(Image via ESL Gaming)
The esports market is growing fast in early 2021, like some kind of digital spring season that is upon us, with new partnerships and platforms emerging faster than my in-game characters can respawn ….
Let’s start with the biggest esports organiser and production company in the world,
ESL Gaming, who named digital security outfit
Verimatrix as a partner to its top
ESL Premiership competition, is launching new mobile esports ecosystem covering North America, Europe/MENA, and Asia-Pacific.
ESL Mobile’s inaugural 2021 Spring Season kicks off on April 12th, 2021 with an $820,000 (CAD) prize pool. The Fall Season will be held later this year.
ESL has partnered with top game publishers and developers Gameloft, Riot, Supercell, and Tencent to include games such as “Asphalt 9: Legends”, “Brawl Stars”, “Clash of Clans”, “Clash Royale”, “Legends of Runeterra”, “PUBG Mobile”, and “League of Legends: Wild Rift” into its ecosystem.
Verimatrix has helped enhance and protect the delivery of live sports content for years, which has become one of the fastest growing segments within the broader media and entertainment sector.
Mobile applications such as this is one of the reasons that brands turn to Verimatrix to secure their platforms, but it also covers everything from premium movies, live streaming sports, to sensitive financial and healthcare data.
Fandom Sports Media Corp. (CSE: FDM, Forum) is creating numerous unique non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to encourage and reward esports fans for their use of the Fandom Sports platform. FDM announced this week that it had just minted its first
Fancoin NFTs, which will form the backbone of the company's esports rewards program.
Fandom Sports CEO and President, David Vinokurov said that the team has accelerated its efforts to develop its rewards matrix.
“Recent hires haves furthered our initiatives by minting our first Fandom Sports NFT. Our team is working diligently to build out our rewards and NFT matrix to empower fans to get rewarded for their attention. Players will have the chance to own earned rewards to trade, sell and monetize their skills and time by unlocking digital assets in both free play, regulated wagering and our upcoming all ages platform.”
As the company develops and deploys its web applications for Android and iOS mobile devices to target esports super fans, it brought renowned artist
Daniel Mazzone on board to design this NFT. He will create a custom art piece and NFT to kick off the company's NFT rewards strategy. Fandom will digitize the custom art piece and NFT created by Mazzone, as part of the Fandom Sports Private NFT collection.
CEO Vinokurov added that this partnership not only showcases homegrown Canadian art talent that has flourished at a global level but Canadian technology that will have a global impact.
“We are extremely privileged to have a world-renowned Canadian artist of Daniel's caliber create a unique art piece for Fandom to share with its user community. Our rewards matrix will provide a forum for global esports fans to share in the esthetic beauty that Daniel creates.”
Esports wagering is about to see a big boom as more users will be able to make predictions on events based around video game as new platforms roll out.
FDM has launched its
esports prediction platform globally, where fans can now access its site and see how the Fandom Sports' Unified Information Access platform facilitates real-time predictive capabilities through completed API software for "League of Legends", "DOTA 2" and "CS: GO".
(Image via TGS Esports Inc.)
Meanwhile,
TGS Esports Inc. (TSX-V: TGS, Forum) just entered a strategic partnership with
FansUnite Entertainment Inc. (CSE: FANS, Forum), to launch live esports tournaments prediction games.
Excluding revenues from betting, esports revenue in 2020 was more than
$1 billion and TGS Esports’ CEO Spiro Khouri explained that by offering prediction games, TGS is able to increase the level of engagement between fans and brands. On top of that, the prediction games from the platform will be featured on TGS’ Pepper Esports platform, which will enable all tournament organizers to offer predictions and rivalry challenges in their tournaments to their viewers.
“By implementing FansUnite's technology into our esports events TGS is able to increase the level of engagement between fans and brands.”
In other wagering news,
Bragg Gaming Group (TSX: BRAG, Forum) subsidiary
ORYX Gaming has now entered Switzerland, going live with
Grand Casino Luzern’s online brand.
With the most extensive online casino operation in Switzerland, Grand Casino Luzern operates the mycasino.ch brand and holds close to a 40 per cent market share. Its customers now have access to the entire portfolio of games from ORYX’s exclusive RGS partner
GAMOMAT.
Grand Casino Luzern is the first Swiss operator to launch with ORYX’s content, with several other agreements soon to be announced.
Finally,
GameSquare Esports Inc. (CSE: GSQ, Forum) made serious news on Friday when it announced that Jordan Belfort, the “Wolf of Wall Street” himself, has agreed to join its advisory board.
In
a news release, he called esports is incredibly exciting and highlighted GameSquare as focusing on a part of the business that is sustainable and profitable.
“I like businesses with solid fundamentals which include access to big markets and strong management. Having spent time with Justin, I see in him someone that has great experience in esports from his time at FaZe Clan and a solid accounting background as well as a fierce competitor from his days playing football in Australia; the guy is a triple threat and I like that in my business partners. I look forward to using my extensive network to elevate the visibility of GameSquare esports”
GameSquare's subsidiary
GCN (the Gaming Community Network) recently signed an agreement with
Van Wagner, whose Collegiate Services Division is a leading multimedia rights holder focused on sponsorship and media sales for college athletic departments and NCAA conferences.
GCN will provide production and promotional campaign services for a multi-tournament collegiate esports series. The series will include three tournaments in 2021 with qualifying tournaments for each of Van Wagner’s 10 NCAA conference partners.
Got an esports news tip or story idea to share? Email me at
jon.brown@stockhouse.com.
FULL DISCLOSURE: Fandom Sports Media Corp., GameSquare Esports Inc, and Bragg Gaming Group are clients of Stockhouse Publishing.