PointsBet, the Australia-based online sports betting operator has appointed Eric Foote as the new Chief Commercial Officer of its US business.

Foote, who has been Vice President of Business Development and Partnerships for CBS Sports Digital, is set to take up his new position on 6^th January 2020, and will be based in Denver, Colorado.

With more than twenty years of experience in the North American sports and media industry, he will help the Australian operator make the most of the emerging US sports betting markets.

Commenting on his new appointment, Foot said:

“Sports betting is just getting started in the US and I’m excited to be joining such an ambitious, talented and well-positioned team. PointsBet has already established a successful business and made significant progress since PASPA repeal, and I look forward to working with the team in pursuit of market leadership.”

While PointsBet’s Chief Executive, Sam Swanell, added:

“We are very pleased that a senior executive of Eric’s quality and experience is joining PointsBet.

“His understanding of the US media landscape and the opportunities that this can provide our company will be invaluable as we continue to expand across the United States and seek strategic partnerships.”

AYO.NEWS says:

As with European sports betting operators, PointsBet clearly understands that the future of the industry will be US-focused, and that there is going to be one almighty battle to dominate the markets over the next few years. At the end of October we reported that PointsBet had revealed it plans to raise over $80m to power its expansion in the growing US market (read more).

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

John McAfee, our favourite crypto eccentric, has confirmed he’s putting his individual crypto currency promotions on ice to focus on his 2020 presidential bid campaign.

Yep, he’s really doing it. January will see John McAfee kick off his presidential campaign “in earnest”… even though he openly admits he hasn’t got a snowball’s chance in hell of winning. Still, he sees it as a brilliant opportunity to promote the broader cryptocurrency world to the mainstream.

I’m not backing off from Crypto. I’m backing off from promoting specific coins or projects. It’s the Wild West here in Crypto. Even I cannot properly vet anything in this nuclear explosion of technology, promise and exploitation to the degree that I am comfortable promoting it.

— John McAfee (@officialmcafee) December 14, 2019

McAfee, who is currently living in exile on a boat… somewhere, is wanted in the United States on tax charges – which he says are fraudulent – so campaigning will have to be done entirely remotely.

Mind you, not even living on a boat has kept him out of trouble. Back in July, AYO.NEWS reported that he had been arrested and held for four days in the Dominican Republic – though he was later released without charge and, in typical McAffee-style, even posted selfies taken with his captors on twitter (read more).

In October, McAfee launched his own decentralised exchange, saying it was aimed at freeing people from “governments’ cornerstone of control: fiat currencies”, and adding that there was no way to shut it down (read more).

And, let’s not forget, McAfee is still standing by his, now seemingly far-fetched, prediction that Bitcoin (BTC) will hit $1 million by the end of next year or he will eat his own penis.

When I predicted Bitcoin at $500,000 by the end of 2020, it used a model that predicted $5,000 at the end of 2017. BTC has accelerated much faster than my model assumptions. I now predict Bircoin at $1 million by the end of 2020. I will still eat my dick if wrong. pic.twitter.com/WVx3E71nyD

— John McAfee (@officialmcafee) November 29, 2017

AYO.NEWS says:

We can’t help but love John McAfee. In a world of Trumps and Johnsons, McAfee’s brand of sticking it to the authorities and slightly unhinged freedom fighting is exactly what is needed! So, for the sake of world peace we’re hoping against hope to see a President McAfee unseat Trump, and for the sake of his manhood we’re hoping to see $1m Bitcoin by the end of 2020!

Good luck John, on both counts!

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

Akon City, a “100% crypto-based city”, is now being built by Grammy award-winning American singer, songwriter, producer, entrepreneur, philanthropist and actor, Akon.

Yep, as we previously reported, Akon has set up his very own cryptocurrency, the AKoin, and is now in the process of building a futuristic city on 2,000 acres of land near Dakar, gifted to him by the president of Senegal.

Speaking on Nick Cannon’s radio show Power 106 Los Angeles, Akon said the city will be “renewable”, with a particular emphasis on solar power, and that the AKoin would be the “centre of transactional life.”

According to the singer, the city is scheduled to take ten years to build, with construction starting in March this year, and state 2 starting in 2025.

Akon also runs a charity called Akon Lightning Africa, which claims to have already provided solar solutions in eighteen African countries. During his chat with Cannon, the star criticised other wealthy people for sitting on large sums of money in the bank, which was wasted and could be used to help those in need.

Despite his enthusiasm for his city project, Akon said he was most excited about his cryptocurrency, the AKoin, and is confident it will take off internationally.

Somewhat echoing Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey’s assertion that Bitcoin’s (BTC) future will be “defined” by Africa (red more), Akon has previously said that blockchain and crypto could the “saviour” of Africa.

AYO.NEWS says:

In November Akon made a high profile appearance at the Malta AI & Blockchain Summit, where his enthusiasm was contagious. However, while there’s no doubting his passion for both AKoin and Akon City, establishing a viable long-term city is about more than just funding and construction, and will require massive, sustainable support from the Senegalese government. In a part of the world that is notoriously unstable, can this project rely on that?

Whatever happens, Akon has to be commended for what he’s doing, and we’ll be following the project with great interest.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

Eran Eyal, founder and former CEO of Shopin, has been convicted of orchestrating a fraudulent ICO after pleading guilty to charges in New York.

Yesterday we reported that the United States Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) had charged Eran Eyal, founder and former CEO of Shopin, with running a fraudulent $42m initial coin offering (read more). Today he stands convicted.

Eyal also pleaded guilty to, and was convicted of, two counts of Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree, a Class E felony, related to his two previous companies; Springleap, Inc, and Pass Sync, Inc.

New York Attorney General (NYAG) Letitia James announced the conviction after Eyal pleaded guilty to the felony charges. Regarding the case, James said:

“My office won’t allow white collar criminals to get away with their schemes to defraud innocent victims, no matter how complex.

“This one individual created company after company after company just to continue cheating investors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Using fake product trials and nonexistent contracts with major retailers he was able to lure victims to invest in his technology schemes, including his very own cryptocurrency. We will use every available resource at our disposal to pursue all who attempt to abuse and manipulate the system, because no one is above the law.”

Despite the serious nature of his offences, and the determined words of the New York Attorney General, it looks like Eyal has escaped jail time. Instead, he has been ordered to pay $125,000 in restitution and $475,000 in judgments to investors. He must also surrender the $450,000 worth of crypto remaining to the NYAG’s office.

Unsurprisingly, Eyal has also been forced to step-down as CEO of Shopin and is prohibited from raising capital or serving as a business officer in the state of New York for three years.

AYO.NEWS says:

Well, that was quick! Given the scale of Eyal’s crimes, and his track record, it is perhaps surprising that he’s not looking at a serious jail sentence. Despite his three-year ban in New York, something tells us we’ll be seeing Eyal back in business, somewhere, sometime real soon…

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

ReKTGlobal, parent company of esports organisations Rogue and London Royal Ravens, has announced Taylor Fritz as its latest celebrity investor.

The 22-year old American tennis prodigy is the third pro-traditional sports athlete to join the ReKTGlobal team in the past six months, joining Washington Redskins Landon Collins (read more) and the NBA’s two-time reigning Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert (read more), along with EDM sensations Steve Aoki and DJ Nicky Romero (read more), the Billboard Award-winning Imagine Dragons, and renowned Latin music producer Tainy (read more).

Notably, while NBA, NFL and MLB stars have been investing millions in esports over the past year, Fritz is one of the first tennis pros to invest in competitive gaming – an industry expected to generate $2.4 billion next year.

Discussing his investment in ReKTGlobal, Fritz said:

“As the first tennis pro and youngest investor to date, I’m really excited to join the ReKTGlobal team. “It’s a dream come true to invest in this fast-growing esports organization and follow my passion for competitive gaming. As the esports industry continues to blow up and go mainstream, I’m looking forward to collaborating with the team and making magic happen. Livestreaming with the Rogue squad and DrLupo will be a fun bonus too.”

While Founder and Chairman of ReKTGlobal, Amish Shah, added:

“Taylor Fritz is a rising star, both in tennis and esports. In addition to his role as our latest investor, Taylor is an avid gamer who takes his PlayStation on the road so that when he has downtime or is in need of a release, he can jump on the sticks and play Fortnite and Call of Duty. He truly knows his stuff when it comes to the esports industry, teams, and players so we’re very excited to welcome him to the ReKTGlobal family.”

Fritz played his first Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour tournament at Nottingham in 2015, where he received a wild card and won his first ATP match. He turned pro after winning the US Open and by age 17 had risen into the top 250 of the ATP rankings and become the 9^th player to win multiple Challenger Tour titles.

With a serve that can hit 149mph and an ability to hit powerful groundstrokes, Fritz won his first ATP Tour title at the 2019 Eastbourne International tournament, rising to a #25 world ranking, and made his Davis Cup debut representing Team USA.

AYO.NEWS says:

How does ReKTGlobal keep attracting so many high-profile celebrity investors!? Whatever they are doing, its making the company one of the most interesting in the esports world! Besides being able throw fantastic parties, having so many high-profile, well connected celebrities and sports people on the team must be opening up many exciting avenues for collaborations, and further merging the world of traditional sports and entertainment with esports and gaming.

We wonder who’ll be next to invest in ReKTGlobal?

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

Online affiliate content marketing company Raketech has appointed Oskar Mühlbach as its new President and CEO.

Mühlbach has been COO at Raketech since April 2019, and will replace Michael Holmberg as CEO with immediate effect.

Commenting on the development Chairman of the Board at Raketech, Christian Lundberg, said:

“Oskar has a clear vision of how Raketech will develop towards becoming a global partner to players in the online gaming industry. With his excellent skills in the company’s core business, I am confident we will ensure the right balance between organic development and expansion.

“As we now enter a new phase in the company’s development, I am convinced he is the right person to execute on our strategy and lead the company through the challenges we and the entire industry experienced in 2019.”

Regarding the departing Holmberg, Lundberg added:

“Michael Holmberg has been a driving force in the transformation of a young and fast-growing company into one of the market’s leading players in affiliate marketing. He has also been a leader in the process of preparing and taking the company public on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market. I am very grateful for his efforts and wish Michael the best of luck in his future career”

In Q3 2019 Raketech reported revenue of €6m, down 15% year-on-year, while adjusted EBITDA was down 34% to €2.7m, and profit fell 29% to €1.2m – although revenue for the first 9 months of 2019 was still up by 1% to €18.1m.

As with so many other gaming affiliates and operators heavily committed to the Nordic markets, Raketech blamed the poor performance on challenges in the re-regulated Swedish market.

AYO.NEWS says:

Will the shuffle be enough to turn around Raketech’s fortunes, or will the challenges in the Swedish market continue to dampen performance? One things for sure; things are getting tougher for iGaming affiliates!

Staying with Raketech, in October we reported the company had appointed Andreas Kovacs, previous CFO, as new Director of Business Development (read more).

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.