With governments around the world clearly having no realistic exit strategies for the COVID-19 lockdowns, tech companies are piling in to make a bad situation worse.

After Malta-based Chiliz revealed it is developing a blockchain-based system to allow fans to “prove their immunity” and attend football matches again, Oracle has now partnered with Vottun to release a digital health passport, which it says will allow employees to go back to work.

The “Immunity Passport” developed by Vottun is said to record your immunity status on the blockchain, allowing it to be easily checked by authorities by scanning a QR code.

Spain, which has been one of the countries hardest-hit by COVID-19, is already rolling out the system in partnership with PwC, while Vottun has said is has been talking with authorities in the United States too.

AYO.NEWS says:

This madness needs to stop now. Tech companies are understandably enthusiastic about the technology, but there is far more at stake here, and it seems they are all missing the big picture.

As we have argued previously, this technology will absolutely create a two-tier segregated society in which only those ‘approved’ by authorities are allowed to re-join society. This is opening the door to digital ghettoization or apartheid.

No one can argue the COVID-19 (coronavirus) is not having a terrible impact, but it seems people are losing all perspective and rationality. The lockdowns have already ensured the biggest economic calamity since the Great Depression, and if they go on longer they are sure to lead to mass social issues in many places. This will all lead to FAR more deaths in the long-run, than the virus could have ever inflicted.

But, trying to fix this by creating some sort of 1984 or Gattaca-style dystopia is utter madness. What is the point in fighting this “war” against the virus, if the society we are left with has forsaken everything millions have fought, and died, defending across generations, including World War 2?

Of course, there are a myriad of other reasons why this system is madness too, including the fact tests are not reliable, there is growing evidence that being infected and recovering does not make you immune, the virus is rapidly mutating, and it will obviously cause people to TRY and get infected so they can resume their lives.

Lockdowns could have worked in small areas, if they had been implemented early enough. However, politicians in every country refused to see reality and procrastinated. Now they have implemented them, utterly destroying many millions of lives for the foreseeable future. Now, we have tech companies jumping on the bandwagon, claiming to offer a way out, but actually just opening the doors to an even worse nightmare.

I’m with John McAfee on this one.

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

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

With the IMF now warning of the biggest economic crash for 90 years because of the COVID-19 crisis, Bitcoin (BTC) is facing its ‘moment of truth.’

Lockdowns triggering economic catastrophe

On 14 April the IMF published its quarterly World Economic Outlook report, saying the lockdowns due to COVID-19 (coronavirus) are ushering in the worst economic downturn for 90 years, and predicting a staggering USD $9 trillion of losses within a couple of years.

Meanwhile in the UK, the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) has issued an even scarier warning, saying the country faces the deepest recession for 300 years, with GDP expected to plunge by 35% and 2 million to lose their jobs.

As the true toll of economic damage becomes clear, many are now arguing the actions taken to combat the pandemic are certain to cause far more damage, including mass poverty and millions of deaths, than the virus would have done had it just been left to burn.

Bitcoin’s record correlation with traditional markets

With the world facing an unprecedented economic crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic still raging, and warnings of a possible second wave of infections, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC), is now facing something of a moment of truth.

Prior to the crisis, Bitcoin had been assumed by many to be a ‘safe haven’ for investors – sitting in a separate digital world, less affected by real-world political and economic events. However, over the past few months, Bitcoin has reached a record correlation with traditional markets, including the S&P 500 and gold – with the sudden liquidity crisis in global markets appearing to drive confluence across asset classes.

Bitcoin Halving and moment of truth approaches

Now, with next month’s Bitcoin Halving rapidly approaching, we are about to see if the world’s foremost cryptocurrency will be able to achieve the much-anticipated post-halving bull trend.

Though the halving has long split crypto pundits, with some predicting it to be a non-event, and others convinced it will ignite the fuse to a long bull run, we perhaps shouldn’t read to much into Bitcoin’s current close correlation to stock markets and gold.

Back at the start of the 2008/09 Financial Crisis, the price of gold, the traditional safe haven asset, actually dropped 30% over the first six months, but then went on to gain more than 150% over the following three-and-a-half years.

It could be argued that the reason Bitcoin (BTC) hasn’t so far achieved it’s clear ‘safe haven’ potential, is because until this point most investors have simply failed to appreciate the sheer scale of the global economic crash that is now underway.

The unprecedented nature of the lockdowns, and psychological displacement caused – with many people feeling they are on simply on an unexpected holiday, rather than on the precipice of disaster – has obviously clouded judgement and wrong-footed many. But, as the insane scale of the collapse becomes apparent, it could well send investors fleeing to both gold and Bitcoin (BTC).

One thing is for sure. A couple of years from now, the global economy is going to look very different.

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

With entire industries collapsing before our eyes due to the ongoing global COVID-19 crisis, the digital space is holding up relatively well. However, even online businesses can expect to see some very real consequences sooner or later. Unfortunately, this will include the esports and esports betting industries. But, how exactly will the pandemic crisis hit the still maturing esports betting industry? Though we live in very unpredictable times, the LOOT.BET team has analysed the data available, and considered where things may go from here.

Audience

Despite all the disruption wrought by COVID-19, the esports industry has definitely lucked out in the fact that it can at least function, almost fully, in an online space that is unsusceptible to viruses (well, of the physical kind at least!). Of course, the part of the industry that can’t function is live events, and to this end esports operators have already lost a ton of money in terms of ticket and merchandise sales. Given this, we expect esports companies that rely on live events to suffer most from the pandemic, and some bankruptcies are likely.

However, esports in general won’t lose the ability to attract and engage fans, and will continue to see rapid audience growth. Illustrating this, key tournaments including ESL One Los Angeles and ESL Pro League 11 have migrated online and avoided cancellation. And, even if the COVID-19 situation worsens, we expect to see more major events shift online, but continue to operate.

One thing we can say with absolute certainty, is that the lockdowns being enforced in countries around the world, are actually boosting the growth of the esports audience. As people are stuck in lockdown, working remotely, or self-isolating, many are looking for new alternatives to their usual offline activities and entertainment. While existing esports fans are also finding they have a lot more time to indulge in their interest. Given this, we expect to see a large number of existing casual esports fans transform into fully-fledged esports enthusiasts.

Supporting these assertions are recent reports from Twitch showing a 20% increase in stream viewers over the first couple of weeks of the lockdowns. Of course, we should remain rational here, and not assume that everyone stuck at home will become an esports fan. Those who have never been interested in esports, or even video games in general, are more likely to spend their time watching Netflix or reading books. But, it is clear that the coronavirus-induced lockdowns will definitely stimulate the interest for esports among those casual viewers who, while already aware of esports, are yet to join what we would call the ‘active audience’.

So, what does this all mean for esports betting? Firstly, it means extra growth, with new spending by those who are stuck at home and bored. Secondly, it means a partial migration of active and professional bettors from traditional sports to esports, as they look for alternatives due to the global sports shutdown. Thirdly, it means increased activity from those already following and betting on esports.  

Activity

We can already backup our observations with hard figures. Just over the first couple of weeks of the lockdowns, the volume of bets placed at LOOT.BET has surged by an impressive 20% (and now, it’s growing by 20% every week), site traffic has grown by 30%, and registrations have rocketed by 50%. And, it should be added, these growth rates are in addition to the already accounted for organic growth, driven by ongoing marketing campaigns, and major events like ESL One Los Angeles, ESL Pro League 11, and LOOT.BET/CS Season 6.

It’s curious that self-isolation has affected not just our users’ activities, but their habits as well. For instance, as more people follow esports streams, the share of live bets is also growing at an accelerated pace. In 2019, live bets already accounted for a whopping 75%, but by March that had reached 83%. Besides this, more users are turning to previously less popular markets, such as the first Roshan kill in Dota 2 and winner of a pistol round in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. It seems obvious this is down to the sudden growth of esports online, and the extra time people have to explore new markets thanks to lockdowns.

And, of course, being so hungry for classic sports, many sports fans and bettors have discovered an outlet in esports and virtual sports. Reflecting this, after extending our offers for FIFA 20 this March, we immediately saw a huge increase in terms of this discipline. In fact, despite being one of the less popular games at LOOT.BET prior to the coronavirus crisis, today FIFA 20 is generating greater bet volumes than Overwatch, Call of Duty and StarCraft 2 combined. In response to this, we’re also planning to develop our lines on NBA 2K, which was another previously unpopular discipline.

Betting

Even prior to the first case of COVID-19 being reported, some betting industry professionals were predicting that within 10-20 years, esports would catch up with all classic sports in terms of bet volume. However long the pandemic lasts, it now seems certain esports betting will catch up with traditional sports betting even sooner.

Indeed, over the past few years, esports has become one of the major disciplines for many classic sportsbooks – often eclipsing popular sports like basketball and baseball. But, in the current situation, esports and virtual sports are pretty much the only things both punters and bookmakers can bet on. The reality is that today, when even big betting operators are suspending activities and land-based casinos are completely shut, esports is acting as a critical lifebuoy for the gambling industry.

In this situation, the already intense war for esports bettors is sure to escalate even further. But, despite the massive resource advantage classic bookmakers had before the pandemic crisis, specialist platforms like LOOT.BET are still a long way ahead of the generic bookies. It is precisely because specialist esports betting sites are more in tune with the esports audience, better understand fans’ expectations and wants, and tend to respond more quickly to requests, that they are not suffering operating losses despite the serious COVID-19 crisis.  

Of course, after the pandemic is over classic sports, and our lives in general, will quickly return to normal. The unforeseen dynamics that have boosted esports betting will fade out, some of those new esports viewers will never become enthusiasts, and many sports punters will return to their traditional sports. But, the dramatic surge of interest in esports betting will have given a considerable impetus to the industry in the short term, and will have a very real lasting effect in terms of accelerating what was already phenomenal longer term growth.

Want to find out more about esports betting trends? Check out ‘A Portrait of the Typical Esports Bettor’ here. 

In COVID-19 hit Europe, iGaming is one of the few industries still going strong, with companies in hubs like Spain and Malta remaining optimistic.

iGaming powers ahead in Spain

With lockdowns leaving players with much more time on their hands, and companies easily able to switch to work-from-home operations, the iGaming industry, like esports, is still growing despite the crisis.

Cadiz and Ibiza, along with the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, are already home to many iGaming companies and employees, but in the now certain post-coronavirus economic crisis, the sector will likely become even more important to the local and national economy.

And, with the country set to see record unemployment among a large and tech-savvy young workforce, plus a property crash, businesses may well see costs fall considerably in the coming months and years.

Cadiz, Spain

Malta more dependent than ever on iGaming

Leaving the Iberian Peninsula, and heading east across the sea, another Mediterranean economy is also set to become much more dependent on iGaming due to COVID-19.

Malta, widely known as the iGaming hub of Europe has seen the other main plank of its economy, the tourist sector, utterly destroyed as flights and international travel have been halted. Even if lockdowns are eased in some countries over the coming weeks, the threat of a second wave of COVID-19 is likely to see mass travel restricted for many months or even years.

Of course, for Malta this also presents additional challenges. Already, before the COVID-19 crisis, iGaming employers were finding it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain the needed talent, due to the limited local talent availability and rising living costs.

With international travel likely to remain very difficult for a long time, the threat of further outbreaks, and the Maltese government’s unwise anti-immigrant stance during the crisis, any expansion for Malta-based companies dependent on recruiting foreigners may prove difficult.

Malta

Could regulators spoil the party?

Though online casino, virtual sports, and esports betting have been doing very well during the crisis so far, in some countries regulators could spoil the party.

As we reported last week, in Sweden-licensed operators have been threated with “extraordinary measures” unless the reduce the amount of online gambling, while Belgium has introduced strict weekly staking limits, and regulators in the UK, Malta, and the Netherlands have warned operators they are being watched closely.

If the crisis drags on, there is every chance we could see more jurisdictions implement limits, or even total bans – which would clearly spell disaster for one of the few industries still thriving.

Everything depends on the length of the crisis…

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Introducing our first guest post from Helmet Guy – brand ambassador for PlayAttack Affiliates – stay tuned for more:

The story about Pandora’s box perfectly illustrates the initial meaning of the word myth; that of a traditional tale set to explain a phenomenon which is hard to understand.

The Olympian Gods gave Pandora a box containing unique gifts, or so she believed. Pandora disregarded their warning, opened the box and illnesses and hardships hidden within it gushed out.

At first, people used the myth to explain the misfortunes of the human race. But as years went by, and the rationalism movement gained momentum, the word myth obtained a different meaning; that of a commonly believed, yet false idea. 

So today, the term Pandora’s box is metaphorically used to symbolize the source of troubles. The idea behind the term brand has also changed, and it’s the fluidity of the term that makes myths stick.

At first, brands were about features that made a seller’s product stand out. However, as consumerist societies evolved, brands began to be associated with the values and ideas the communities stand for. 

Think about it — we often buy something because the values behind a product align with our own. Some people are not buying the famous “Russian Red” lipstick from the beauty conglomerate MAC Cosmetics over accusations of animal testing. The brand has even decided to create a dedicated section on its website to explain the company’s position on the matter. 

With the concept of branding evolving as rapidly as it does, it is natural for misconceptions to be born.

Let’s explore them.

1. Branding is about tricking people into buying something

In 1917 Lucky Strike introduced a new slogan hoping to boost their sales. The tagline read, “It’s toasted” (toasting makes tobacco hold its flavor, as opposed to sun-drying). 

If you think this was a ground-breaking innovation, you’d be surprised to discover that many other tobacco manufacturers were already using the very same toasting method. But Lucky Strike was the brand that grasped the opportunity and benefited from it. They even made health claims; toasting was good in removing harmful acids and caused less throat irritation.

Today, with tobacco manufacturers being restricted in promoting their products, taglines on cigarette packs read “Smoking kills” (often accompanied by rather unpleasant pictures). So how come cigarettes are still selling?

People buy cigarettes for millions of reasons. For some of them, it’s a cure to unrelieved boredom; for others, it’s a conversation starter. If I wanted to sound romantic, smoking is a ritual that gives people the essence of an imaginary community — the moment you’re inhaling the smoke, millions of people around the world are doing the exact same. 

Today you don’t choose one tobacco brand over another because you think it’s less harmful to your throat. And no manufacturer can trick you into buying their product by solely relying on a loud slogan. Modern businesses are not just ruthless agencies trying to trick you into buying their brand – they know better than that.

2. Brands are products, and people only care about your product, not your branding

Well…no.

Places are brands — Paris is the city of romance, Milan is the capital of fashion, and Singapore is the financial powerhouse in Asia. 

People are brands too — Michael Jackson is a brand, Madonna is a brand, and yours truly is a brand too. You can’t think of PlayAttack without visualizing the Helmet Guy. 

Some brands are indeed products. But they’re not just that — a successful brand has a meaning behind it. Take Coca Cola’s statement on their website, for instance:

“Our planet matters. We act in ways to create a more sustainable and better-shared future. To make a difference in people’s lives, communities, and our planet by doing business the right way.”

Who would have thought some years ago that you can talk about saving the planet when your company sells soft drinks? But in the modern world, brands are not just products; they are also ideas and values shaped by societies. So yes, people don’t just care about your product; they care about your brand too.

You, as a business person might have zero interest in the environment. But with people becoming increasingly conscious about sustainability, you might need to consider replacing your plastic straws with recyclable ones. 

3. Branding, marketing, and advertising are the same thing & there’s no return on investment (ROI) on branding

I’ll use the example of PlayAttack Affiliates to explain this one. 

Branding is who we are — funny, informative, and reliable. Marketing is the process we follow to promote our brand. Creating a visual identity — our logo, the shameless use of neon, and the 80s vibe of our platform — is part of this complicated process. Finally, advertising is about the means of communication we choose to create brand awareness. At PlayAttack, we heavily rely on video to inform our affiliates on what’s new on our platform.

I get it. It might be challenging to grasp the difference. But think about it; it is not rare for companies with a robust marketing department to resort to advertising agencies to promote their product. There must be a reason, right?

This confusion behind these terms often leads businesses to forget about branding and its impact on ROI. Marketing and advertising deliver ROI, but the effect of branding on ROI is undeniable too. It’s just more difficult to calculate it. 

Let’s take Nike as an example. Their brand is #1 in the sporting goods industry. It’s not a coincidence that the company has chosen to promote its products by having celebrities and professional athletes represent them. They don’t just rely on their product to sell; they rely on their brand too.

And then there’s the word of mouth which influences people in their buying decisions. According to a study by Google, TNS, and Ogilvy, word of mouth affects consumers more than print media, TV, movies, and brand websites. It’s the brand experience that people remember; if people are preinclined towards your brand, the likelihood of a conversion increases significantly.

Some of you might be thinking — my company has been operating for years, and we’ve been doing just fine without branding, so why invest in it now? 

Businesses are evolving, which means your competition is growing. If your brand does not adjust to this new reality, you might be in trouble. 

On May 14th, 2018 the US Supreme court struck down the 25-year-old Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), this was a highly anticipated move that opened up the gateway for individual states to legalize sports betting. 

PASPA being declared unconstitutional has led to seismic changes in the sports betting industry, this has transformed the US market. After 25 years of only legally being able to place sports bets in a handful of scenarios, now any state that wishes can legalize sports betting. New Jersey and Delaware were the first states to adopt legislation allowing sports betting. Swiftly after that around 25 other states started the motions to change their regulations and taken steps to establish their own regulated sports betting industries, out of 50 states only 3 haven’t introduced any recent bills. 

The regulations vary from state to state, each one sets its own legislation regarding sports betting. This sadly means that online sports betting is currently only legal in 7 states but this is constantly evolving, betting.us has compiled a list of the current legal status of sports betting in the USA.

The Sports Betting Gold Rush

Peter Jackson, chief executive of Flutter, which owns the Irish betting company Paddy Power Betfair, describes the opening up of the US as the most exciting development since the advent of online betting. The legalization has opened up a godmine, estimates for the size of the potential market vary greatly, Gambling Compliance, an industry research firm, values the market at up to $8.1bn in revenue terms by 2024, however, if the American Gaming Association’s estimation of illegal market’s valuation at $150 billion is accurate, the legal market could be far more lucrative.

Change is fast happening in America, this will have a huge impact on the sports betting industry but what will the impact be on the US sporting world?

The Affect Of Legalization Of Online Sports Betting On The US Sporting World

The combination of population and passion for sport gives America the potential to become one of the most lucrative sports betting markets globally. 

American sports tend to be long and data-heavy. The games watched by viewers, whether that be from the stadium, a sports bar or the comfort of their sofa, are enhanced by data, these technological advances over recent decades have changed spectators’ perception of the game. Viewers now have a wide variety of stats to inform them, they know exactly how fast the baseball is going and exactly how far it has traveled. 

The logical recipient of all this data is the betting industry. The potential for bets on the minutiae of the games is endless, placing bets on the speed of the baseball or number of yards traveled are called ‘prop bets’ and in the US the popularity of this in-play betting has expanded far quicker than many expected. If online sports betting is legalized placing “prop bets” may cause a fundamental shift in the philosophy of sport. Imagine sitting at home watching the final quarter of a professional football game with your team down 40, instead of focusing on of the lopsided level of play and being disinterested or disheartened by the end of the game, you could instead be far more interested in how many sacks a team gives up or how many conversion kicks are scored.

Most experts agree that the rise of sports betting will increase the appetite for sports consumption both via online media and traditional television streams. This is expected to produce the next major boost to the value of live televised sports, evidence shows that placing a bet on a sporting event makes fans pay closer attention to the game and watch more. This could offer a vital lifeline to the traditional sports television industry at a time when it is facing unprecedented competition from a wide range of digital media.

Gambling has the potential to help generate interest in new professional leagues and to breathe life into leagues that have lost their appeal over recent years. The Arena Football League once had nineteen teams, in 2018 it had just four. Ted Leonsis, the owner of two of these four, believes betting is going to help add value to the league. Arena Football games can generate a lot of data, the average touchdown is scored every 6 plays, and Leonsis believes ‘prop bets’ are the key to the regrowth of the league.