News
University of Kentucky Partners With Gen.G
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As part of strategic efforts to leverage technology to maximize student success and build community, the University of Kentucky announced a partnership with the global esports company Gen.G to build a first-of-its-kind global gaming and esports program.
The collaboration is being jointly led by two UK offices: Student and Academic Life and Information Technology Services.
A growing number of universities across the country are exploring esports teams and clubs. Today’s announcement, a formalized partnership that the university has developed through its multimedia rights holder JMI Sports, promises strategically distinctive steps beyond esports as purely a competitive platform
The partnership will emphasize access to opportunities for all University of Kentucky students. Gen.G, for example, has been a leader in working to diversify esports, launching the first all-female Fortnite team. Gen.G and UK are both focused on issues of equity and greater inclusivity.
The partnership between UK and Gen.G — the global esports organization connecting the best gamers in the United States and Asia — will develop wholly new pathways for student recruitment, classroom and internship opportunities; research avenues for scholars across a variety of colleges; and professional development for alumni.
The partnership is part of a larger Smart Campus Initiative in which the university is exploring multiple ways to further leverage the use and benefits of innovative technologies throughout its teaching, research, service and health missions. The first initiative in the Smart Campus program was the announcement last spring that UK would provide all first-year students and many faculty with an iPad Air, Apple keyboard and Apple Pencil.
“We view technology, not as an end, but as a tool to help us maximize the success of our students — in their educations and as they pursue all that’s possible at the University of Kentucky,” said University of Kentucky Provost David Blackwell. “We want to provide them tools and learning opportunities that will help them succeed at UK, but also as they pursue jobs and careers that will help them succeed throughout life.”
“This partnership will provide further paths for students to explore these pursuits, using technology — and gaming — as a tool,” said Eric N. Monday, UK’s executive vice president for finance and administration. “At the University of Kentucky and at Gen.G, we view gaming, esports and technology as a lens through which prospective, recent and current UK students view their lives and opportunities for lifelong growth and development.”
Kentucky — like much of the southeastern United States — is home to many creative and passionate gamers who historically have been underserved by colleges and companies not situated on the coasts.
Through the innovative program announced today, Blackwell and Monday said the University of Kentucky is putting a stake in the ground as the region’s leading institution to open access to the best career paths that gaming — a $130+ billion global industry — has to offer.
“As rapidly as collegiate esports is already growing, the full power of games to impact students’ lives stems from international community more than from intercollegiate rivalry,” said Chris Park, CEO of Gen.G. “We believe the best universities should invest in this vision across the world. The University of Kentucky, with a nationally elite range of academic offerings and an internationally recognized athletic program, is particularly well-equipped to help lead the way.”
Current UK students and alumni who sign up at www.uky.edu/esports/ will be eligible for exclusive access to the program’s launch events later this academic year, which will include stops in major U.S. cities.
Even as the innovative partnership will explore the opportunities associated with esports, some of the traditional challenges associated with gaming will be a focus as well, officials with UK and Gen.G said. The partners will work to develop a research portfolio that will address and probe issues such as repetitive injury motion and societal concerns around gaming and violence.
“We plan to be a leader not only in exploring the vast potential opportunities associated with esports and technology more broadly, but also the challenges posed to society,” said Blackwell, UK’s provost. “Indeed, a primary benefit of a partnership between a global leader and national research university is you can explore in depth issues such as gender and racial equity as well as the need for more research around concerns that there are connections between gaming and societal violence.”
The program will focus on three key pillars — academic, community and professional development. Specific initiatives already underway, several of which will be developed in close collaboration with the UK esports Club, include:
Academic Development: Starting later this year, the university and Gen.G will serve as host for a periodic speaker series on campus, featuring leading gaming and esports executives, athletes and content creators. The series, which also will be streamed globally, will showcase content that is customized for students and alumni from relevant UK majors and degree programs.
In the coming months, the university will run an open call with faculty to discuss the potential new academic program and examine the possibility of a gaming-focused certificate program. Additionally, this strategic partnership will create new pathways through the Gen.G Elite Sports Academy for international students interested in unlocking better academic opportunities through esports. UK will work with faculty leadership for the necessary review and approvals as these components develop.
Community Development: UK will initiate an open platform for Kentucky high schools, giving local teenagers a head start on careers in the global gaming ecosystems. The platform kicked off with gaming-related programming at Big Blue Open House events this fall.
Other programs also will develop gaming and esports content to serve UK’s public service and philanthropic efforts, including UK’s DanceBlue, a student-run philanthropy, and Gen.G’s groundbreaking Player Wellness Campaign (announced last month).
And UK and Gen.G will further the Innovation Lab, scheduled open in fall 2020 at the corner of Winslow and South Limestone. The Winslow site will host additional parking and retail spaces, as well as a hub for creativity, technology and entrepreneurship in UK’s expanding innovation corridor.
Professional Development: The university is committed to developing the leading university conference serving the gaming and esports ecosystems. The inaugural event, scheduled for spring 2020, will convene relevant thought and business leaders annually to explore the industry’s most pressing issues and facilitate the entry of UK students into tech-forward careers in gaming.
Moreover, later this year, UK will launch the inaugural Wildcat Alumni Gaming and New Media Series that will connect the university’s alumni in major cities around the United States with thought and business leaders from the gaming and esports worlds. The 2019-20 series will begin with an event in New York City the week of Nov. 4 and will include events in other communities later in the academic year.
UK’s media rights partner — JMI Sports — has signed a partnership and development rights agreement with Gen.G that will be the basis for the innovative partnership. For more information about the partnership, go to: www.uky.edu/esports/.
About the University of Kentucky:
The University of Kentucky is increasingly the first choice for students, faculty and staff to pursue their passions and their professional goals. In the last two years, Forbes has named UK among the best employers for diversity, and INSIGHT into Diversity recognized us as a Diversity Champion three years running. UK is ranked among the top 30 campuses in the nation for LGBTQ* inclusion and safety. UK has been judged a “Great College to Work for” two years in a row, and UK is among only 22 universities in the country on Forbes’ list of “America’s Best Employers.” We are ranked among the top 10 percent of public institutions for research expenditures — a tangible symbol of our breadth and depth as a university focused on discovery that changes lives and communities. And our patients know and appreciate the fact that UK HealthCare has been named the state’s top hospital for four straight years. Accolades and honors are great. But they are more important for what they represent: the idea that creating a community of belonging and commitment to excellence is how we honor our mission to be not simply the University of Kentucky, but the University for Kentucky.
About Gen.G esports:
Gen.G Esports is a global esports organization founded in 2017, with offices in Seoul, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Shanghai. It owns and manages championship heritage teams competing in the world’s biggest esports competitions on the world’s most recognizable gaming franchises — Overwatch, League of Legends, Fortnite, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Clash Royale, Call of Duty, Apex Legends and NBA 2K. Gen.G speaks to a generation that grew up on gaming, equally serving the needs of its players, fans and business partners to create a winning environment that positions its teams for success.
Gen.G is represented in the highly competitive Overwatch League by ‘Seoul Dynasty.’ ‘Gen.G LoL’ is a force on League of Legends front as the winner of the 2017 League of Legends World Championship in Beijing. Starting in 2020, Gen.G’s Shanghai franchise will compete in the NBA 2K League — the League’s first franchise representing a city outside North America. ‘Gen.G HotS’ burst onto the scene in 2017, winning the Heroes of the Storm Global Champions at BlizzCon 2017 and in 2018. Gen.G’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds team ‘Gen.G PUBG’ claimed the third-person perspective title in the PUBG Global Invitational 2018. A Chinese team, ‘Gen.G Clash Royale’ and a US-based Fortnite team were announced in 2018, stamping Gen.G’s industry leadership with a presence in three major esports markets.
Current partnerships include social network Bumble, gaming hardware manufacturer Razer, furniture brand Desker, computer networking company NETGEAR, Samsung SSD, and Sidiz.
More information about Gen.G esports and its teams can be found at: https://www.geng.gg/.
About JMI Sports:
JMI Sports is a full-service collegiate marketing firm providing the highest quality management of athletics multimedia rights. Breaking new ground in the creation of the Total Campus Marketing program, JMI Sports works hand-in-hand with each university in the pursuit of their success, maximizing their economic potential. JMI Sports works with an impressive list of signature partnerships including Clemson University, Harvard University, the University of Kentucky, the Ivy League, Rupp Arena, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Pittsburgh, and joint-venture properties of the University of Georgia and Columbia University (with IMG College), as well as the University of Notre Dame (with Legends). Founded in 2006 by Erik Judson and technology entrepreneur John Moores, former owner of the San Diego Padres, JMI Sports is also a highly regarded project manager for the development of collegiate and professional sports facilities. For more information please visit www.jmisports.com
Source: European Gaming Media
This is a Syndicated News piece. Photo credits or photo sources can be found on the source article: University of Kentucky Partners With Gen.G
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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