eSports
Mokens League Live Blockchain eSports Raises $2M for “Win to Earn” NFT Gaming Platform with MOKA Token
Mokens League, the real-time multiplayer game platform for winning and earning, announced the completion of their $2 million seed fund. The NFT-based eSports platform also announced its in-game currency, MOKA token, on the Polygon network. MOKA will serve as the main utility token in the ecosystem of company-developed eSports games and in the future for third party games that get integrated into the Mokens League Platform. Mokens eSports are bringing real-time sports games (think FIFA, NBA2K, Mario Super Strikers) to the blockchain starting with soccer, while tennis, basketball, hockey, and more are in the works. One sport at a time, MOKA and Mokens League will bring the focus of play-to-win games back to skill and the games themselves in a sustainable, eco-friendly way.
The MOKA token is the underlying main utility token that can be used by players to interact with Mokens Platform games in a variety of ways. MOKA can be used to wager on games in the competitive “Win to Earn” playlists in the pot. Players enter matches using MOKA tokens and waiting in a queue until all players of similar ranks have joined. Winners take the pot and Mokens League charges a minimal fee for using the platform as a service.
Mokens League offers a free-to-play mode so new players can try the game. The free-to-play version of the Mokens Platform rewards an in-game soft currency that can be used to buy cosmetic items but not NFTs nor MOKA.
There is an opportunity to get in the game early by purchasing foundational NFT’s. These are unique and limited. Mokens Leagues plans to announce the foundational NFTs during late April and start sales in May that will last until supply is depleted.
“While we are thrilled and excited about the massive growth of crypto-based gaming, we can’t help but notice that there is a fundamental problem right now with existing ‘play to earn’ games that reward people for just spending time on a game that does not work. This is not fun or challenging and definitely not sustainable,” Martin Repetto, CEO of Monsters League Studios LLC, said.
“NFTs and tokens can be enticing for players to play our games, but as always, what will retain gamers is fantastic gameplay and eSports mechanics. The longest played games in the world right now are competitive eSports. That’s why our main priority is to make a game that is fun to play, easy to get going, but hard to master. Like Chess or Poker, there will be different levels where people can compete without getting overrun by pros or hardcore players. These games should also be as fun to play as they are to watch because the streaming community is the number one driver of game adoption at the moment,” Martin Repetto added.
MOKA holders can use their tokens to purchase NFTs that can be used for games in Moken’s ecosystem. The game can be played for free by anyone with a standard team of non NFT characters. However, players may choose to purchase character NFTs with improved stats like speed, strength, endurance, and special abilities to strengthen their team. While the NFT’s are not required to play the free version of the game, for competing to win MOKA, NFTs and MOKA will be required.
Furthermore, the future of Mokens NFTs looks big and bright with metaverse gameplay, club management features, and even metaverse assets like stadiums, decorations, and bringing the characters from the game into the metaverse. Players competing in their home arenas will receive bonus payouts for winning home games and get to enjoy the aesthetic of their home field. Not only do these arenas allow for players to earn more rewards, but they could also host games in their own arenas within virtual reality and the metaverse.
MOKA token is now available for presale. The token will run on the Polygon blockchain and can be acquired by pre-registering on Mokens’ website after the public presale. Mokens League aims to have real-time multiplayer demos released privately by the end of Q3 and a public beta open by Q1 of 2023. MOKA tokens will have a total supply of 500 million, and most of this supply will be held for distribution throughout Mokens League games. The rest of the supply will be spread across partners, marketing, liquidity management, early investors and more.
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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