Activision Blizzard has selected Sportradar to ensure the integrity of Call of Duty League and Overwatch League.

The companies have signed a multi-year agreement that will see Switzerland-based Sportradar implement a comprehensive integrity strategy for both leagues, aimed at preventing betting fraud and corruption.

In addition to monitoring global betting activity on the leagues, Sportradar will also be providing education and training for players regarding risks and rules of betting. 

Discussing the partnership Head of Strategic Initiatives at Activision Blizzard Esports, Jason Hahn, said:

“Call of Duty League and Overwatch League have long taken steps to safeguard the integrity of matches, and working with Sportradar is a step to further reinforce the importance of fair play. As our esports activities continue to grow and as fans increasingly engage with wagering on matches, we need to ensure we are doing as much as we can to proactively protect our ecosystem.

“Working with Sportradar, an industry leader, is important in protecting our players, teams and matches and giving fans the best experience they deserve. We look forward to establishing this relationship with Sportradar and continued expansion of our work together.”

While Head of Integrity Services and League Relations, North America, at Sportradar, Andy Cunningham, added:

“Integrity is a crucial component to the overall success of esports, especially in a time with more betting opportunities available and more tournaments taking place. We look forward to working with the Overwatch League and Call of Duty League to fortify their already powerful integrity measures.”

Since July last year, Sportradar has also been providing a similar service to Riot Games.

AYO.NEWS says:

This is a timely move by Activision Blizzard. With esports betting enjoying a surge in popularity due to the COVID-19 global sports shutdown, and many new people being introduced to it for the first time,  it is more critical than ever for tournament organisers to prove to the world that esports is above board and integrity is a priority. Any major scandal right now could severely damage the public’s perception of the industry.

Staying with Sportradar, just yesterday we reported the company is helping K League go global, as Korean football re-starts following the COVID-19 shutdown.

‘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

The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) has approved wagering on DreamHack Masters Spring CS:GO event.

Thanks to the latest in a string of esports betting exemptions issued by the NGCB, licensed sports betting operators in the state will now be able to accept bets on the 2020 DreamHack Masters. Head-to-head, match winner, and overall winner bets will be permitted. 

The event, which is the fourth Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament to be cleared by the NGCB over the past couple of months (alongside ESL Pro League, ESL Meisterschaft, and ESL Rio Major), starts on 19 May. 

As per usual, Nevada bookies intending to accept bets on DreamHack Masters Spring must comply with the rules set out by the NGCB, including making the tournament organiser’s official rules publicly available before accepting wagers, and notifying the Enforcement Division. 

Again, as we’ve seen with other approved esports events, in-play betting will not be permitted, and the odds offered will be at the discretion of the individual operators concerned. Any sportsbooks wishing to offer other bet types must first submit separate applications for approval. 

AYO.NEWS says:

The Nevada Gaming Control Board is proving quite enthusiastic when it comes to esports, giving hard-pressed bookies in the state at least some reprieve from the COVID-19 crisis. 

In addition to CS:GO, the NGCB has also recently approved wagering on Call of Duty League, League of Legends Championship Series (LCS), League of Legends European Championship (LEC), eNASCAR and Dota 2, and OverWatch League. 

‘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. 

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Electronic Arts (EA), developer of titles including Apex Legends and the EA Sports series, has reported USD $5.54 billion revenue for fiscal year 2020. 

The company exceeded expectations, generating $1.39 billion in revenues during Q4 alone, significantly above the $1.19 most analysts predicted. 

For fiscal year 2020, EA generated revenues of $5.54 billion – up 12% on the previous year. Net income for the year was $3.04 billion. 

EA attributed the better than expected results to strong digital sales and franchises, and said digital net bookings were up 9% year-on-year, now making up 78% of its total net bookings. 

In terms of specific titles, Madden NFL 20 saw record engagement, while Apex Legends was the most downloaded free-to-play PS4 game during the year, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order racked-up more than 10 million unique players. 

Looking ahead, the company has told investors it expects to generate $1.22 billion in net revenue for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021 – however,  it only expects $270 million of net income. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Given that the vast majority of its revenue is generated from downloaded digital entertainment, and it has some of the world’s most popular video game and esports titles in its portfolio, EA has found itself extremely well-placed to benefit from the COVID-19 lockdowns. 

Of course, despite lockdowns easing in some places, health authorities are warning that lockdowns could well return periodically over the next year or so, as new waves of infections hit – which could boost business even further… unless people find themselves unemployed and without financial support that is. 

Interesting times…

‘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

Berlin-based G2 Esports has hired Jordan Bellar as its new Business Development Manager. 

Bellar will be G2’s first full-time employee focused on building the organisation’s presence in New York City, though he will also be responsible for business development across North America and globally. 

Previously with Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, Bellar has extensive partnership strategy and sales experience working with high-profile traditional sports properties like the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, in addition to esports organisations like 76ers Gaming Club and Dignitas. He’s also worked for the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lighting in membership services, and the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers in corporate partnerships. 

Discussing his new appointment Bellar said:

“I’m excited to be joining such a talented group at G2. Everything from the teams to the people is truly world-class. Our vision is to blend the cultures of sports, gaming, and music to create 24/7 entertainment. We’re going to be working with the world’s top brands to take this to the next level for our millions of loyal fans and future #G2Army members.”

As we previously reported, in December 2019 G2 Esports announced a USD $10 million investment from Canadian billionaire Joseph Tsai, owner of Brooklyn Nets and Co-Founder of Alibaba Group. The capital is being used by G2 to establish its New York City office.

AYO.NEWS says:

The North American market is clearly critical for G2 Esports’ long-term commercial success, and Bellar certainly seems like a good bet to drive growth there – and with Tsai’s $10m behind him, things are looking bright for the organisation. 

‘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

North American esports organisation Panda Global has announced a series of new signings and hires. 

Fighting Games-focused Panda has welcomed back accomplished Street Fighter V player Victor “Punk” Woodley after a year, and also added Super Smash Bros. player Cody “iBDW” Schwab, and anime fighter superstar Keenan “Kizzie” Kay. 

On the business side of things, Panda Global has made eight hires:

• Esports commentator Zak “CONEY” Zeeks, as Creative Lead (full-time)
• Sports stats expert and writer Jack “Jackie Peanuts” Moore, as Director of Growth for PGstats (full-time)
• Web developer and software engineer Bien “Xiily” Nguyen, as Director of Engineering (full-time)
• Grassroots esports organiser Robin “Juggleguy” Harn, as Project Manager (full-time)
• Former Aksys Games social media dude Brandon “EveryDamnDay” Brady, Social Media (full-time)
• Christina “Chia” Korsak, as SEO Specialist (part-time)
• Deyanira “Koi” Mares, Social Media (part-time)
• Trevor “kantrip” Lukan, Social Media (part-time)

Panda Global has commercial partnerships in place with several well-known brands including insurance company GEICO, Hyper X – the gaming brand of Kingston Technology, entertainment company Funimation, streaming platform Twitch, and gaming apparel company Meta Threads.

AYO.NEWS says:

Considering the rapidly growing COVID-19 lockdown-triggered economic catastrophe engulfing so many sectors, it’s fantastic to see esports organisations are still hiring and driving growth. It seems like a talented bunch of people Panda Global just hired too, on both the player and business side of things, so we’re sure they will fit right in.

‘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

Canadian digital media company Enthusiast Gaming has announced a partnership with gaming energy drink brand G FUEL.

The multi-year deal will see the partners build an integrated marketing campaign that leverages the full Enthusiast Gaming platform, and its reach of more than 200 million gamers, to build G FUEL’s brand awareness and market share.

According to Enthusiast Gaming, the partnership will involve user generated content, influencer marketing, online entertainment and advertising across its entire media network, and G FUEL will be a key sponsor of Luminosity Gaming. 

Discussing the partnership Founder and CEO of G FUEL, Cliff Morgan, said:

“We’re excited to partner with Enthusiast to reach previously untapped corners of the gaming community and increase awareness of G FUEL.

“Luminosity Gaming is an elite, world-class esports organization, and as The Official Energy Drink of Esports®, our partnership makes perfect sense. We’ve built a passionate community within the gaming and esports sector and can’t wait to work with Enthusiast to drive authentic engagement with their incredible platform of gamers.”      

While CEO of Enthusiast Gaming, Adrian Montgomery, added:

“Partnering with a brand so deeply rooted in the gaming sector like G FUEL is exciting for a number of reasons. G FUEL is a leader in the gamer energy drink sector and using our platform to communicate and engage with gamers continues to validate our strategy and is a significant milestone for our direct sales team.

“Execution is also very important, and over the last number of months, we’ve been able to demonstrate the success of our integrated advertising offerings and prove that using our platform has more touchpoints and engages with more gamers than any other gaming company. We are thrilled to partner with G FUEL and look forward to building a long-term partnership over our shared passion of gaming.”   

AYO.NEWS says:

With Enthusiast’s very considerable global reach, this is clearly a big deal for G FUEL, and it will be interesting to see what kind of new content they come up with. Energy drink partnerships are extremely common in esports these days, so we’re looking for some real creativity here to make it stand out. 

Staying with Enthusiast Gaming, last month we reported the company had partnered with Monkey Knife Fight (MKF), to promote and build brand awareness of the fantasy sports platform. 

‘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