eSports
Lockdown esports boom sees Luckbox prepare to go public on TSXV
Booming business during the COVID-19 lockdown has accelerated one company’s plans to go public.
Luckbox – an esports betting platform – has reported a “huge uptick in KPIs” during the first half of 2020.
The company is now preparing to go public on the TSX Venture Exchange after signing a letter of intent with capital pool company Elephant Hill (TSX-V: EH.P).
With much of the world’s population in lockdown due to the Coronavirus outbreak, the esports industry is among the few sectors to thrive.
While almost all traditional sport has been interrupted by the pandemic, esports – pro video game matches – are able to continue online.
This has been welcome news for Luckbox, with total bets up 500% since lockdown started.
Luckbox CEO Quentin Martin said: “All of our key performance indicators have been through the roof in the past three months. We’ve seen a huge uptick in KPIs across the board.
“Clearly, these are challenging times for many people across the world but, for many, esports and gaming is a welcome distraction.
“As well as an increase in customers and betting activity, we’ve seen a huge level of interest from potential investors, who are realizing that esports is resilient to many of the forces that affect traditional sports, not least COVD-19 and a potential recession.”
Esports is regarded as the sport with highest growth potential and the industry as a whole has been one of the few sectors to succeed during lockdown. Amazon-owned streaming service Twitch reported an 80% increase of concurrent viewership since January, while gaming platform Steam reported record concurrent users.
Ahead of the potential public listing, Luckbox is engaging investors during a short funding round led by Gravitas Securities and Beacon Securities.
Luckbox, which is based in the Isle of Man, has been accepting bets from customers in more than 100 territories for just over a year.
The company holds a full gambling licence and offers real-money wagering on popular games such as League of Legends, CS:GO, Dota 2, Overwatch, FIFA and NBA2K.
Martin said: “The potential of esports betting is well documented and these past few months have brought that into sharper focus, accelerating the numbers.
“Many fans of traditional sports have been exposed to the excitement of esports for the first time and, hopefully, they like what they see and will be sticking around.”
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Zenni Optical, the world’s leading online eyewear retailer, announced a partnership with ESL FACEIT Group (EFG), the leading esports and video game entertainment company. Designed to integrate eye health education with innovative eyewear solutions for the esports community, the partnership will officially launch at DreamHack festival in Dallas, taking place from May 31 to June 2.
This collaboration will showcase a co-branded collection of lifestyle and competitive eyewear and accessories, highlighting Zenni Optical’s commitment to promoting overall eye health, particularly in addressing issues like eye fatigue and strain. Additionally, the initiative will incorporate essential eye health education across various DreamHack Festivals, in alignment with EFG’s broader mission to foster inclusive gaming worlds and engaged, supported communities.
“DreamHack and ESL represent some of the most community-centric and prestigious competitive events in the world. In their own unique ways, they embody esports for everyone. By partnering with these incredible brands across the gaming and esports spaces, we aim to create engaging experiences that combine eye-health education with innovative eyewear solutions for players and fans at all levels,” said Robb Chiarini, Head of Gaming, Sports, & Events at Zenni Optical.
“We are thrilled to partner with Zenni Optical as the Official Eyewear Partner of DreamHack and ESL. The genuine passion that Zenni has for the esports industry is a refreshing sight to see, and a major driving factor for the decision behind our partnership. Zenni’s ongoing commitment to provide eyewear for everyone mirrors our own drive to create worlds beyond gameplay for gamers everywhere,” Craig Levine, Co-CEO at EFG, said.
Bucks Gaming’s Cream City Convergence Esports Tournament has been selected as a Capcom Pro Tour event, becoming one of just three tournaments in North America chosen to be a qualifier for the prestigious Capcom Cup.
The Capcom Cup is an annual Street Fighter 6 competition, hosted by video game developer and esports organizer Capcom, with a $1 million first place prize. Each year, Capcom selects a small number of tournaments worldwide to serve as Capcom Pro Tour events, with the winning players from each event qualifying for the Capcom Cup. As one of the tournaments selected by Capcom for the honor this year, Cream City Convergence will become the first esports event run by an NBA team to work with a major esports organizer.
Top-ranked Street Fighter 6 players will compete at Cream City Convergence when it returns for its second year on Saturday, Aug. 24, at Baird Center. In addition to Street Fighter 6, this year’s tournament will also have brackets for Tekken 8; Super Smash Bros Ultimate; Super Smash Bros Melee; and Guilty Gear: Strive.
The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) has announced Kambi and Abios, its esports data subsidiary, as new ESIC Anti-Corruption Supporters. This partnership signals the alignment of Kambi’s longstanding commitment to corporate probity and sports integrity with ESIC’s ongoing battle against match-fixing and corruption in esports.
Kambi and Abios join a distinguished class of other Anti-Corruption Supporter stakeholders who have historically worked with ESIC to ensure that attacks against the competitive integrity of esports competition are appropriately reported and dealt with. Anti-Corruption Supporters assist ESIC in investigating suspicious betting activity, supporting ESIC’s broader mission to combat cheating and betting fraud in the esports industry. Kambi and Abios’ entrance into the Anti-Corruption Supporter class will see the entities actively work with ESIC to assist in ESIC’s mission to disrupt, prevent, investigate and prosecute all attempts to compromise competitive integrity in esport competition.
Abios’ Managing Director and Founder, Anton Janér, commented: “Our mission at Abios has always been to enable the sustainable growth of esports. As such, we’re incredibly excited to join ESIC in their mission to future-proof esports through combatting match-fixing and other integrity-related malpractices. Fair play is a crucial component in ensuring the viability of esports as a long-term community and investment and we hope to be able to support the industry together with ESIC going forward.”
Stephen Hanna, ESIC’s Chief Executive Officer, commented: “We are pleased to welcome Kambi and Abios as Anti-Corruption Supporters. Kambi and Abios are well trusted and recognised operators in their respective industries, and their entrance into the Anti-Corruption Supporter class of ESIC membership emphasises their shared commitment to upholding the highest standards of integrity and fair play within the esports industry.”
The post Kambi and Abios Join ESIC as Anti-Corruption Supporters appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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