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China Sports In The Spotlight As 1.1 Million Viewers Tune In To Sports Connects!

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China Sports In The Spotlight As 1.1 Million Viewers Tune In To Sports Connects!Reading Time: 3 minutes

 

Over 200 sports industry executives from mainland China and around the world were at Mission Hills Resort in Shenzhen, southern China this week for the return of ‘Sports Connects’.

Leading Chinese media and tech firms including Tencent, Weibo Sports, Wanda Sports, SECA, China Sports Media, Netease and Gemdale joined international counterparts on stage from NBA, NFL, WTA, The R&A, AEG, New Zealand Rugby, Hong Kong Rugby Union, Visa, AIA, UBS, Bose and more.

Highlights of the three-day China Sports Forum included three major golf announcements, a live stream to 1.1 million viewers and fun networking including a Golf Day and Bowling Night.

Tenniel Chu, Group Vice-Chairman of Mission Hills said: “This was another important gathering for the China sports industry, one which we hope to make a fixed annual event. At a sensitive time for international relations, it is important for our industry to come together and demonstrate how sport can create friendships, bridge divides and unite cultures.”

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Jasper Donat, CEO of organisers Branded commented: “With a truly bilingual programme and 50 percent of attendees from mainland China, we achieved our objective of bringing together an impressive mix of domestic and international stakeholders from the world of sport. With 35 high-quality speakers also in attendance and some key topics addressed, this was another milestone appointment for the China sports industry.”

Features of the programme included:

▪ Two golf announcements from Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, including a new golf scholarship programme in China with Mission Hills and SECA, plus a new Rules of Golf app in Chinese

▪ A third major golf announcement from PGA of America’s Head of Global and Corporate Strategy, Arjun Chowdri that the first PGA of America Golf Academies in China will be launched in Shenzhen and Hainan as part of a multiyear partnership with Mission Hills

▪ A live-streaming session with global sports media property, the ONE Championship – featuring heavyweight world champion Brandon Vera – that attracted 1.1 million live views

▪ Regular references to the buzzword “Springtime” when describing the emerging nature of the China sports industry, including Eddy Liu, CEO of Gemdale Sports who is bringing the WTA tennis finals to Shenzhen starting in 2019

▪ A keynote interview with Derek Chang, CEO of NBA China which explored the potential growth of one of China’s most popular spectator sports with 38 million followers on Weibo Sports alone and a new Bytedance partnership announcement announced that day

▪ Case studies on sports sponsorship from high-level executives at AIA, Bose, UBS and Visa

▪ Insights into China’s leading role in the rise of esports from Tencent, Netease and Culture Group

▪ Round-table sessions with iSportConnects, Mass Participation Asia and Weibo Sports, with Zhou Tianyi of Weibo Sports reporting 3.2 billion video plays during the 2018 Winter Olympics

▪ A study on international sports coming into China with the NFL, WTA, New Zealand Rugby, Hong Kong Rugby and Genius Sports

▪ A look at the shortage of high quality “city defining” venues in Asia, according to AEG Asia, KPMG and Wanda Sports

With a bowling night at Mission Hills Centreville and golf day also on the agenda, delegates had plenty of opportunity to enjoy the facilities at Mission Hills Shenzhen, one of two luxury Mission Hills resorts spanning 40 square kilometres and 22 golf courses, making it the world’s largest golf facility.

Sports Connects, the China Sports Forum was presented by Weibo Sports, ONE Championship, Mission Hills China, Mailman, and Branded and was sponsored by KPMG, Culture Group and Genius Sports.

 

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About Branded:
Producers of “It’s a Girl Thing”, “Sports Connects”, “Tencent Music Connects”, the YouTube FanFest and “Matters” series of events including Music, Sports, Gaming and Digital Matters, Branded designs, sells, markets and produces award winning B2B2C and B2B2F(an) events in Asia Pacific. Founded in 2002 and listed as a top 10 Event Marketing agency by Marketing Magazine, Branded connects people through the organisation, programming and production of dynamic conferences, live music festivals, academies, and youth fan events. Branded was acquired by Dentsu Aegis Network in 2018.

About Mission Hills Group:
Mission Hills Group, owner and operator of Mission Hills resorts in the heart of the Pearl River Delta and on the tropical island of Hainan, is synonymous with leisure, wellness, entertainment and luxury.

Founded in 1992, Mission Hills is recognised as one of the world’s leading golf brands and a pioneer in China’s hospitality, sports and leisure industry. The world- class integrated leisure and wellness resort destinations have been accredited by the Guinness World Records as the “World’s Largest Golf Club” and the “World’s Largest Mineral Springs and Spa Resort”.

Mission Hills’ properties sprawl over 40 square kilometres, including 22 championship courses, five-star resorts, award-winning spas and volcanic mineral springs, international convention centres, state-of-the-art golf academies, a 20-pitch football training base, Asia’s largest basketball school and Asia’s biggest tennis facility.

The Group’s ‘golf and more’ leisure philosophy has seen its tourism-related business expand into shopping, recreational, business, education, entertainment, leisure and cultural experiences. Mission Hills has also extended its foray into the hospitality industry by partnering with world-renowned hotel brands Hard Rock, Renaissance and Ritz-Carlton.

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Other significant projects include Movie Town, China’s first Wet’n’Wild water park and ground-breaking partnerships with FC Barcelona, NBA and the PGA of America.


Source: European Gaming Media

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What makes Turbo Games’ provably fair games so special?

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A partnership between game developer Turbo Games and iGaming solution provider and aggregator Slotegrator began in November 2022 via the APIgrator game integration solution. Since then, the collaboration has been developing successfully — and now it’s time to analyze what made it successful.

Turbo Games has noticed how the new technologies spreading throughout the industry can work for the good of brand transparency and player loyalty: “We can already see how blockchain technology has made it possible to make betting checks more accessible to players. All you need is a blockchain-hash and a decoder service. We think we will continue to move in this direction. Many traditional online casinos do not offer the possibility to check the bet. Sooner or later we all have to come to this. Perhaps the development of artificial intelligence will help here, because we are already seeing its involvement in all spheres of human life.”

Turbo Games specializes in provably fair games. Provable fairness is a concept where players can verify their wins or losses using blockchain technology — the outcome of the game is dictated by a smart contract and is absolutely random, barring the possibility of any human involvement. Using cryptographic hashing algorithms, the gambling site and the player’s device both generate seeds (random strings of numbers). Players receive a key that allows them to check the results; if the results are the same as the game round they witnessed, it proves that there was no foul play.

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According to statistics from Turbo Games, the audience for provably fair games is mostly between 18 and 25 years old. However, there are also players aged 35-40 who prefer traditional games but would like to try something new, and have turned their attention to provably fair games.

There are good odds that the technology of provably fair games will become more popular, if not even commonplace, because it gives players a feeling of transparency and proves that the business is trustworthy without the need to search through dozens of reviews. Whereas many innovations in iGaming simply add entertainment, provable fairness addresses security concerns and reassures players that they’re not being exploited, which is invaluable.

Provably fair games are beneficial for both players and online casinos. Vadim Potapenko, Head of Sales at Turbo Games, comments: “It often happens that the users are not satisfied with the result, because gambling is not only about big wins, but also possible losses. By allowing them to check the fairness of a bet, we make life easier for platforms and players. Of course, this allows us to communicate with partners and users that we work honestly and that’s why they should trust our games.”

Ayvar Gabidullin, Business Development Manager at Slotegrator, adds that “this type of game is now becoming more and more popular and has great potential for both players and game providers in the future. On the part of the player, the advantage is that the player can always be sure that his game is fair and he can independently check any of his bets. And for the game provider, this also simplifies the process of implementing casino games, since now it will not be necessary to obtain the appropriate certificates from independent laboratories before launching new games, they can immediately enter the market with these games and where anyone can check the result and make sure that that there is no cheating with players. Many game providers are starting to look towards this type of game. And as far as I see, many operators are starting to think about adding these games.”

What do players in 2023 need? The iGaming industry is all about reputation and trust. Players have a huge number of platforms to choose from, making them pickier and pickier. There’s an abundance of forums where players leave reviews, so if players view a brand as untrustworthy, there are plenty of places they can share their opinion. Provable fairness not only stops that from happening, it provides evidence to the contrary, giving players something else to talk about.

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Slotegrator also recommends investing time and effort into localization and creating an effective and detailed marketing strategy — before trying provably fair technology players need to get to the platform, and there is no acquisition without marketing.

 

 ABOUT SLOTEGRATOR

Since 2012, Slotegrator has been one of the iGaming industry’s leading software and business solution providers for online casino and sportsbook operators.

The company’s main focus is software development and support for online casino platforms, as well as the integration of game content and payment systems.

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The company works with licensed game developers and offers a vast portfolio of casino content: slots, live casino games, poker, virtual sports, table games, lotteries, casual games, and data feeds for betting.

Slotegrator also provides consulting services in gambling license acquisition and business incorporation.

More information: https://slotegrator.pro/

 

ABOUT TURBO GAMES

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Turbo Games — a provably fair games provider that belongs to Turbo Stars company — has an ambitious goal to establish widespread recognition throughout the iGaming world. Even though it is young, the company consists of professionals who have been working on the brand for over five years and are even planning to introduce a new brand for a wider audience soon.

Turbo Games also works in Europe, India, and South Africa, where the company sees the most potential and expects the same “hype” as in Brazil.

The portfolio of Turbo Games consists of 21 titles, including well-known games like Mines, Crash X, DoubleRoll, Hi-Lo, and Plinko. The studio releases a game every month. However, not all games are developed from scratch. Wicket Blast and Spin Strike, the last two releases, are based on cricket and the Indian Premier League. Crash X remains the most popular fast game in the Turbo Games portfolio, and the studio reports that crash games enjoy stable levels of popularity. Overall, the main focus of the brand is provably fair games.

More information: https://turbogames.io/

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Games Factory Talents has teamed up with Nordic Game to bring you Nordic Game Talents.

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Looking to take your career to the next level in the games industry? Then, Nordic Game Talents is the place to be! Games Factory Talents has teamed up with Nordic Game to bring you Nordic Game Talents.

From Oct 27-29, the online and interactive event is dedicated to recruitment and career building in the creative & games industry within the Nordic region. The event empowers participants to be part of a bigger community and motivates them to explore new paths in achieving their career goals.

Hiring creative & games studios – Supercell, Funcom, Panzerdog, Tactile Games, Gamecan, Fingersoft, Dazzle Rocks, Redhill Games to name a few from the Nordic region will be participating in the event. These studios will share information on their latest projects, work culture and what it takes to be part of their team. The individual games associations from Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Estonia will share insights through live sessions on the booming games industry in their respective countries. Career development topics pertinent to job seekers like – How to have a successful first interview, Creative Portfolio reviews will also be discussed.

Experienced game industry professionals and individuals beginning their careers from around the world are welcome to join the event. One-to-one interviews with the hiring studios can be scheduled through the event platform. A great opportunity to get to know the studios and network with game professionals from around the world.

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Participating in the event

As a job seeker attending Nordic Game Talents, take a few minutes to fill out a simple registration form. After filling the registration form you will receive a link to the online event platform – PINE, to join the event on 27th October. Participants joining Nordic Game Talents will also receive a free-of-charge pass to the Nordic Game Conference.

To view the complete agenda, please click here and to learn more about the event please visit Games Job Fair

About Games Factory Talents

A Helsinki-based talent attraction agency dedicated to the games & creative industry. Our services include direct recruitment, organizing game job fairs and managing a community of game industry professionals through our GameDev Talent Board.

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To learn more about Games Factory Talents visit – Games Factory Talents

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810 THE SPREAD

Cumulus Media Launches 810 THE SPREAD, the Bay Area’s First Sports Station Focused on Sports Betting

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Cumulus Media (NASDAQ: CMLS) announces that it has launched the Bay Area’s first Sports radio station focused on sports betting, 810 THE SPREAD. The new station brings sports and sports betting news, information, and insights to the burgeoning and underserved sports betting audience in San Francisco. 810 THE SPREAD will deliver behind-the-book perspectives from experts in a highly entertaining and engaging format. 810 THE SPREAD goes live today on the legendary 810am frequency that has been the 80-year home of historic Talk Radio KGO-AM. Cumulus San Francisco also launched the station’s new website at www.810thespread.com. Kevin Graham, Program Director of Cumulus’ sister sports stations KNBR 680AM/104.5FM and 1050 KTCT, adds Program Director duties for 810 THE SPREAD.

Larry Blumhagen, Vice President/Market Manager, Cumulus San Francisco, said: “810 THE SPREAD joins our sports brands KNBR 680AM/104.5FM and 1050 KTCT for a trifecta of dynamic sports content across four signals and streaming everywhere. We are excited about this new chapter and look forward to serving the Bay Area’s passionate sports fans in an incomparable way.”

Blumhagen added: “This is a bittersweet day for us, as it’s hard to say goodbye to the legendary KGO, which has been a part of listeners’ lives for so many years. We want to thank all the people who have been a part of KGO’s historic run these many years – and the listeners who loyally tuned in to the station. Times change, and we must change with them.”

Kevin Graham, Program Director, 810 THE SPREAD, said: “810 THE SPREAD will be the Bay Area’s best bet for sports fans and sports betting enthusiasts, and we are pleased to introduce sports-betting radio to our community. The station will feature a lineup of expert personalities that deliver unique sports talk and sports betting insights that entertain, inform, and engage, along with Cal Football and Basketball as well as select professional and college sports play-by-play events. While 810 THE SPREAD will feature specific gambling information, we believe our entertaining presentation will make it a favorite for all Bay area sports fans and a perfect complement to the legendary KNBR and KTCT. With its addition, it truly shows Cumulus’ commitment to the Bay area as ‘The Sports Leader’!”

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The weekday programming lineup for 810 THE SPREAD includes:

6am-9am – Bet QL Daily – The must-consume show for sports fans and betting fans alike. Hosted by Joe Ostrowski, Joe Giglio, and Erin Hawksworth.

9am-12pm – Jim Rome - Aggressive, informed sports opinions, rapid-fire dialogue, and plenty of sports smack. As one of the most prolific sports talk hosts in America, Rome draws massive tune-in with legions of fans known as clones, who live for Rome’s take on the day’s largest issues in sports.

12pm-4pm – You Better You Bet – Nick Kostos and Ken Barkley have you covered for the best bets on the biggest matchups, the latest line movement and updates in the futures market. We’ll have up-to-the-minute coverage of backdoor covers and bad beats, and the cheers and tears that come with them. It’s sports betting conversation like you’ve never heard before.

4pm-8pm – Bet MGM Tonight – Live sports betting updates for all the night’s games as they happen – plus live “look-ins” for Major League Baseball games in progress. Get the latest scores, sides, totals, props, parlays, futures, and much more with hosts Quinton Mayo, Trysta Krick, and Ryan Horvat.

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8pm-12 Midnight – CBS Sports Radio

BetQL Network programming is provided by Cumulus Media’s Westwood One through a partnership with Audacy.

For more information or to stream 810 THE SPREAD, visit: http://www.810thespread.com.

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