wonderful job of positioning virtual racing in the motorsports world. Teir various virtual racing events have been broadcast globally, including on ESPN, and have really been able to provide a meaningful esport to the audience and drivers alike.
What has the pandemic meant for the esports industry in general and what is the outlook long term?
Not all is positive in esports as a result of this pandemic. Te live event and tournament industry has dried up overnight. I think you will not see a rush back to big live productions with audiences.
Basically, the industry was already having financial problems in 2019 with ESL and other large TO’s (Tournament Operators) laying off employees.
Teams are really suffering as well now as the weaker teams without the financial wherewithal have folded already or are about to. However, teams like FaZe Clan just raised US$40m in a Series A mid-April, so
the stronger teams and players will survive.
Could you outline some of the measures the company has implemented in order to cope with the crisis going forwards?
As we are an advisory and investment company, we try to put our money where our mouth is and as such we invested in the esports wagering space with our investment in
picklebet.com.
Picklebet is an Australian (NT) licensed pure play esports bookmaker. Obviously no one could have predicted a pandemic, but I certainly plan on investing in other remote and new forms of esports gambling. Tat was also part of my investment strategy last year.
How will esports and gambling combine going forwards?
By far the biggest opportunity in front of us today is esports gambling. A handful of colleagues and I (former regulators from the US and UK) have been at the forefront
of pushing for the regulation of esports betting and peer-to-peer esports wagering. With vigorous regulation and oversight of esports wagering along with the necessary inclusion of the various game publishers, esports betting is poised to breakout in 2020.
Already we have seen Nevada approve wagers on a handful of esport titles and events that they deem worthy of their licensees accepting wagers on. In a show of open mindedness and in the spirit of cooperation, the Nevada Gaming Control Board works with ESIC (Te Esports Integrity Coalition) in determining the appropriateness of the event based on a number of factors. While this is a great start, this is but a temporary measure.
Once the complete rules and regulations are established by the regulators or lawmakers in consultation with the game publishers, everyone will see the huge opportunity and rush to partake in the tremendous revenue potential that esports betting will present.
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