woes, the igaming business will now be restructured, with the sale of its online casino business in Spain expected to close by 12 December. Proceeds from the sale will mainly be used to pay down the principal on a senior convertible note.

Meanwhile, Esports Entertainment Group closed its Argyll iGaming operations – which operates RedZone and SportNation – in the UK and Ireland with effect from yesterday (7 December) due to high operational costs and an inability to generate profit. EEG had already announced that it would be shutting its RedZone and Sport Nation brands in the UK.

Now, EEG has revealed it will will evaluate further strategic options for the igaming business, including exploring a potential sale of igaming assets due to increasing regulatory burdens and competition. 

Search for a new CEO

This process will be overseen by Esports Entertainment Group’s new CEO, with the operator’s board having identified a number of candidates to replace the outgoing Johnson and an evaluation of individuals is now taking place

Earlier this week, it was reported that the EEG board had asked to Johnson to resign, with his departure having now been confirmed by the operator. 

Esports Entertainment Group said its board has identified a preferred candidate to serve as acting CEO, and will make a formal announcement regarding the appointment in the coming days, pending formal approval by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.

In relation to this, Esports Entertainment Group announced Jan Jones Blackhurst as the new chair of its board.

“Grant recognised the value of esports and online gambling and founded EEG on that basis,” Blackhurst said. “On behalf of the board, we wish him well.

“The company is looking forward to bringing in new leadership to work with the board to realise the full potential of our acquired esports businesses.”

This new CEO will be tasked with determining the value of the group’s igaming assets and evaluating any opportunities to sell them.

Potential Esports Entertainment Group merger

In terms of wider business operations, Esports Entertainment Group revealed it also recently received a non-binding letter of intent from a third party in relation to a potential merger. EEG did not disclose the identity of the interested party, but did state that should the deal go ahead, the combined business would focus on growing esports revenue.

EEG is currently in the process of evaluating the proposed merger.

Esports Entertainment Group also announced that it is in discussions with its debt holder to restructure payment obligations, including eliminating derivative liability on its consolidated balance and addressing its default status under the debt.

EEG said it remains optimistic an agreement can be reached to the benefit of both parties in the near term.

By 7 February 2023, the business must have a minimum bid price of $1.00 (£0.82/€0.95) for a period of ten consecutive days in order to meet the Panel’s compliance criteria.

As of market close on 5 December, Esports Entertainment Group traded at $0.12 per share. This means that EEG will have less than two months to increase the business’ share price more than eightfold in order to be considered in compliance.  

In addition, the company must show evidence – by 31 March 2023 – that it has a minimum of $2.5m in stockholder equity. The business currently has a market capitalisation of $8.6m.

EEG will also have to comply with a number of other conditions and requirements that are not yet publicly disclosed.  

Reported Esports Entertainment Group CEO change

According to the Sharpr newsletter, the Esports Entertainment Group board has asked long-time CEO Grant Johnson to resign. While the operator has not officially confirmed Johnson’s departure, Sharpr noted that emails to his former company address now come back undelivered.

Esports Entertainment Group has faced a turbulent time in recent years, with brand closures, a debt default and large operating losses. In May, within the business’ quarterly financial report, EEG said that there had been “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue as a going concern for a least a year.

In October, the group announced that it was effectively at the mercy of an unnamed creditor after the business defaulted on its debt.

This was followed by news in November that the business would be shutting its RedZone and Sport Nation brands in the UK market.

SportNation and RedZone both said the sites were “closing for a variety of reasons including the economics of operating a small igaming business in the UK market”.

Moses says that the play-to-earn aspect of Web3 gaming could be a “very significant problem” for video gaming from a regulatory perspective.

“The minute you allow somebody to earn credit that can be used in the outside world, you’re moving into a territory you don’t want to be in.”

He says that a major reason why some operators are reluctant to offer bets on esports is the low amount of money in non-major events.

This, he says, means that some players might be able to make more money from match-fixing than from winning. While Moses notes that there are many checks against match-fixing, but factors like this still influence perception.

He says it’s too simplistic, though, to think of all publishers as a monolith in this respect.

“The nuance is what kind of title we’re talking about, what the rating is,” he says.

“You’re having data – I won’t say stolen because that’s too strong a word – but being used and the publisher is getting nothing for it except for marketing,” Moses says.

“We had this happen in streaming; we can’t let it happen here.”

One reason why is the calendar.

“At any given moment, on any given day, there can be and will be an esports competition on for people to wager on,” he says.

On the other hand, he says there may be challenges in understanding the sport, and – because of that – in perceived integrity.

He notes that the game publishing industry didn’t see streaming coming at all, and that fact has defined much of how the two sectors have interacted today.

“Now that the streaming business is such a big business, publishers are kicking themselves,” he notes.

Reclaiming any IP rights, he says, could be difficult, but instead it may serve as a lesson not to let this happen again.

It was concluded that shareholders’ interests would be best served by restructuring the existing esports business and widening focus to include a broader array of entertainment and gaming products and services, as opposed to seeking a single business combination transaction.

In addition, the business rebranded as Allied Gaming & Entertainment with effect from 1 December. Common stock will continue to be publicly traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the new ticker symbol “AGAE”.

“After a thorough review of potential M&A opportunities across a wide range of industries, we have decided our stockholders are best served by not pursuing a single significant transaction at this time,” chief executive Yinghua Chen said. 

“Given our deep roots and established position in esports and gaming, I am confident we can bring our operational acumen, unique assets and valuable resources to restructure our existing esports business and also offer a wider range of popular entertainment products and services to the broader gaming community. 

“By building beyond esports, our new strategy will provide the next level of experiential entertainment to the world of gamers. Looking ahead, we expect to achieve strong growth through both organic expansion and reasonably sized tuck-in acquisitions to help us capitalise on this burgeoning market opportunity.”

Allied appointed Robert Proctor as the new chief executive of its Allied Esports International subsidiary to lead the restructuring effort. Proctor is a seasoned executive and entrepreneur with three decades of experience spanning a variety of industries including entertainment, technology and media.

Proctor will oversee restructuring plans that include leveraging the business’ physical assets, including HyperX Arena Las Vegas and the Allied Esports Trucks, to create and deliver new experiences across multiple content genres.

The initiative will also seek to seize the scalability of virtual audiences to establish Allied as the world’s leading live and virtual live experience content creator and broadcaster with an emphasis on direct audience monetisation.

Additional plans include strengthening the Allied brand through experiential, lifestyle and content offerings, creating proprietary brand-forward content designed to build stronger partnerships, and growing and retaining audiences and users through the development of a new consumer platform.

“Rob is a veteran business leader and entrepreneur in the broadcasting, media and entertainment industries and possesses a unique combination of experience in content creation, global media sales, brand building, operation and strategic planning knowledge,” Chen said.

“We believe he is a great fit for fulfilling the new direction of our esports business. I look forward to working closely with him on improving the company’s cash flow and financial flexibility.”

Meanwhile, Allied will also seek to grow organically through the development of additional businesses that complement wider operations while targeting the broader global gaming market. 

Allied said it is exploring potential opportunities to expand its location-based-entertainment expertise with a focus on gaming lifestyle and experiential entertainment, as well as growing its digital footprint and monetisation capabilities through mobile gaming.

Further details of these plans will be provided at an appropriate time, Allied said.

The restructure comes following the resignation of former CEO Jud Hannigan in October. Hannigan confirmed the news in a post on his LinkedIn page, having led the business since February 2017. He was previously senior vice-president of the group.

“Over the past year, the passionate team at Entain has worked closely with us to create a safe, accessible, secure and compliant product that players can trust – even if they’ve never placed a bet before,” said Justin Dellario, CEO of Unikrn and managing director of esports at Entain. 

“The launch of Unikrn in both Brazil and Canada is the first step as we introduce a video games and esports betting platform that truly puts a new generation of players and their passions first.” 

As well as betting on esports and traditional sports, the site will offer casino games video game options in which players can “bet on their own skills”, as well as betting on virtual esports events with computer-generated results.

Going forward, Entain said that Unikrn will “continue plans to enter new, regulated markets around the globe in 2023 and into the future”.

Real Luck Group chief executive Thomas Rosander said that the business had long aimed to add a B2B element to its portfolio, but that through this deal it is set to accomplish this sooner than it had expected.

“Adding B2B to our proprietary platform has always been a significant part of the Luckbox strategy, and this important acquisition means we will complete this objective almost a year in advance of our projections,” he said. “It also extends our opportunities into APAC, a significant region that we currently do not have a presence in and perhaps the largest esports market globally. 

“This transaction ultimately builds our business’ upside by providing immediate access to a large player base. This all-stock transaction further validates our strategic growth plan, with both companies sharing a common Luckbox vision. 

“The newly announced acquisition, which is expected to close by the end of the year, will further accelerate our growth and footprint in global markets as we head into 2023 and beyond.”

The deal is expected to close in December 2022.

Real Luck Group Q3 results

The business also announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2022. Still in the early stages of its player acquisition strategy, the operator reported $38,016 in revenue for the quarter, more than five times the total from Q3 of 2021.

After $15,619 in costs of sales, the business made a gross profit of $22,397.

Operating costs remained much higher than expenses, at $2.0m.

After non-operating income and expenses, including a $46,659 adjustment for foreign currency, Real Luck Group recorded a $1.9m loss for the quarter.

Rosander said he expected revenue to grow further in Q4, after the business focused mostly on acquiring customers in Q3.

“Q3 was about ramping up our player acquisition initiatives,” he said. “As reported, our record Q4 key performance indicators are a testament that our scalable plan is delivering above our expectations. We are already seeing significant improvements for growth in Q4 2022, as we now focus on driving additional player value, deposits and wagers on our platform.”

“Many parents might not know that loot boxes feature in games such as Star Wars, Call of Duty, FIFA and even Mario Kart,” said the MP. “Indeed, research by the Australian Gaming Council found 62% of the best-selling games contained loot boxes and that all young people surveyed had played a game featuring loot boxes.

“Disturbingly, the study also found that young people who have used loot boxes were more likely to have gambled in the last 12 months.”   

Tabled bill

The tabled bill, the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Amendment (Loot Boxes) Act 2022, would ensure that any computer that contains a loot box must be classified as R18+ or else refused classification. This would legally ban games that include the feature for under-18s.

Additionally, if the amendment is passed into law, any video game that features loot boxes would have a consumer advice warning displayed on its packaging making clear that the game includes the feature.

“These companies are very smart and are making billions of dollars and that’s wrong. Clearly we cannot continue to let our children be groomed for future gambling in this way. No wonder governments around the world are beginning to wise up and take action, with loot boxes already banned in several countries, as pressure rises for regulation in many others.”

Wilkie stated that the problem had been on parliament’s radar for “many years” and it was time to do “something about it”.

Loot boxes are an issue that has been previously controversial in Australian politics. In 2020, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs called for the national government to impose new restrictions on the feature in video games so as to protect children and young people from experiencing gambling-related harm.

Andrew Wilkie and gambling

Opposition to gambling has been a tentpole of Wilkie’s political career. The former infantry officer campaigned heavily against poker machines during the 2010 federal election, later agreeing to support the Labour party in parliamentary votes in exchange for two commitments against the “pokies”.

These two commitments were that the machines be integrated with a mandatory pre-commitment technology that would force players to commit how much they were prepared to lose before starting, and an AU$1 maximum bet per spin total for machines that did not include the technology.  

At the time, the proposals were opposed by the governing Abbot coalition government, and the Labour party itself dropped the commitments after gaining more seats in the House of Representatives.

The sports betting operators Ballers Puerto Rico Sportsbook, Liberman Media Group Gaming (LMG) and CCHPR Hospitality (Casino Metro) have been given temporary licences.

The suppliers Swish Analytics Puerto Rico and US Integrity have been granted permanent licences. Continent 8 Technologies PR LLC and Caesars Digital PR Inc have been given temporary supplier licences.

The executive director of the regulatory body Jaime Rivera Emmanuelli explained that to complete the licensing process, the seven companies will have to pay a fee to the government based on the functions they will perform in the sports betting industry.

Operators will have to pay $50,000, the service suppliers will have to pay $5,000 and the lone technology provider – Caesars Digital PR – will have to pay $15,000.

“The sports betting industry is growing under the regulations and supervision of the Puerto Rico Gaming Commission,” stated Rivera Emmanuelli. “Online betting has the potential of being an important source of jobs and the creation of commercial spaces for entertainment. In the same way, it will generate new income for the treasury.”

Operators and suppliers have been eagerly waiting for the launch of online sports betting in Puerto Rico. As of today, sports bets can only be made in person, but granting the licences will be a key step toward launch.

Bet365 is one of 49 brands to receive a licence to launch in Ontario.

“These past couple of months have been amazing for us,” Amir Mirzaee, COO and managing director of Bayes Esports, said. “We have expanded to the US, launched an innovative odds integration platform that will revolutionise sports betting in BODEX, and strengthened our management team with some of the brightest minds from across various different industries.

“To now also be registered in Ontario and to extend our partnership with Bet365 accordingly feels like the cherry on top. I am certain other provinces will follow Ontario’s example and we will be able to offer live esports data to sportsbooks all across Canada in the near future.”

The Bayes Esports and Bet365 partnership is now one of the first to offer esports betting opportunities in Ontario, marking the next step in the development of Canadian sports betting.

This brings us to the end of 2022. After rules were published earlier this year, operators are taking note of Brazil’s enthusiasm for sports like football. However, Brazil’s esports market is worth plenty of interest as well.

Fröberg says that the Brazilian market has been a focus for Abios since its inception, due to the country’s thriving esports market – and a select number of large esports communities.

“Brazil came on my radar in terms of esports when we started Abios, almost 10 years ago now,” says Fröberg. “In 2013, Brazil was already very prominent in League of Legends and there were lots of big League of Legends communities on Facebook where people would chat and discuss it, along with other esports.

“From my understanding, the intention is to legalise or regulate both sports betting and esports betting towards the end of 2022. We do keep close tabs on these kind of things because we deliver probability or odds products in many different regions, and in all regions where we’re licensed.”

Fröberg believes that this stems from South America’s existing love for sports, which has manifested into a predilection for sports-themed gaming such as FIFA.

“In South America in general, we see huge popularity for FIFA or esoccer,” Fröberg continues. “In the South American market, there’s no reason why Brazil should be any different. Being a soccer/football nation at heart, obviously they’ll be hugely interested in FIFA and/or esoccer.

“The people of Brazil, it’s fair to say, are very dedicated and very interested in sports in general and a lot of them apparently are very, very interested in esports.”

The road to enactment

Esports are captured in Brazil’s sports betting regulations, meaning that many aspects published in May – such as a BRL22.2m (£3.6m/€4.2m/$4.4m) licence fee – will be included.

Fröberg notes that perhaps the biggest difference-maker will be the rule that an operator must have a subsidiary in the country in order to offer bets legally.

“I think there are going to be a few particular aspects to the Brazilian regulations, where I think that in order to offer sports betting products there you will need to have a subsidiary based in Brazil – which obviously increases the cost to offer any form of products there which decreases competition.”

This could be a benefit for established esports providers, he continues, but could spell trouble for those trying to get started in the industry.

“[This] could be good for some of our customers, some of the operators, but could be less so for some of the esports startups.”

While regulation is uncertain, Fröberg establishes that there is a thriving esports market in Brazil ready and waiting. But for traditional sportsbooks, leaning into the appeal of esports betting could be tricky.

Nonetheless, Fröberg is not concerned about how to attract bettors to esports, believing it to be a non-issue. He says that the appetite for betting is already present in certain esports communities, meaning the focus should be more on getting esports players to bet rather than getting bettors interested in esports.

“Looking at how esports has developed, in the regions where esports is popular, it goes hand in hand with esports betting,” he says. “I think it’s a natural part of the CS:GO community and it always has been, in terms of skin trading. There are lots of Brazilians that did skin trading way back when it was a grey area, before Valve banned it.

“When you watch a competitive sport, or an esport of any kind, people want to place bets and make the viewing experience even more exciting.”

One challenge could be marketing. Fröberg looks to the Netherlands’ recent re-regulation as an example, which was quickly followed by tight measures on advertising. Operators may have to work to avoid a similar post-launch backlash in Brazil.

“Looking at certain jurisdictions, marketing towards users for betting is regulated and it sort of differs from market to market,” he says. “Like the Netherlands, for example; that’s just re-regulated this year and has been very strict on how you’re allowed to market towards punters.”

The LatAm focus

While Brazil is undoubtedly the most compelling market, Latin America as a whole is of major interest to Fröberg and his business.

Fröberg views LatAm as a vibrant opportunity for investment, a belief that is backed up by a number of operators racing to secure deals in the region over the last few years.

“Given the fact that it’s very populous, with a lot of people, and has a growing economy averaging higher and higher disposable income for every year that goes by, Brazil is going to be one of the prime markets for future growth for esports and just sports in general,” says Fröberg.

“That’s also why we see – not only esports but also in traditional sports and traditional sports betting – why a lot of leading companies and the world are investing so heavily in Brazil and Latin America in general. It’s that there’s a big belief for a very positive future trajectory for that market.”

Brazil has a unique position in the betting world. With enthusiastic sports and esports audiences, growing interest from operators and great support from those who wish to get a slice of the action, it could be the biggest testing ground for an esports-led strategy.

Former FanDuel executives Varun Sudhakar, Stuart Tonner and Nigel Eccles serve as CEO, CTO and chairman of the new business, which they founded just over a year ago. Soon after founding, BetDex announced an initial investment round, raising $21m.

Varun Sudhakar, CEO and co-founder of BetDex said: “Today’s news is an exciting step forward for the BetDex Exchange. With the licensing and regulatory approval, BetDex now boasts the first fully-regulated sports betting platform in the Web3 space, and we’re excited to welcome bettors from approved regions.”

Abby Kimber, head of egaming with the Isle of Man government, said: “It is a pleasure to welcome BetDex to the island. We are excited to be at the forefront of technologies like blockchain while maintaining our reputation as a highly regulated jurisdiction that prides itself on player protection. I wish BetDex every success with their future ventures and look forward to partnering with them for many years to come.”

The exchange just entered Open Beta, accepting wagers from more than 12,000 early access players in the past weeks. It accepts wagers from select countries throughout South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. The BetDex Exchange currently offers peer-to-peer sports wagers on soccer and is expecting to announce additional sports in the near future.

The first was a merger with a “private gambling company”. This merger would have valued Luckbox at CA$0.09 per share, slightly below the CA$0.10 per share it closed at yesterday (27 October).

Luckbox claims that Arviv “then appeared to have changed his mind”, as he proposed a wind-down of Luckbox. The operator said that this proposal was “ignoring the group’s now finished platform and growing player base”.

Both, the Luckbox board said, “would not be in the best interests of the company and its shareholders”.

“Neither proposal reflects the value represented by the company’s significantly growing business and is also well below the company’s net cash position,” it said. “The company is undervalued. Real Luck Group has a strong cash position, no debt and a robust plan to reach profitability and scale in the next six-to-ten months.

“This makes the company an industry outlier and a target for individuals such as Mr Arviv, seeking to gain access to the company’s cash, with no regard for its stakeholders. The board therefore has a duty to resist such opportunistic conduct.”

As a result, the Real Luck Group board said it retained the services of law firm McMillan LLP.

The board added that it was prepared to meet Arviv in his capacity as a shareholder and said it had already attempted to set up a meeting that Arviv had declined.

Prior to his time at Allied Esports, Hannigan was vice-president of overseas operations at Lianzhong Games and also spent time as Asia sales director for Target Fiber. He was also a director at WPT China and a manager for partnership development at the NYC Marketing Development Corporation.

“It’s been an incredible journey over the past seven years building this business from inception in China, to operations on three continents, to producing some of the most watched moments on Twitch, to a public listing on the Nasdaq and diving into the emerging Web3 space with the creation of the Epicbeast NFT community,” Hannigan said on LinkedIn. 

“As an entrepreneur, it’s surreal taking an idea from a collection of Powerpoint slides in my bedroom in Beijing to a bell ringing ceremony at the Nasdaq in Times Square.

“The best part of the countless lessons learned and the tremendous achievements along the way has been doing it alongside the many wonderful and highly talented individuals who’ve played a critical role in the Allied Esports story throughout the years for whom I am forever grateful.”

While serving as CEO of Allied Esports, Hannigan was also managing director of Big Turn International, a role he has been in since January 2007 and continues to hold.

“Creating and operating the world’s most dynamic physical assets in esports, debuting the first esports truck, building a beacon for gaming and content creation in the heart of the entertainment capital of the world on the Las Vegas Strip and earning the trust and respect of the gaming industry, our incredible partners and of course the many communities of players, viewers, followers and Epicbeast NFT holders around the world have been sources of both pride and motivation every step along the way,” he continued.

“I’ve been blessed to be able to steer this ship through both difficult and gratifying times and it’s been an honour building and leading this team, who I’m confident will continue to build on our success thus far.”

To support the venture, Bayes has expanded its existing partnership with Bet365, with the two companies to jointly deliver new esports betting products in both New Jersey and Colorado.

In addition, Bayes said it would continue to work with regulators and lawmakers in other states across the US, including in Nevada, to introduce new laws legalising betting on esports.

“Back in May when we announced the closing of our financing round, we stated that we were looking to expand into the US market and that we were looking to become a licensed betting supplier,” Bayes managing director and chief operating officer Amir Mirzaee (pictured) said.

“Now, just a couple of months later, we have kept our promise. The betting market in the US is changing and while it is still lagging behind its European counterpart, it without a doubt will be one of the biggest and most relevant markets in the near future.

“Out of all the states, New Jersey and Colorado happened to be the most progressive and open to innovation, but we expect others to follow suit very shortly.”

Meanwhile, Bayes has entered into a partnership with games publisher Krafton to further expand its range of esports data. The deal will cover official data from popular game title “PUBG: Battlegrounds”.

Bayes also has exclusive partnerships in place with Riot Games for League of Legends, ESL Gaming, Dreamhack, BTS and OGA.

“We aim to support Krafton in laying the groundwork to streamline data access for its global community and scale their official data offering both for esports and community use cases,” Mirzaee said. “That will include enabling a broad variety of digital applications, including live and historic game data access, statistics and data visualisations and many more.

“Our main objective is always the enhancement of community engagement while driving for the integrity of the esports in particular.”

Bayes also recently announced a series of new appointments within its management team.

Christopher Bohlmann joined as director of growth and finance, while André Schneider was also brought in as Bayes’ new senior director of people operations.

Shesports Cup co-founder George Woffenden said the team was excited to take part in such an influential event.

“We are delighted to be invited to be part of the ICE exhibition in February and play in front of such an international audience of industry decision-makers. ICE will be our fifth live broadcast and it’s all geared up to be a really exciting few days of competition.”

The Shesports Cup exists to help provide an opportunity to showcase women in esports. Woffenden noted that that goes beyond just promoting female players, but also included those behind the scenes.

“Co-founder Rachel Stringer had been working in FIFA esports for a number of years and from very early on was aware of the lack of women so decided to do something positive by creating a women’s-only esports series.

“The aim remains to inspire more female players but also create opportunities for women working in production, photography and social media by bringing tournaments to the world.

“Women looking to get into esports need to be given a pathway which means having tournaments to participate in and regular interaction with others in order to progress.”

Woffenden went on to say that FIFA made sense as the game to showcase, due to its accessibility to those who may not be regular esports followers.

“FIFA is the most accessible game and it also has the most current female professionals and aspiring professionals,” he said. “EA Sports recognised our vision and helped ensure tournaments are structured and broadcast to the best possible standards. We also enjoy a great relationship with Twitch who help us to host and celebrate our broadcasts on their channels.”

He added, though, that the team would also be excited about opportunities to showcase other popular esports titles.

“We would love discussions with Activision, Fortnite, Ubisoft, League of Legends and any others who would like to run an all-female tournament or series to further inspire more female participants in gaming and esports.”