Simona chats with Aaron Speach, CEO of NASDAQ-listed Esports Technologies, Inc., about his experience in esports and the company’s exciting plans to create the world’s best esports betting platform.

Esports Technologies aims to offer a full suite of services and products to provide best in class esports betting to customers and industry partners. These include odds modelled using advanced AI, gamified wagering experiences, and advanced data visualisations.

In March 2021, Esports Technologies relaunched Gogawi.com in selected markets, offering esports, sports, slots, and casino gaming. Watch the video to find out Aaron’s insights on cross-selling players between verticals – something many operators have previously found challenging.

Earlier this year, Esports Technologies announced a strategic partnership 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.

Don’t miss Simona’s chat with Clinton:

Multi-platinum Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Ozuna and renowned French sculptor and visual neo-pop artist Richard Orlinski have partnered to release an NFT collection on Rarible, facilitated by Zytara Labs. 

Ozuna, one of the world’s most popular singers and Latin Grammy award-winner, made history earlier this year by becoming the first Latin recording artist to drop an NFT collection. 

Richard Orlinski is always eager to discover new forms of art, and enters the digital NFT world with this collaboration. These upcoming digital art pieces—a collection titled El Oso & Wild Kong—are inspired by Orlinski’s art work, most notably his iconic sculpture the Wild Kong, and Ozuna’s famous Teddy Bear logo. 

The drop is scheduled for release on the Rarible NFT marketplace on Friday, May 28, 2021. El Oso & Wild Kong collection will include a total of 5 pieces will be available in the following limited quantities with one piece for auction, and the other 3 available at fixed prices:

• Voiture: 500 Limited edition  
• Trophée: 100 limited edition 
• Portorico Calin: 100 limited edition
• Stadium: 50 limited edition
• No Mans Land: 1:1 edition for auction 

Ozuna shared, “I’ve always had a huge appreciation for Art. To now be able to collaborate with such a well respected artist like Orlinksi is a thrill and an inspiration. Working together and bringing people our collaboration directly and uniquely, we will continue pushing boundaries together and making art accessible.” 

Richard Orlinski expressed, “It has been a great pleasure collaborating with Ozuna on this collection. The blockchain technology gives us new opportunities to be creative, to build bridges between different types of art, and most importantly to make art accessible to a greater number of people, which is a common goal Ozuna and I share. This collection is the first step of a long-term artistic relationship between Ozuna and I.”

Al Burgio, Founder and CEO of Zytara, expressed, “We are incredibly excited to support this unique NFT collaboration between Ozuna and Richard Orlinksi that represents the type of artistic creation that is made possible by the innovations brought forth by blockchain technology and the immutability of NFTs.”

This NFT drop will also include original prints and sculptures by Richard Orlinski. To stay up to date, please visit orlinskixozuna.com

AYO.NEWS says:

Ozuna is definitely proving his acumen when it comes to staying at the leading edge of culture and business. Last month he became a managing partner in US-based esports and gaming brand XSET, and shortly afterwards unveiled the XSET Ozuna Presents: Built 4 Play clothing capsule.

Upland, the blockchain-based virtual property game, has announced it will be launching the first phase of Property Development on Thursday 20 May. 

The initial property development phase will include the new Spark Token, Structure NFTs, collaborative construction mechanics, and enhanced graphics, and will be rolled out to a “select group of engaged Upland veterans.”

During the rollout period, which is expected to last around 3 weeks, Upland will be validating the new mechanics on the live blockchain environment. 

Players in the initial rollout group will each be granted a set amount of Spark, and once the global Spark drop hits, players that participate will receive any outstanding Spark rewards. 

The company says it will be emailing the selected players for the initial rollout within the next 24 hours. 

Thursday 20 May will also see the release of Bakersfield, California, in its entirety. Like Staten Island in New York, Bakersfield will be serving as a “starter city” to give new Uplanders the chance to get their feet on the virtual property ladder and engage with the growing economy. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Things are getting exciting in the Upland metaverse, with Property Development promising to open up unlimited new opportunities for both casual players and serious virtual property tycoons! 

Earlier this month, AYO.NEWS’ very own Simona Pinterova caught up with Upland Co-founder, Dirk Lueth, to find out more about what we can expect in the months ahead. 

Adult webcam platform CamSoda has capitalised on the NFT hype by auctioning off a rare CryptoPunk for an incredible $200,000. 

The piece, which was originally purchased in early April for 39.99 ETH ($83,404) went under the digital hammer on Thursday, and was snapped up by a user with a screen name that’s far too filthy to publish here. 

Launched in 2017 by New-York based Larva Labs, CryptoPunks was one of the first non-fungible token projects created on Ethereum. After initially thinking this was the makings of a new app or game, CryptoPunk eventually became the model that shifted the digital art market.

Recently, CryptoPunks have become highly sought after, attracting the attention of high-profile CEOs, venture capitalists, major business leaders, and yes, of course, social media influencers. CryptoPunk 6965, which depicts an ape in a brown hat, selling for 800 Ether (ETH) worth more than $1.5 million in February, and Punk 2890, which depicts a blue alien in a purple hat, selling for 605 ETH worth more than $750,000 in January. 

Overall the platform has seen nearly $200 million worth of transaction volume in official deals since launch, with 98% of the action coming in recent months. Over 8,000 sales had been recorded in the previous 12 months. Today, the lowest priced punk you can find will cost around $30,000 in Ethereum cryptocurrency, while the rarest can fetch nearly  $10 million.

CryptoPunk 7060, the NFT that CamSoda sold, is one of 6,039 male punks. It features three distinct attributes: 

• 3D glasses (1 of 286)
• Crazy hair (1 of 414)
• Mole (1 of 644)

Announcing the no-reserve auction last week, Daryn Parker, VP of CamSoda, said: “Right now we are in the midst of a NFT gold rush. NFTs are crypto’s hottest investment space so far in 2021, with millions in trades and rare collectibles like CryptoPunks selling for huge sums. Given how CryptoPunks have captured the mainstream crypto zeitgeist, we wanted to make one easily accessible to our users.

“This will mark another expansion of the camsoda platform, beyond live streaming and into nfts.  This is the first time that a rare one of a kind Cryptopunk will be auctioned at a no reserve auction.”

AYO.NEWS says:

You have to give CamSoda some serious kudos for diversification here! Beyond this high-profile publicity stunt though, there are obviously some tantilising opportunities for CamSoda’s content creators to get in on the NFT action themselves… the mind boggles at the possibilities there! 

Staying with CamSoda, in March the company revealed it was fighting the lockdown blues by syncing sex toys and fast food with its new Grubuzz app. 

Upland is a fascinating blockchain-based platform that lets users purchase virtual property based on real-world maps, collect rent, and trade with other ‘Uplanders’ – but how does it all work, and what are the plans for expansion? AYO.NEW’s Simona Pinterova chats with Upland Co-founder, Dirk Lueth, to find out what its all about.

Whether you’ve already got a virtual property empire in New York and San Francisco, or you’re completely new to the world of blockchain and NFTs, find out about Upland’s exciting plans for virtual global domination and building an entire, fully functioning society within the metaverse, complete with coffee shops, art galleries, and drivable cars.

Find out more about the wonderful world of Upland at www.upland.me

The future belongs to the llamas.

The Global Esports Federation (GEF) has once again shown just how out of touch it is with the community it claims to represent, naming the Saudi capital Riyadh as a host city for the Global Esports Games.

According to the GEF, which was founded in partnership with Chinese entertainment giant Tencent, its Global Esports Games will be hosted by Singapore this year, followed by Istanbul in 2022, and Riyadh in 2023 – yes, the capital of Saudi Arabia.  

Regarding the plans, Paul J. Foster, Chief Executive Officer of the Global Esports Federation, said: “We have listened to the athletes and players, the incredible publishers and developers, and the wider community to create a platform for athletes to shine, representing countries and territories as in other prestigious multi-sport competitions.”

Adding to the absurdity of choosing to hold the 2023 games in the capital city of a country run by one of the world’s most brutal, bigoted and intolerant regimes, the GEF has said its convention series, GEFcon and GEFestival, which are held in conjunction with the games, are events intended to “celebrate esports culture.” 

Esports, and wider gaming culture, is at the forefront of equality, diversity, and inclusion. As both Riot Games and BLAST found out when they lent tacit support to the Saudi regime in misguided, and very short-lived, partnerships last year, the global gaming community has little patience for those pandering to barbaric bigots – no matter how wealthy they may be. 

Interestingly, Riot Games, along with Capcom, Konami, and SEGA are also partnered with the Global Esports Federation, as are Commonwealth Sport, dentsu, the Global Esports Innovation Center powered by Microsoft, Invictus Games Foundation, ODESUR, the Olympic Council of Asia, and UNESCO among others. 

Will the GEF see sense and terminate its plans for Riyadh, or will it attempt to justify collaborating with a regime that openly practices extreme sexism, criminalises the LGBT community, and rejects democracy and international human rights? Will the GEF’s supporters pull the plug before Riyadh, or will we really see organisations and companies that claim to promote inclusion and diversity support an event that legitimises the situation in Saudi Arabia?

It is important to remember that Saudi Arabia is a totalitarian state. Doing any business with it, is by definition, giving support to the regime. In a country like Saudi Arabia, it is absolutely impossible to argue that holding an event there is non-political.

Whatever GEF does, it’s time that the global esports and gaming community says “enough is enough” when it comes to Saudi Arabia. We simply cannot espouse human rights and equality on one hand, and then tolerate giving tacit endorsement to a regime that stands for the complete opposite.