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.

Fusing Video Gaming & Casino Gambling: Blaine Graboyes, CEO & Co-Founder, GameCo.

With Millennials now the biggest market for gaming operators, there’s a clear need to introduce video gaming and skill-based elements to casino offerings. So, Simona caught up with Blaine Graboyes, CEO and Co-Founder of Las Vegas-based GameCo – one of the trailblazers in combing skill-based and RNG gaming – to get an expert take and find out more about the newly launched iGameCo brand.

Don’t forget to check out GameCo’s site for more about Video Game Gambling.

In-game advertising opens up new worlds of possibilities.

With video gaming and esports now a dominant cultural phenomenon worldwide, in-game advertising is an exciting new frontier – so, Simona caught up with Niklas Bakos, CEO & Founder of Adverty, a company leading the way, to find out more.

Discover more about Adverty here.

Israel announces another national lockdown, so what is really going on with COVID-19?

This article expresses the opinion of the author only, and not necessarily that of AYO.NEWS, Pentagon Digital Ltd, or any partner or affiliate. 

In news that will come as a major blow to conference and events organisers around the world, it seems ‘Total Lockdown Part II’ is imminent, after Israel became the first country to announce a return to full nationwide lockdown. 

Travel banned, businesses closed, schools shut

According to mainstream media reports, the new lockdown is scheduled to start at 6am local time on Friday 18 September. 

From Friday, it is expected that all Israelis will be prohibited from travelling more than 500 meters from their homes, and all non-essential businesses serving customers in-person will be ordered to close. Even businesses allowed to continue operating will be forced to cap staff at 30% or just 10 people – with the rule also applying to government offices. Schools are expected to shut as early as Wednesday 16 September, despite students only recently having started their new school year. 

Whatever your political views of Israel, no one can deny that it is, for obvious reasons, one of the most security conscious nations in the world, and its Mossad intelligence service is widely regarded as one of the most connected and clued-in anywhere. This makes the country something of a ‘canary in the coal mine.’ 

Do the Five Eyes and the big boys know something we don’t?

With the United Kingdom introducing draconian new rules from the start of this week, Australia (or at least the most populous states) continuing to implement shockingly strict rules, New Zealand having all but cut itself off from the outside world, Canada introducing extreme measures like forcibly removing ‘infected’ to holding centres, and the United States still a smorgasbord of vastly differing regulations and chaos (with protests and riots seemingly being allowed to continue – maybe as a distraction), one has to wonder if the Five Eyes countries, along with Israel, Russia, and China, know more than they are letting on? 

What happened in Wuhan?

Now, before we go totally tin foil hat, it’s clear the COVID-19 virus does indeed exist, and no one is debating that, if you increase testing, you will see the number of positive results increase. But, it’s also now clear that it was already circulating around the world in the fourth quarter of 2019 – and no one even noticed at the time.

Which brings us to what happened in Wuhan. 

Looking at the Wuhan lockdown, which was implemented at the end of January 2020, it’s hard not to feel it had more than an element of theatre to it; the metal fences bolted into place across bridges, the highways cut with trenches, the bars welded across apartment doors, and, let’s not forget, the ‘infected’ people literally bundled into metal boxes on the back of trucks. 

But, if the virus was so terrifying, why didn’t we see these measures in other lockdown cities? Sure, the virus was seen to spread across China, and other cities introduced restrictions, but Wuhan stands out as categorically different – as if it was a ‘launch,’ deliberately designed to get the attention of the global media, and fly on social media… which it did.  

And, what about the delay in quarantining China? Despite the fact that major nations now seem willing to implement and change travel rules at a moment’s notice, completely decimating the global travel industry in the process, those same nations very clearly, and inexplicably, hesitated at the ‘start’ of the pandemic. Much like those same governments seemed fine with letting cruises continue to go from port-to-port and disembark thousands of people, despite it already being obvious cruise ships were petri dishes for the virus. 

In fact, one could be forgiven for thinking that the major governments of the world, in lock-step with the WHO, actually wanted to ensure the virus spread to every corner of the planet.

The reaction is causing more damage than the virus

In the early days of the global lockdowns, back in March, most people were, quite understandably freaked out by the spectre of a global plague, and were eager to ‘do their bit’ in supporting the authorities and preventing the collapse of health services. From Italians banging pots and pans on their balconies, to Brits clapping on their doorsteps every week – there was something of a wartime spirit developing.

However, despite an initial surge in hospital admissions and deaths, health services in developed countries soon scaled-up and got on top of things. Within a couple of months, hospitals across Europe and much of North America were almost deserted. And, an analysis of those deaths – which are, of course, tragedies in their own right – shows that almost all were the elderly, or those with underlying health conditions. 

Indeed, it soon became clear to all but the most deluded, that the vast majority of COVID-19 infections were asymptomatic, and even most of those who did develop symptoms suffered no more than very mild, cold-like issues. True, some have reported long-term effects, but it’s important to put things in perspective – what we do know for sure is that by focusing so much on COVID-19, health services around the world have been neglecting other issues. And, now, in September, we are seeing experts warn that the number of people who will die of things like cancer, that went undetected or untreated because of COVID-19 delays, will far outnumber those who die of the virus. 

Which brings us on to the economic catastrophe. Throughout the crisis, there has been a steady flow of blinkered idiots harping on about saving every life at any cost, and claiming that we should “put health before the economy” – as if that was even a choice on the table. For, as anyone with an IQ over 80 knows, the two are inextricably linked. It’s no coincidence that the wealthiest countries are also the healthiest. 

The truth (which I realise is unpalatable to snowflakes), is that by destroying the global economy, COVID-19 lockdowns have guaranteed that funding for health systems, education, and all other public services will have to be cut to the bone due to tax revenue crashing. Even worse, those same virtue signalling idiots have sentenced hundreds of millions to a future of abject poverty, anguish, and all the associated ills that come with that – from homelessness and malnutrition, to mental health issues, broken families, and the dangers of living in failed societies. 

So, what the hell is going on?

This is the multi-trillion dollar question. And, the truth is, most of us simply don’t know. But, we can employ some logic to get closer to the truth.

It now seems clear that the virus was already spreading globally at the end of 2019 – months before Wuhan locked down. The idea that the virus emanated from a food market in Wuhan has been extensively debunked, but increasing numbers of experts are suggesting the virus was manufactured (Wuhan is home to one of the world’s largest virus research facilities). The dramatic measures taken in Wuhan were not repeated elsewhere, but did serve very effectively to grab the world’s attention. 

From a purely humanitarian point-of-view, it is now impossible to argue that the damage wrought by the COVID-19 virus is even remotely as extensive as the damage caused by the measures to ‘stop’ the pandemic. And, with each new lockdown and restriction, this becomes even more apparent. 

It is undeniable that the continued introduction, easing, and reintroduction of restrictive measures, implemented across the world, has created a situation where millions of people are now willing to comply with draconian restrictions that would have been utterly unthinkable just a year ago. 

The collective result of the global restrictions has been to massively cut international travel (thus drastically reducing the number of flights in the air and cruise ships at sea), significantly reduce global demand for oil and other resources (markedly cutting the number of supertankers and other ships carrying hazardous materials at sea, and reducing the number of oil refineries and power stations operating).

It has also allowed the passage of new emergency laws with almost no oversight, increasing the powers of police and other officials, and has given a cover for the deployment of military assets to the streets of many countries. And, lets not forget the stockpiling of foods and supplies, and the construction of massive field hospitals – like the famous ‘Nightingale’ hospitals across the UK.

And, as they say, you can learn a lot by ‘following the money.’ More and more observers are now pointing out that governments around the world, but especially those previously mentioned, seem willing to spend any amount of money on this crisis. Despite the same governments continuously saying they couldn’t afford so many other vital projects over the past 70 years. Basically, they have all suddenly pulled unlimited money out of their arses, and are spending trillions on furlough schemes, emergency loans, protective gear, vaccine trials, and testing. It’s fair to say they are now spending “like there’s no tomorrow.” 

So, all things considered, we are left with three possibilities:

1. Almost every government in the world has collectively lost their minds together, and a combination of overreaction, staggering incompetence, and a refusal to admit mistakes has led to the world committing collective economic and social suicide.
2. The major governments of the world know something about the virus that they are not telling us. Namely, that it is far more dangerous than it appears – maybe with severe long-term effects.
3. The virus was engineered to be highly contagious, but not particularly deadly, and was deliberately left to spread around the world, before being ‘officially launched’ in Wuhan. Its purpose, to enable the introduction of previously unthinkable rules and restrictions, aimed at keeping populations static, and giving cover for massive preparations for some impending global event.

Disturbing conclusions

Logically, number 1 seems unlikely for a simple reason; throughout the world opposition political parties have been making conspicuously few attempts to highlight the incompetence of governments, or capitalise on the situation. Of course, at the start of the crisis, this could be explained by not wanting to appear callus, but now, in September, with economies in tatters and hospitals at a fraction of capacity, this is inexplicable. 

Number 2 seems likely at first glance. But again, simple logic suggests it is unlikely. If it were true that the virus was much more severe than is being admitted, then obviously medical experts and top doctors would be in the know. Can we really believe that, six months since Wuhan locked down, the global medical community has managed to keep this secret? Wouldn’t governments by now be telling us it was more deadly in an effort to get people to adhere to social distancing etc?

So, we are left with number 3. This seems most plausible, if also most shocking. It would require only a small cadre at the very top of the political, intelligence, and military establishments of the world’s most powerful countries to be fully ‘in-the-know’ up until this point. Through compartmentalisation and coercion it is entirely possible that a secret on this level could be maintained (the coercion part is not hard to cotton-on-to if you’ve been paying attention to the news over the past year). 

Obviously, anything warranting this massive global effort must be truly planet-wide in scale. Given the fact that populations are already getting restless and openly questioning the official narrative, something which was always very predictable, we can also deduce that whatever the event is, it is imminent. 

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