How to build a betting brand for the next generation.

With many online betting operators still struggling to harness esports and attract younger customers, Simona catches up with Steven Salz, Co-founder & CEO of PMML Corp, the parent company of leading esports and sports betting site Rivalry, to see how they have nailed it.

Find out how Rivalry is shaking things up in everything from reducing onboarding friction while maintaining regulatory compliance, to ditching traditional advertising in favour of true content-based community marketing. Don’t forget to check out the platform for yourself at rivalry.com.

On 22 October, Steven will also be on the panel for the Perfect Partners session (sponsored by Neosurf) at the SBC Betting on Sports Europe – Digital, along with Julian Tan (Head of Digital Business Initiatives & Esports, Formula 1), Serge Vardanyan (CEO & Founder, WIN.GG), Adrian Figallo (Co-Founder, World Pro Racing) and Eirik Kristiansen (CEO, PixelBet).

A motivational insight into the world of executive iGaming headhunting with Cosmo Currey.

How does a 3-month, spur of the moment trip to Russia as end up leading to a career as one of the world’s top iGaming and finance headhunters, and whats the most important quality employers are looking for today?

Find out as Simona catches up with Cosmo Currey, Global Head of Talent Acquisition at Isle of Man-based executive recruitment specialist Van Kaizen.

Want expert career advice from Cosmo? Get in touch via LinkedIn.

Find out more about Van Kaizen at www.vankaizen.com

Sponsored guide:

The size of the online gambling market has gone through the roof. It is currently valued at more than $59 billion. A Statista estimate suggests that the market will rise in value to $92.9 billion by the end of 2023. 

Bitcoin gambling, on the other hand, has only started to pick up pace. As reported by  crypto media outlet, Bitcoin and altcoin gambling monitoring website The Bitcoin Strip, it is estimated that Bitcoin gamblers bet more than $4.5 billion between 2014 and 2017.

An increasing number of Bitcoin casinos have kept coming into the market since then, taking the total number of crypto casinos to 219.

As these numbers keep rising and the interest around Bitcoin gambling grows, the obvious question that comes to mind is: how safe is bitcoin gambling and whether or not it is legal?

Let’s take a look.

The Legality of Bitcoin Gambling

Very often, there is a striking similarity between the laws governing Bitcoin gambling and the laws governing online gambling or casinos as a whole within a country. And these laws may or may not be in close proximity to the laws around brick-and-mortar casinos in that country. 

Most countries, however, still lack regulatory certainty around Bitcoin gambling. Even those that have legislation in place leave a lot of room for speculation about Bitcoin casinos.

The laws around online gambling and casinos are some of the most confusing in the United States. The federal law does not prohibit real-life casinos and gambling, but it has stringent restrictions on online gambling. Each U.S. states has its discretion to create its own laws around real-life and online gambling as well as Bitcoin gambling. In fact, the states of Utah and Hawaii prohibit all forms of gambling.

Due to this ambiguity, it’s difficult to collectively decide the legality of Bitcoin gambling in the U.S other parts of the world. 

The few countries that have full-fledged regulations for Bitcoin include the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Greece, and Poland. Also, it goes without saying that countries that have outlawed Bitcoins also do not consider Bitcoin gambling as a legal activity.

Before opting to participate in Bitcoin gambling, you must consider asking two questions

1. Does local law prohibit online betting and casinos?
2. Does the local law ban Bitcoin? 

If the answer to both the questions is “no,” and if there are no specific laws that specifically speak of Bitcoin gambling, chances are, Bitcoin gambling is still not illegal in your place.

How to Assess the Safety of a Bitcoin Gambling Platform?

Once you have confirmed the legality of Bitcoin gambling according to your local laws, it is time to choose a platform — the next step to ensuring a safe Bitcoin gambling experience. 

As already stated, there are more than 200 Bitcoin and altcoin gambling platforms and casinos at present. To choose the one that safest for you, here are a few things you must consider:

• Legal Registration: As a crucial first step, always check if a Bitcoin gambling platform is regulated by a government and if it has a license for operation. You should also consider checking whether or not the platform of your choice is available in your place.
• Provably Fair Games: While it’s not mandatory that all Bitcoin casino games are provably fair, it’s one of the most touted features of Bitcoin gambling. With provably fair games as they are on bitcoin gambling provider FortuneJack — the players can always check whether the results of the game were fair or not. This negates any chances of the owners tampering with the game’s results.
• Anonymity: If you’re a user obsessed with the anonymity Bitcoin provides, you may also want to ensure that the gambling platform you choose does not require ID verification. Many of the best Bitcoin casinos only require email registration
• User Reviews: User reviews are always one of the most legitimate ways to ensure that the Bitcoin gambling platform you’re opting for is of the standard you expect them to be. You must try to read multiple reviews from multiple sources, not leaving much space for ambiguity.

So, Is Bitcoin Gambling Safe?

There’s no one answer to that question. The whole of the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry lacks clear regulations across a major part of the world. And Bitcoin gambling is no exception. So, if you keep aside the obvious risks of losing money when gambling and the volatility of Bitcoin, the safety of Bitcoin gambling depends on how well you research the space before you set foot into it.

CelerX offers a new way to monetise casual games by tapping into the power of blockchain and esports.

Casual gaming is booming, but many developers are still struggling to effectively monetise their products. So, AYO.NEWS’ Simona caught up with Mo Dong, co-founder of Celer Network, to find out how the CelerX esports platform offers a compelling alternative to traditional monetisation strategies like advertising, and get his take on the future of blockchain and esports.

Discover more about Celer Network and the CelerX Game Monetisation Engine here.

iGaming revenue continues to rise, with the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) anticipating iGaming generating as much as €29.3bn in the year 2022 – a rise of almost €5bn from 2019.

Whilst this is a huge positive, those within the industry will be well aware that the key to the long-term success of online casinos, is its interaction with the Millennial generation.

Millennials’ Gaming Education

A recent report suggested that the majority of young people are gaming in some capacity. From casual mobile games to more in-depth console/PC games, the report found that 22-36-year-olds still hold a keen interest in gaming, and whilst the evolution from video gamer to iGamer may not currently be an obvious one, the ability to play games while making real cash should prove appealing to Millennials.

To entice the Millennial age demographic, iGaming payouts are getting larger, and can, on occasion, be lifechanging, with those who play mega moolah sometimes attempting to land jackpots in the tens of millions. iGaming companies also create their content to specifically target Millennials, with well-known gameshows adapted to be used in an iGaming capacity, and popular celebrities brought in to market their products. Clearly, a new approach will be required to bring in this audience.

Appeal Increases With Tech Advances

Generations Y & Z were seen as the first to catch the gaming bug, and now it’s incredibly rare to see a member of this demographic unable to navigate their way around a smartphone. iGaming has adapted to this by tailoring their games to mobile and tablet devices, moving away from the traditional online casino websites which were only accessible on desktop or laptop.

As technology continues to evolve – with virtual reality and augmented reality gaming now two of the fastest moving in the genre – expect iGaming to continue to adapt their content to appeal to Millennials’ tastes.

Issues That Face The Industry

It is not just the issue of appealing to a younger demographic which currently faces iGaming, though, with video gaming giants Sony and Microsoft recently unveiling plans of a surprising partnership. The duo has spent the majority of Millennials’ lives competing for Playstation and Xbox sales, but Sony is now looking to Microsoft for help in powering its streaming services.

With competition in the video gaming industry greater than ever, the largest iGaming providers will need to guarantee that their content remains engaging, and innovative, to keep on the right side of Millennials.

Generational Gambling Habits

The main concern for the online casino sector though, is that Millennials do not seem to prioritize gambling as much as the slightly older Generation X.

In a study by Atlantic City’s Stockton University, the Generation Xers were found to spend on average 23.5% of their monthly budget on gambling, significantly more than the 8.5% wagered by Millennials. Of the Millennials who do gamble, the study showed that 40% who did not currently play slot games said that they would do so if there was an element of skill involved, and 38% would play if in a group.

iGaming may be a sector on the rise, but at this stage, there is little doubt that there is work to do to attract Millennials. However, should iGaming developers continue to adapt to changes in technology, and user experience, the industry will no doubt be confident of maintaining its upwards trajectory in the years to come.

Inventing an entirely new entertainment format: Dorian Gorr, MD, CMO & Co-Founder of VERITAS Entertainment

When the COVID-19 crisis delayed the opening of their new state of the art LVL esports facility in Berlin, the VERITAS team got creative, coming up with an entirely new entertainment format, in the shape of Das Race. Simona caught up with Dorian Gorr, MD, CMO & Co-Founder of VERITAS Entertainment, to find out more.

Keep up to speed with Das Race and check out LVL.