eSports
Intema Closes Second Tranche of Financing
Intema Solutions Inc. is pleased to announce that further to its press releases dated June 17, 2021 and August 31, 2021, it has completed a second tranche of its non-brokered private placement of subscription receipts (the “Private Placement”), bringing the total gross proceeds to $10,007,000 of a maximum of $15,000,000. The second tranche consisted of the issuance of 8,594,000 subscription receipts (each a “Subscription Receipt”) at a price of $0.50 per Subscription Receipt (the “Subscription Price”) for gross proceeds of $4,297,000. The Private Placement is being undertaken by the Corporation in connection with its previously announced proposed transaction (the “Proposed Transaction”), whereby the Corporation will acquire all of the issued and outstanding securities of Livestream Gaming Ltd. (“Livestream”), owner of LOOT.BET.
“We are pleased and proud that our current and future shareholders have shown such confidence in Intema’s future plans, allowing us to reach the minimum amount we set for the Livestream acquisition,” said Laurent Benezra, President and CEO of Intema. “With the progress we have made in recent weeks and the continued momentum in the esports and iGaming sectors, we have seen a significant increase in demand for our financing, which leads us to believe that we’ll be able to reach our $15 million target.”
The Subscription Receipts were issued pursuant to a subscription receipt agreement entered into between Intema and the subscription receipt agent (the “Subscription Receipt Agreement”). Pursuant to the Subscription Receipt Agreement, each Subscription Receipt will be automatically exchanged for one unit of the Corporation (a “Unit”), requiring no additional consideration or action on the part of the holder, upon the satisfaction of certain escrow release conditions in connection with the Proposed Transaction, including (i) all conditions precedent to the completion of the Proposed Transaction having been satisfied, (ii) the Corporation not being in breach or default of any of its covenants or obligations under the Subscription Receipt Agreement, and (ii) the escrow agent having received a notice from the Corporation that all conditions precedent to the completion of the Proposed Transaction have been satisfied or waived, other than the release of the escrowed funds to the Corporation pursuant to the Subscription Receipt Agreement (the “Escrow Release Conditions”). All proceeds of the Private Placement are being held in escrow pending the satisfaction of the Escrow Release Conditions. If the Proposed Transaction is not completed within 180 days of the closing of the first tranche of the Private Placement, the Subscription Receipts will be deemed to be cancelled and the holders of Subscription Receipts will receive an amount equal to the aggregate Subscription Price of their Subscription Receipts and the interest earned, if any, on such Subscription Price.
Each Unit consists of one common share of the Corporation (a “Common Share”) and one-half of one common share purchase warrant of the Corporation (each whole warrant, a “Warrant”). Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share at an exercise price of $0.90 for a period of 12 months from the date of issuance.
In connection with the Private Placement, the Corporation, upon satisfaction of the Escrow Release Conditions, shall pay eligible arm’s length parties (each a “Finder”): (i) a cash fee of 6% of the aggregate value of Subscription Receipts sold pursuant to the Private Placement in respect of subscriptions referred to the Corporation or directly sourced by the Finder and issued on the closing of the first tranche of the Private Placement; and (ii) a number of Finders warrants (each a “Finder Warrant“) equal to 8% of the Subscription Receipts sold that were referred to or directly sourced by the Finder to the Corporation. The Finder Warrants will be issued on the same terms as the Warrants.
The Corporation intends to use the net proceeds raised under the Private Placement entirely to fund the Proposed Transaction.
Certain officers and a director of the Corporation subscribed for an aggregate of 750,000 Subscription Receipts pursuant to the Private Placement, for total aggregate proceeds of $375,000. As a result of this insider participation, the Private Placement constitutes a related-party transaction as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 (“MI 61-101”). Neither the Corporation, nor to the knowledge of the Corporation after reasonable inquiry, a related party, has knowledge of any material information concerning the Corporation or its securities that has not been generally disclosed. The Private Placement is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101, as it was a distribution of securities for cash and neither the fair market value of the Subscription Receipts distributed to, nor the consideration received from, interested parties exceeded $2,500,000. The Corporation did not file a material change report more than 21 days before the expected closing of the Private Placement because the details of the participation therein by related parties of the Corporation were not settled until shortly prior to the first closing of the Private Placement and the Corporation wished to close on an expedited basis for business reasons.
The Proposed Transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including, without limitation, approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. There can be no assurance that the Proposed Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.
eSports
CAPCOM’S STREET FIGHTERTM 6 GOING TO COLLEGE THIS FALL
- CSMG will create and operate College Street FighterTM Tour in North America for the 2024-25 academic year
- College conference Street Fighter 6 champions will punch their ticket to the national Collegiate Esports Commissioner’s Cup (CECC) & May Madness in 2025
eSports
R&D rethink needed for sportsbooks to harness esports’ power
Esports betting is still grappling with a perception problem amongst operators. Despite the leaps and bounds in product development made by suppliers – particularly in the last two years – esports hasn’t shaken off the image built in the late 2010s.
Our good friend, Oliver Niner, Head of Sales at PandaScore, has been kind to share the below article with us.
There’s scepticism around esports betting’s value, how well it can actually perform and what’s needed to make it appeal to bettors. A big part of that comes down to perception, which shapes the research and development (R&D) choices made by each operator.
Self-fulfilling prophecy?
Operators who have put the research and development (R&D) resources into esports are seeing excellent growth, while others are still treating it like part of a long tail. The lack of a uniform approach to esports often translates into hesitancy to be bullish and invest in esports.
Whereas in the United States, post-PASPA sports betting has exploded and operators are seeking to capture as much territory and market share as possible because in most cases, you switch the lights on and the money comes in. It’s, of course, good business sense to take opportunities like this – you can apply the same templates used elsewhere on an incredibly lucrative market.
This kind of approach has been attempted for esports and hasn’t found the same success. Granted, the legislation for betting on esports has been somewhat slower than that of sports betting and iGaming.
However, bullish operators have acknowledged the fact that esports hasn’t found the same success in regulated states and asked what can be done differently, while for others, esports has been thrown into the too-hard basket or relegated to the bargain bucket.
For the latter, the fate of the esports vertical becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy – especially if an operator already using a budget esports product that throttles its very growth.
It takes two to tango
When esports is discussed in broader betting circles, you’ll often hear different versions of the same talking point: the problem with esports is no one is doing it well, it doesn’t innovate.
This argument is a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Esports is a driver of innovation, and it is sportsbook R&D that is holding it back.
Multiple suppliers on the market are investing significant resources into R&D, and bullish operators are leveraging these product innovations to acquire new customers and create engagements made for the internet age.
There are understandable reasons why sports betting doesn’t innovate. It’s largely because operators focus on acquisition, entering new territories and spending money on data rights. But the actual R&D on sportsbook products is left lacking, with ever-increasing cost-per-acquisition (CPA) numbers a clear symptom of this.
It means that if an operator does decide to use or acquire an esports specialist supplier but does little to cater its product and attempts to just lay the sports betting template over the top, of course performance will be throttled.
It’s like putting a Ferrari engine in a Prius – no offence to Toyota or Prius owners.
The same problem exists on the platform supplier front. Platforms are understandably focused on compliance and getting customers live, not necessarily improving models or their products.
Even the idea that if you just acquire an innovative company the problem is solved or you have found the solution, doesn’t hold water. In many cases, the company is acquired and plenty of noise is made about it, but there’s little organisational investment in R&D afterwards.
It’s not just in esports
These problems extend to customer acquisition and marketing for most emerging markets, not just esports. There’s a rush to use the same old playbook in newer sectors because it’s easy.
The fantasy vs. house sector in the US is already experiencing an acquisition arms race. As analyst Dustin Gouker points out, deposit match bonuses for new users on fantasy vs house products have jumped from $100 to as high as $500 in some places.
This is the same race that played out in sports betting and despite the costs, there’s little effort from most operators to try something different. There’s less work when you just put the same acquisition template on an emerging sector and call it a day. This seems to be an accepted practice in the industry, for better or for worse.
Esports betting success requires ongoing dialogue
Rather than attempting to wedge esports into hegemonic sportsbook approaches, sportsbooks need to take a completely unique approach.
The fact is the betting sector has barely scratched the surface – communities of esports fans are still dormant. Canadian operator Rivalry has built a successful, esports-first business by embracing the ever-changing internet culture that esports inhabits. French esports organisation Karmine Corp recently sold out a 30,000-person stadium for an event with no prize money up for grabs.
Innovative products developed on the supplier side like microbetting and betbuilders are only half of the equation.
Maximising esports revenues requires institutional investment, ongoing R&D and collaboration between suppliers and operators to create products and experiences. This includes having staff on the operator side that can drive and push the product further, and crucially, rethinking current sportsbook strategies and practices.
Building experiences for betting’s greatest emerging market – one that caters to your future core audience – takes investment, innovation and a willingness to experiment. If the industry wants to make the most of the Millennial and Gen Z audience that will become its primary customers, investment into R&D and close collaboration between suppliers and operators is needed. Many hands makes light work.
eSports
North Star Network Acquires Um Dois Esportes
North Star Network has acquired Um Dois Esportes, a sports coverage and analysis site created from the merger of Gazeta Do Povo and Tribuna do Paraná in 2020.
Julien Josset, co-founder of North Star Network, said: “Thank you to the team at GRPCOM for their faith in us to take the brand forward. Um Dois Esportes is an established and renowned site in Paraná State, and we’re excited about the challenge of developing this asset.
“We’re happy to maintain the collaboration with the existing editorial team, and look forward to working with them, bringing our unique NSN approach, to take UDE forward.”
NSN’s signing of Um Dois Esportes is the media house’s fourth acquisition of 2024, following the recent deals to purchase UK-based SportsMole and MrFixitsTips, as well as Chilean site AlAireLibre, which was announced in March.
The latest addition to the North Star media portfolio joins existing assets including Top Mercato, Afrik-Foot, and Vringe. The Paris-based company already oversees a significant Brazilian operation, delivering over 6 million sessions per month, from the likes of Trivela, Premier League Brasil and Lakers Brasil.
NSN will retain Curitiba-based journalists from the Um Dois Esportes legacy team to maintain the asset’s unique tone and popular coverage of the Paraná sports scene across site and social.
Rafael Mello, Director of GRPCOM, said: “We were surprised by the interest, and initially had no intention of selling Um Dois, but as the conversations evolved, we realised this was a serious group with good intentions. We were very happy to see our project being valued by a large international group and going global, demonstrating the quality of the content we produced.
“We’re also proud that North Star inherited our journalists, who are truly responsible for the success of the product we offer readers every day.”
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