Irish bookmaker Paddy Power has launched a new sitcom, The VAR Room, broadcast on both terrestrial TV and streaming services. 

The 23-minute comedy, written by Paddy Power Creative Content Managers Steven Quick and Noel Slevin, is set behind the scenes at Stockley Park – where the video assistant referee (VAR) system for English football is based. 

Paddy Power says we can expect to see a star-studded lineup with guest appearances from former pro footballers Alan Curbishley, Paul Ince, and Teddy Sheringham, along with former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg. 

The initial series consists of four episodes, and debuted on Ireland’s Virgin Media Two at 10.30pm yesterday, continuing for the next three Wednesdays. It will also be available on Paddy Power’s YouTube channel and streamed on Amazon Prime later in the month. 

In a statement, Paddy Power said: “The shambles at Stockley Park last season gave our brilliantly talented writers enough creative ideas to fuel an entire sitcom series, which Virgin Media and Amazon Prime wanted a piece of too. We have long been renowned at Paddy Power for our content – and we really feel we’ve raised the bar with The VAR Room, which we hope is our first sitcom series of many from our team.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Will other operators follow Paddy Power’s lead and start investing in long-form video content like this? With marketing getting ever more challenging due a combination of desensitisation and regulations, it might offer an effective way forward. 

Just a word of note to avoid confusion, if you’re looking for the new series on Paddy Power’s YouTube channel, be aware there’s also a series of shorts, also called The VAR Room, uploaded in 2019. 

PrizePicks, the largest independently owned fantasy sports operator, is continuing to expand with three new executive hires and a roadmap to add 1,000 jobs in the state of Georgia 

Annualized recurring revenue topped US$20 million for PrizePicks in May, which represented the company’s 10th consecutive month of record-setting growth following a Q1 in which the company grew its monthly revenue per customer significantly, considerably outpacing the DFS and betting industry.

PrizePicks CEO, Adam Wexler, commented: “Our business model allows us to reach break-even within the first 2-3 months of our blended customer acquisition costs, and we focused on a healthy mix of debt and equity financing to fuel our growth through the pandemic. Returning to our Atlanta headquarters in April wasn’t just symbolic of moving forward, but also the expansion of this team that lies ahead as both a company and a member of the Georgia business community.”

Joining the PrizePicks executive team are: 

• Mark Irace, Interim CMO: Irace is a 30-year marketing executive best known for helping FanDuel scale from $5 million to $175 million in revenue. He also has been a marketing leader at a number of other successful B2C emerging brands including ProFlowers and Shari’s Berries. 
• Ari Koteles, SVP of Finance: Koteles will help lead the development and execution of complex corporate strategies. Prior to joining the PrizePicks team, he spent four years at customer marketing platform MessageGears as Vice President / Head of Finance serving large brands such as Expedia and GEICO. Koteles also served on the corporate finance and M&A teams at Turner, a Time Warner company.
• Bonnie Adams, Human Resources Director: Adams joined the team in March after previous chapters at Ionic Security, which raised money from Tier-1 Venture Capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Google Ventures before an eventual sale to Twilio. She was also at Storj Labs, which raised a $30 million ICO.

Fueling the success of PrizePicks, recently named to the Atlanta Inno Fire Awards Top 50 companies, were a host of platform and business milestones which included:

• The addition of a “Single Stat DFS” over/under prediction format which dramatically expanded the total addressable market, with the popular 5-Pick Flex entry type increasing handle per member and retention
• New sports offerings in golf, cricket and disc golf as well as an expansion of PrizePicks’ dominant esports position, which now boasts five top titles
• Geographic expansion which currently covers 70% of the U.S. population, including the recent addition of the state of Alabama speaking to the company’s Southern region emphasis
• Renewing its successful partnership with the Atlanta Braves, and a recently finalized renewal with the Miami Marlins

One of PrizePicks’ more notable strengths has been its ability to cross-sell its customers from one sport to another. Those who initially deposited to play NFL at PrizePicks have converted to other sports markets 80% more often than the same segment for DraftKings. 

Additionally, the operator’s presence in digital sports has grown. PrizePicks has demonstrated success in esports by attracting new customers with innovative markets for popular titles such as Call of Duty, Rocket League, and VALORANT while also converting its esports member base to play its traditional sports offerings at a clip 200% higher than the larger companies in the space.

Mark Irace, Interim CMO, said: “Adam and his team have built a dynamic, healthy business with tons of opportunity, and I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of the next phase. The ability the company has shown to adopt new sports and cross-sell at higher rates than what the industry is doing opens up a lot of affiliate and channel possibilities.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Congratulations to PrizePicks for achieving such outstanding results over the past year, and we’re sure the latest key hires will help continue to drive that growth. 

Earlier this year, AYO.NEWS’ own Simona Pinterovacaught up with PrizePicks CEO, Adam Wexler, to get the inside take on where the company is heading, and how esports fits into the picture. 

International betting tech brand Parimatch is set to launch an NFT collection as part of 100 Creators on the new Binance NFT Marketplace. 

The 100 Creators campaign is timed to coincide with the launch of the Binance NFT marketplace on 24 June, with Parimatch’s first lot consisting of the old Parimatch platform which the brand started out on in the early 2000s. 

All money received from the auction will be donated to the Parimatch Foundation to support projects in line with the company’s corporate social responsibility strategy. 

Ivan Liashenko, CMO Parimatch, said: “We are excited to announce Parimatch’s NFT collection on the Binance NFT marketplace. Parimatch Collectibles are a symbol of nostalgia and an indicator of the transformation of entertainment in the technological age. This is an exceptional way to capture the starting point of our product and showcase how the world has been digitalized. And more is yet to come.”

Binance NFT will launch on 24 June, prioritising optimal user experience, minimal fees, high liquidity and high-value NFTs. The Binance NFT Marketplace will share the same account system as Binance.com. Existing Binance users will be able to access the NFT marketplace and trade with their current Binance accounts. New users will simply have to register on Binance.com to create or trade on the Binance NFT platform.

Staying with the NFT revolution, earlier this week, esports tournament organiser BLAST Premier and NFT solutions provider Bondly announced a new collection of CS:GO chicken NFTs, while at the start of the month King Billy became the first casino to launch its own collectible NFTs.

Irish bookmaker BoyleSports has signed popular sports presenter Natalie Sawyer as a Euro 2020 brand ambassador. 

Sawyer will be providing video content featuring previews and reactions throughout the tournament, across BoyleSports’ social media channels, and on the BoyleSports blog. 

She joins former England and Liverpool captain, and current Rangers manager, Steven Gerrard, as a Euro 2020 ambassador for the sports betting brand. 

Leon Blanche, Head of Communications at BoyleSports, commented: “Natalie has always had a great rapport with her audience and as one of the leading names in sports broadcasting, we are absolutely thrilled to have her on board as a Euro 2020 ambassador.”

Sawyer spent eighteen years with Sky Sports News before leaving in March 2018, going on to present The Game podcast for The Times. She currently has over 307,000 followers on Twitter, over 71,000 on Instagram,

Atlético Mineiro is set to become the first Brazilian football club to launch a Fan Token, after announcing a partnership with blockchain-based fan engagement platform Socios.com. 

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A team Atlético Mineiro are planning to launch their $GALO Fan Token in the near future, giving their fans new ways to engage with the club. Owners of Fan Tokens will gain voting rights in polls, and access to VIP rewards, exclusive promotions, AR-enabled features, chat forums, games, and competitions on the Socios.com mobile app. 

Leandro Figueiredo, Business Director of Clube Atlético Mineiro, commented: “We are very happy to announce this agreement with Socios.com, a great global partner, which once again shows Atlético’s pioneering spirit. We are always looking for ways to be closer to our fans and we are sure that fan tokens will be a major revolution in our relationship with them.”

Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO of Chiliz and Socios.com, added: “We have taken a huge step forward in our major expansion plans for South America by partnering with our first Brazilian club.

“Fan Tokens have already generated over $150M in revenues for our partners in 2021 alone and it’s only right that this fast growing phenomenon now takes root in Brazil. I’m excited that the shift from passive to active fans, that’s going to be vital to the future of sport, has now started in Brazil — a country where the passion and talent for the beautiful game is known the world over.

“We’re just getting started here. Brazil and South America as a whole represents an amazing opportunity for us and we’re very excited about what the future holds.”

Atlético Mineiro will be joining a growing international network of over 35 leading sports properties on the Socios.com roster, including FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, AC Milan, Manchester City, and Atlético Madrid.

Beyond football, MMA organisations the UFC and PFL have both launched Fan Tokens on Socios.com, as have NASCAR team Roush Fenway Racing, and Aston Martin Cognizant and Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN of Formula One™ are set to follow soon. Three of India’s biggest cricket teams also joined the Socios.com network last month, as did the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. 

The Argentina National soccer team will also become the first national team in the world to launch their Fan Token today, with fans already looking forward to voting for a slogan to grace the team plane and bus throughout the Copa América.

Following a public relations disaster, Norwich City FC has terminated its extremely short-lived sponsorship deal with online bookmaker BK8 Sports. 

The partnership, which was only announced a week ago today, instantly descended into farce when fans discovered BK8 had been using “sexually provocative” social media marketing – something that did not “align with the wider vision and values” of the club. 

In a statement, Norwich City said: “The club and BK8 have taken on board feedback from its supporters and partners, and after continued discussions we have agreed to immediately end the partnership.”

While Ben Kensell, chief operating officer of Norwich City, added: “We have worked hard to build trust and engagement through our countless initiatives with our supporters and partners. We place huge value on our open and honest relationships with our community and supporters.

“As a self-financed club there is always a fine balance between generating the revenue levels required to help maintain that model, whilst working within our visions and values. On this occasion, we made an error of judgement. Our standards were not at the levels we demand of our football club.

“We can now only apologise to our supporters and former players, Grant Holt and Darren Eadie, who were across the BK8 promotional launch campaign, for any offence caused.

“We remain highly committed to diversity and equality across our football club and its community. We want to continue to embed a highly inclusive culture across the club, together with an accessible and welcoming environment free of demeaning and discriminatory behaviours.”

AYO.NEWS says:

With this kind of debacle becoming increasingly common, whether it’s sports/esports clubs associating themselves with dodgy betting operators, or organisations getting chummy with dodgy regimes, one has to ask who the hell is advising these people?