Simona has an inspirational chat with Clinton Sparks – entrepreneur, investor, author, music producer, songwriter, multi-platinum DJ, and CBDO and Co-owner of Boston-based esports and gaming organisation XSET.

Grammy-nominated Sparks is responsible for selling over 75 million records, is owner of Get Familiar Radio, and Co-founder and owner of Bootē, a state of the art women’s athleisure line. He has worked with some music’s biggest stars including Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Rick Ross, Diddy, Pitbull, Ludacris, Big Sean, Akon, 2 Chainz, Eminem, Kanye West, Busta Rhymes, Tyga, and The Clipse, and has become a force in esports and gaming, first with FaZe Clan, and now with XSET.

Find out what makes XSET different from other esports and gaming organisations and where its going, get invaluable tips for success in business, and lots of real, no BS advice for winning big in life.

Discover more about XSET here, and get your FREE copy of How to Win Big in the Music Business here.

Staying with XSET, just last week the organisation welcomed esports, music, and culture star Erin Ashley Simon to its ownership team, and announced BMX pro Nigel Sylvester had joined the crew.

The demands on iGaming operators have never been greater, so how can you position your business to capitalise on every opportunity? Find out from some of the industry’s most respected figures, in the latest FREE webinar from Internet Vikings.

On November 17 from 15:00 to 16:00 CET, Peter Ekmark (CEO, Internet Vikings), Jesper Kärrbrink (Chairman, Green Jade Games), and Tomas Backman (CEO, Hero Gaming) will come together for an unmissable,and 100%  free webinar, iGaming: The Ever-Changing Industry. The speakers will discuss current and future trends and challenges of the sector.

The industry of online gaming is highly demanding. It is a race for more entertaining games, faster connection, easier payments. The list goes on and on. So how should iGaming operators and providers position themselves in this ever-changing industry during the year to come? Find the answers to this with our expert speakers in ‘iGaming: The Ever-Changing Industry’

About the speakers:

Peter Ekmark, Chief Executive Officer at Internet Vikings

Peter joined Internet Vikings in 2019 following an extensive 14-year business development venture at successful iGaming operators like Kindred, Vera&John and MrGreen / William Hill. His experience includes collaboration with companies in almost every area related to the industry – from platform providers and game developers to payment providers and affiliates.

Jesper Kärrbrink, Chairman at Internet Vikings and Green Jade Games

Jesper is one of the pioneers of the iGaming industry who also has a background in e-commerce and media. Since 1993, he has been the CEO of several companies, including Svenska Spel and Mr Green. In 2017, he founded a gaming studio Green Jade Games. He has also been acting in a number of boards and is the co-author of three books.

Tomas Backman, Group CEO of Hero Gaming

Tomas has been in the gaming industry since 2011 and held several C-level positions. His first CEO role was with Betit Group in 2015, which got acquired by Gaming Innovation Group in 2016. Tomas stayed with GiG 1,5 years where he headed the B2C department.

In April 2018, Tomas took over the role as CEO for Hero Gaming and since then the company has seen rapid growth, with monthly revenues increasing 400%.

During the webinar our experts will discuss: 

– How can an operator enhance a digital marketing strategy?

– How can the industry adapt to the ‘new normal?’

– How to find a balance for sustainable business scaling in the year to come?

– What’s the current trend of mergers and acquisitions? 

– How increasing regulations will change the sector?

FREE REGISTRATION

The webinar will take place on November 17 from 15:00 to 16:00 CET and will be open for anyone interested in it for free.

This webinar will be the fourth one in the series of free educational webinars from Internet Vikings. The recordings of other events on topics of hosting optimization, efficient domain management, and brand protection can be found on the YouTube channel of the company.

AYO.NEWS says:

There’s no doubt about it, 2020 has been one of the most challenging years in recent history for many businesses, but the iGaming sector has bucked the trend and boomed. However, as we head into 2021 the sector faces a myriad of issues as well as opportunities.

From ever more complex and stringent regulation, marketing rules, and crushing competition in Europe, to the uncertainties of how to connect with new markets in the United States, Latin America an the CIS – its never been more important for operators and suppliers to ensure they are following effective marketing strategies, and positioning themselves to capitalise on opportunities while minimising risk. 

Given that, iGaming: The Ever-Changing Industry, is a truly unmissable opportunity to tap the minds of some of the most successful and respected figures in the industry – it could well be 60 minutes that saves your and your business a whole lot of stress, money and time! 

This is definitely one to mark in your calendar. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

Simona talks esports and video gaming careers with Richard Huggan, Managing Director of Hitmarker – the world’s leading esports and video game jobs platform.

From where most opportunities are located and what skills employers are looking for, to the challenges facing students and education systems, and the exciting plans for Hitmarker as the platform looks to go truly global, you won’t want to miss this honest assessment from someone on the inside.

Check out all the latest esports and video game industry career opportunities at Hitmarker.

A British businessman has placed what is said to be the biggest political wager ever, betting $5M USD on Donald Trump being re-elected. 

According to The Sun, the former banker used a Curacao-based private bookmaker to place the huge bet, at odds of 37/20. If Trump is voted back in, the punter is in line to receive almost $15M. 

Another Brit is also reported to have bet big on the US presidential elections, placing a $1.29M wager on the Betfair Exchange for Biden to win. If the Democrat challenger does oust Trump, the punter will scoop a tidy $1,986,903.

Betfair says that in total it has taken $337M in bets on the 2020 US presidential election, with a GVC spokesperson telling AFP that it looks set to be twice as big as the 2016 contest for bookies.

Despite Joe Biden being the bookies’ firm favourite to win for most of the election race, apparently in the last 24-hours things have changed dramatically, with Paddy Power saying 93% of last minute bets have been on Trump. 

AYO.NEWS says:

While we’re no fans of Trump, and it seems almost incomprehensible that he could possibly win, if 2020 has taught us one thing, it’s to expect the unexpected… 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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

Simona is joined by Julian Tan, Ph.D, Head of Digital Business Initiatives & Esports at Formula 1, to find out how the iconic racing organisation has expanded its esports offering this year, and what the future has in store.

The COVID-19 crisis has seen the popularity of sim racing explode, pulling in new fans from real-world motorsport and opening up compelling new opportunities for gamers, teams, and commercial partners alike. Now, AYO.NEWS’ Simona Pinterova gets the inside take on F1’s approach to harnessing esports as a way to connect with the fans of the future.

Find out more about F1 esports here.

Julian was recently on the panel for the Perfect Partners session (sponsored by Neosurf) at SBC Betting on Sports Europe – Digital, along with Steven Salz, Co-founder and CEO of PMML Corp – the parent company of leading esports and sports betting site Rivalry. Don’t miss Simona’s chat with Steven here.

Will Brexit, the decay of the United States, and the COVID-19 crisis lead to the birth of a powerful new union, ideally suited to the digital age?

Imagine if four of the world’s wealthiest countries established a new union, that acted with unified global economic, political, and military plans. Imagine if the countries constituting this union were already bound by deep social and historical ties, shared a common language, and were even willing to share citizenship rights. 

With Brexit distancing the UK from Europe, the US tearing itself apart, and the COVID-19 pandemic speeding the transition to a digital world, is a powerful new union between Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom (CANZUK), on the cards?

As fanciful as it might sound, momentum for such a union is gaining traction in both hemispheres, and as I’ll explain, it could be the perfect fit for a brave new digital future, with the video game, esports, and wider digital entertainment industries benefiting enormously.

London, UK

A true global family

To fully understand why CANZAK is not as far-fetched as it may at first seem, we have to go back and look at the historical ties between the four countries. 

In the early 1800’s, New Zealand was a largely unpopulated series of islands, except for the native Maori (though, we now know the Maori themselves were not truly native, and had in fact invaded the islands previously, wiping out the previous natives). Meanwhile, Australia had just a few thousand British settlers, almost half of whom were convicts, and its scattered native aboriginal population. And, in North America, Canada was home to a few hundred thousand British and French loyalists who weren’t so keen on participating in the post-revolutionary shenanigans going on in America. 

But, over the course of the 1800’s, as Britain herself was busy being the industrial workshop of the world and expanding her empire far and wide, the three sparsely populated countries began to go through dramatic changes. Within decades their populations exploded, infrastructure developed, and wealth steadily accumulated.

Despite this, through the 1800’s, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada weren’t viewed as particularly valuable possessions in the British Empire, when compared to places like India (the so-called ‘Jewel in the Crown’), Egypt, Singapore, the Persian Gulf territories, or Malaya – which had a huge population in India’s case, prime strategic locations in Egypt and Singapore’s, and key natural resources like oil and rubber in the case of the Persian Gulf and Malaya. 

However, during the twentieth century, despite the entire British Empire rallying to the mother country’s side in both World War 1 and World War 2, it started to dissolve in the 50’s and 60’s, with most countries being granted independence. But, the attitudes towards independence were very different throughout the empire. 

While in many colonies there was a widespread desire to distance themselves from British culture and influence, in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, there was a wish for independence, but a strong desire to retain close cultural, social, economic, political, and military ties to the United Kingdom (we should also mention tiny little Malta, which actually voted to be annexed by the UK in 1956 – something the UK refused to do).

This is easily explained when you consider that virtually every Canadian, Aussie, Kiwi, and Brit has family in each others’ countries. In fact, even though each of the countries have their own distinct traditions and cultures, they are still extremely similar in many ways. This extends to the point where, if you were to take someone from a city like Sydney, Australia, and drop them into a city like Toronto, Canada, their daily life, the laws they live under, and their social norms wouldn’t be very different. 

And, it is this familiarity and deep level of understanding of each other’s’ ‘ways’ that is critical, and will be key to remember as we continue. 

Vancouver, Canada

The Brexit and China factors

On January 31, 2020, the United Kingdom formally left the European Union (EU). Prior to Brexit, the EU was the second most powerful economic force in the world, behind the United States, and ahead of China. However, with the UK being the EU’s second largest economy, after Germany, its loss has seen the EU lose a significant amount of economic influence and fall behind China. And, with the UK looking to make new trade deals and strengthen its position outside of Europe, and Canada, Australia, and New Zealand keen to counter China’s power in the Pacific, powerful political figures in all four countries have suggested a new union, CANZUK. 

Indeed, CANZUK is supported by the UK’s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Erin O’Toole, and a significant number of senators and MPs in both Australia and New Zealand. Plans call for a union that would increase trade, foreign policy and military cooperation, and give the citizens of all four countries the right to freely move between them to live and work. 

Out of the CANZUK nations, the UK has the biggest economy, the 6th largest in the world, while Canada is next with the 10th largest economy in the world, Australia is not far behind with the 14th largest, and New Zealand brings up the rear at 51st due to its small population. However, when you combine the economies, along with general political and economic influence, of all four countries, the resulting union would likely become the second most powerful in the world, after the EU, and the fourth largest economic power in the world, closely trailing China. Additionally, the CANZUK union would boast the world’s fifth most powerful military, and would control the largest amount of territory and natural resources on the planet. 

Sydney, Australia

The CANZUK secret to success

Of course, there’s nothing new in the idea of unions or federations of states, and all four CANZUK countries are already members of the Commonwealth of Nations (which evolved from the British Commonwealth, which itself grew from the British Empire), the ultra-exclusive ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence organisation (along with the United States), and all have extensive military agreements in place. 

But, the reason why CANZUK could stand out as a success story in today’s digital world, when compared to others, like the EU or even the USA, is the fact that all four countries share such similarities in terms of governments, culture, quality of life, education, healthcare, wealth, and language (and, let’s not forget, the same royal family). These largely ‘soft’ connections are extremely deep rooted and would make a union much more cohesive that, say the EU, where there 27 different countries, with very different cultures, attitudes, and outlooks, and 24 different official languages. 

And, just as in the world of business, or when assessing military power, cohesiveness and understanding are ‘force multipliers’ – making the whole organisation more efficient, effective and resilient. 

Auckland, New Zealand

Why CANZUK is the perfect 21st century union

Now we come to the crux of the matter, and why CANZUK is the perfect union for the digital COVID age we are entering. You see, although all four countries have always enjoyed strong ties, there’s been an undeniable obstacle to closer integration – distance. Look at Google Earth and you’ll see it’s a long way from London to Vancouver or Sydney! 

However, in the 2020’s, the exploding digital, information-based economy, means distance isn’t such a big issue. What is a big issue is attracting creative talent, technical expertise, and being able to market products effectively and efficiently. And, this is where CANZUK would excel. All four counties are known for their creative and technical excellence, have a completely interchangeable workforce, and most products and services can be easily marketed to them as one block. 

In terms of taste and content requirements, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK have long represented essentially one market in terms of entertainment products. This has been obvious for decades in terms of television content, but now, in the video game and digital streaming era it is even more noticeable. 

Given this, if all trade barriers and tariffs were removed, and regulators covering the various industries were to harmonise, digital product and service providers would gain access to a single market of 135 million people. Furthermore, it wouldn’t just be one of the biggest markets, but also one of the wealthiest and most educated – perfect digital territory. 

When it comes to the online gambling industry, the prospect of a single market encompassing the CANZUK countries would be a dream come true for operators. The UK alone is still the biggest single regulated gambling market in the world (even most US state regulate, it won’t be one cohesive market), and Canadians, Australians, and New Zealanders are known to be keen gamblers. Imagine if all four countries put a single regulated market into place?

Finally, let’s also consider the people factor. A CANZUK union, allowing true freedom of movement, abode, and work, would be a force to be reckoned with in terms of talent and skills, and make life much easier for companies looking to establish world-class teams with the minimum amount of cost, red tape and hassle. 

How likely is CANZUK?

In addition to the growing political support already mentioned, some recent opinion polls have put support for CANZUK among the public at 76% in Canada, 73% in Australia, 82% in New Zealand, and 68% in the United Kingdom. In fact, even politicians who were against the proposal just a couple of years ago, like Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, have warmed to the idea recently. Of course, if the post-Brexit deal between the UK and EU falters, it could add further fuel calls for a CANZUK union. 

Then there is the COVID factor. As we’ve noted here at AYO.NEWS several times, the crisis is likely to drag on for much longer than many people realise. With several very different strains of the constantly mutating virus now widely circulating around the world, the chances of an effective vaccine being developed, produced and distributed are slim. Likewise, with experts saying herd immunity is likely going to be impossible to achieve due to the traits of the virus, many of the restrictions and changes we’ve seen implemented over the past eight months may end up becoming permanent. 

If the so-called “new normal” is here to stay, with its shift to digital and greatly reduced need for physical travel, the sheer distance separating the CANZUK countries may become less of an economic issue, and the need to bolster security and cooperation with like-minded countries in an increasingly chaotic world could well see the CANZUK idea attract much more support. 

So, are the seeds for a cohesive and optimistic new global anglo-centric economic, political, and military union being sown among the chaos and crises of 2020? Only time will tell, but it’s definitely an intriguing prospect. 

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