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Esports Tournaments Look to Digital Payments to Fix Delayed Prize Money Payouts
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The Esports industry is growing exponentially, but there’s one catch. With prize pools for Esports tournaments hitting the tens of millions, players of games such as Fortnite run by Tencent Holdings Ltd. backed Epic Games, are not getting paid on time. Esports payments present an enormous opportunity with a lack of fast and cost-effective payment options being available. Platforms such as PayPal are angling to be the preferred payments solution for global gaming events, recently announcing a partnership with Ubisoft for the 2019 Pro League Sessions of Rainbow Six Siege. E-gaming streaming also accounts for a big chunk of that business, including mini-donations made to Twitch users via Amazon payments. Having recently entered a strategic partnership with online Esports media giant Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc. , LiteLink Technologies Inc.’s wholly-owned subsidiary uBUCK Technologies SEZC is on the verge of disrupting the payment sector of the Esports industry by offering a truly fast payment option that also allows saving on payment fees.
Payment Delays Plague Esports
Industry watchers agree that Esports is about to be the greatest opportunity for investors this side of cannabis. Estimates from Newzoo have projected the global Esports market to easily top $1-billion by this year, and then go on to speed past $1.6 billion by 2021. Meanwhile, the global Esports audience is projected to grow to 453.8 million worldwide this year, a 15% year-on-year growth figure.
Sponsorships and prize pools have swelled as a result. The first Fortnite World Cup held by Tencent Holdings’ Epic Games on June 26-28, 2019, will be putting up a whopping $30 million dollar prize pool to 200 qualifying players — each of whom will walk away with at least $50,000. These phenomenal prize pools have drawn world-class competitors from all over the world. Yet with all that money flying around to far-flung bank accounts, transaction and wiring fees have also escalated dramatically, and so has delays.
These problems can now be avoided with Streambucks, developed by LiteLink Technologies Inc.’s subsidiary uBUCK Technologies SEZC – a globally accessible decentralized digital wallet and P2P online payments platform that offers a stable token with a pin voucher solution, that serves as an attractive payments alternative for Esports tournaments and Egaming streamers.
Payment services such as Paypal have taken notice of the increased business in the Esports sector, partnering with game developers such as Ubisoft to get in on the action. As the official payment platform partner for Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Pro League and Majors, Paypal is acknowledging the reality that gaming now accounts for more than $12 billion in Paypal’s total global payment volume. Yet Paypal has its drawbacks which include high fees, payment delays, and potential account suspensions – not to mention the prerequisite requirement of having a bank account to use the platform.
Secure cross-border payments have also become a persistent pain point in the world of Esports, with some organizers reported to be struggling with the exorbitant global wire fees charged by banks, PayPal and other money transfer services. This has led to inexcusable delays. Players from this January’s Fortnite Australian Open Summer Smash event, for instance, still haven’t received their prize money from Tencent Holdings Ltd. backed Epic Games, and according to Reddit, 25 players are still short of AUD$187,000 out of a combined AUD$500,000 prize pool.
This is far from an isolated incident. Many Esports players have complained all over Reddit boards and Twitter about their payments being delayed, even from known organizations. At times, entire tournaments, such as the Electronics and Games Expo in Cape Town held last year, have been skipping over winnings. In a majority of these cases, organizers have blamed administrative problems for payment issues.
Secure, Fast And Free Worldwide Transfers
LiteLink Technologies Inc.’s (LLT-LLNKF) deal with Enthusiast should put Streambucks squarely in the Esports firmament, and shake up a nascent sector. Under the terms of the letter of intent, uBUCK Technologies SEZC will serve as an official sponsor for Enthusiast’s EGLX tournament events, with uBUCK’s “Streambucks” digital payment solution acting as its payment remittance and funds transfer partner for Canada’s largest video game expo, an event that drew in 55,000 attendees last year. uBUCK will also facilitate the transfer of the prize funds to the winners of the tournament.
Under this arrangement, Enthusiast will now be able to transfer Streambuck cash to vendors, tournament winners, and business associates from around the world without having to pay a single cent in transfer fees. With a reputation for fast, near-instantaneous payments, the top players should flock to the EGLX event from all over the world, bolstering this prestigious event even further.
Overseas payments have always been a sore spot for businesses and gamers, which is why the Streambucks platform will completely rewrite the rules. Unlike blockchain-based cryptocurrencies, Streambucks is truly democratized and accessible to mainstream users. Eliminating these costly fees and long processing times should go a long way to ensuring that tournament winners and participants are paid fast and without hassle.
Streambucks is also built on the decentralized, distributed ledger platform of Waves blockchain, known for its record-breaking speeds, while enjoying the same security as cryptocurrencies but with none of the volatility of crypto. That’s because Streambuck cash is a U.S. dollar-backed stable token, unlike popular cryptocurrency coins and tokens which can fluctuate wildly as they’re traded primarily by speculators on digital currency exchanges. Streambuck cash, on the other hand, is neither mineable nor tradeable, and its value is backed by the U.S. dollar through pin voucher sales.
The Disruptive Fintech Of Streambucks
The growth potential for Streambucks within Esports is limitless. uBUCK’s deal with Enthusiast goes far beyond just payments for events, covering streaming and other online gaming activities. The company has agreed to integrate uBUCK’s Streambucks solution on its colossal publisher network, which is currently frequented by 75 million monthly visitors. Enthusiast will receive a percentage of the profits from the uBUCK’s Streambucks user activity.
Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc. (TSX-V:EGLX) (OTCQB:EGHIF) has been on the lookout for different ways to monetize its large and enthusiastic base of followers and engage with them across multiple touch points. Streaming services and broadcast is the latest expansion in its services portfolio—and it’s where much of the Esports money is at, with Twitch raking in $1.6-billion in revenue in 2015, the year that Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) took over. Much of Twitch’s revenue was generated through mini-donations made through Amazon Pay.
Specifically developed for Esports, Streambucks offers gamers and gaming fans with a seamless and secure way to make online payments, offering a solution that’s designed to beat all potential payment competitors in terms of ease of use, speed, security, and cost.
Streambucks should help to accelerate this growth in Enthusiast Gaming’s streaming revenue, as visitors to its network of sites can now use the Streambucks app to purchase products with Streambuck cash, with a debit card and make transfer payments and donations to streamers and Egamers.
Enthusiast will give Streambucks unprecedented exposure to their large community, helping to advertise the product in areas where there is unsold inventory, as part of its preferred partner pricing strategy. With the largest online gaming network in North America and a sprawling community dedicated and passionate about gaming, Enthusiast Gaming’s tens of millions of gaming visitors is set to help Litelink Technologies Inc.’s (LLT) (LLNKF) uBUCK-developed Streambucks platform become a leading payments contender in the Esports sector, while revolutionizing digital payments as a whole.
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Source: Microsmallcap.com
Source: European Gaming Media
This is a Syndicated News piece. Photo credits or photo sources can be found on the source article: Esports Tournaments Look to Digital Payments to Fix Delayed Prize Money Payouts
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.
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.
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.
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
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/
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.
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.
To learn more about Games Factory Talents visit – Games Factory Talents
810 THE SPREAD
Cumulus Media Launches 810 THE SPREAD, the Bay Area’s First Sports Station Focused on Sports Betting
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’!”
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.
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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