Commentary

E-sports continues its forward march, hits bumps along the road

Upheavals are inevitable for the expanding e-sports sector as the sector undergoes major restructuring.

Image: Entain

November 27, 2023 by Kevin Williams

E-sports has come to dominate much of the news in out-of-home entertainment in recent years. But as with all fast growing amusement trends, there are bumps along the road.

Lunchbox, a subsidiary of Real Luck Group, a provider of licensed, real money e-sports betting, sports betting and casino games with offices in Calgary, Canada and Isle of Man, U.K., announced the suspension of its real money e-sports betting service and will be undertaking restructuring. Existing players will be able to withdraw their funds, but new player registration will be suspended, along with further betting and paying out of winnings.

Reports suggest this was forced on the operation after it failed to secure new funding, and the restructuring is expected to see the operation now focus wholly on its B2B operations.

The company also resolved to wind up Real Time Game Services Ltd., an indirect material subsidiary in the Isle of Man that services the group and holds agreements with the majority of the B2C service providers, contractors and employees. The insolvency is isolated to RTGS and no other subsidiaries are affected, including the license holder Real Time Games Holding Ltd.

Thomas Rosander, the company chief executive officer, assumed the role of interim CFO after William Moore recently resigned as CFO while the company finalizes the ongoing restructuring and search for a suitable replacement.

Real Luck Group continues to explore other strategic and operational options, including but not limited to a potential merger, acquisition or a capital raise for growing its B2B or restarting B2C operations, according to a company press release.

Miami betting service closes

The Miami based Unikrn betting service, owned by Entain PLC, a London-based provider of betting and gaming products, recently closed operations, marking yet another example of an operation changing business after failing to secure additional funding, in this case through an acquisition. This comes as a surprise for some in the sector, as it is only a few years since Entain acquired the e-sports betting operation for some $50 million in 2021.

Observers of the e-sports betting sector feel these upheavals are inevitable and, while claims of e-sports betting being dead in the water may be premature, it is obvious that xtravagant spending will be curtailed as the sector undergoes major restructuring.

Some feel that more closures are inevitable from other prominent players in the scene. The need for the playing (and paying) public to feel their accounts and funds are secure will also be an aspect in how these services survive going forward. The recent 2023 Global Gaming Expo, known as G2E, also showcased the continuing growth of both e-sports and casino betting, although it was the e-sports element that cast a stir for some attendees.

Sports betting continues to grow

For the third straight year, sports betting kiosks were omnipresent on the G2E trade show floor in Las Vegas, as year-to-date commercial sports betting revenue by July reached $5.46 billion, exceeding the same period in the previous year by 63.1%, according to the American Gaming Association.

The modern tournament and championship community drives many of the most popular e-sports tournaments in arcade gaming such as the EVO, the Evolution Championship series, an e-sports event that focuses on fighting games.

EVO, based in Austin, Texas, has evolved into a multi-format tournament that has come to generate streaming and live event status. In 2021, the competition was acquired by a joint venture of Sony Interactive Entertainment and RTS, spun out of talent and media agency Endeavor Group.

Major e-sports news broke of the decisive move by the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia to become the hub of e-sports investment. The Saudi sector will be hosting the 2024 Esports World Cup — a new venture announced by the Saudi Arabian government. This will be the largest event of its kind and will be supported by the Esports World Cup foundation, a non-profit organization to build collaboration between stakeholders in e-sports – all part of a $13 billion gaming investment push in the kingdom with a calculated 39,000 new jobs created by 2030.

This event will build off the work already achieved by events in Riyadh, such as the Gamer8 gaming festival which the Stinger Report founders have supported in the past.

Setbacks may happen along the way, but e-sports forward march continues.

(Editor's note: Extracts from this blog are from recent coverage in The Stinger Report, published in collaboration with the LBX Collective and publisher, Kevin Williams, the leading interactive out-of-home entertainment news service covering the immersive frontier and beyond.)

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About Kevin Williams

Along with advisory positions with other entrants into the market he is founder and publisher of the Stinger Report, “a-must-read” e-zine for those working or investing in the amusement, attractions and entertainment industry. He is a prolific writer and provides regular news columns for main trade publications. He also travels the globe as a keynote speaker, moderator and panelist at numerous industry conferences and events. Author of “The Out-of-Home Immersive Entertainment Frontier: Expanding Interactive Boundaries in Leisure Facilities,” the only book on this aspect of the market, with the second edition scheduled for a 2023 release.

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