The Rapidly Expanding eSports Ecosystem Piques Investor Interest

NEW YORK, Dec. 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The term “eSports” encompasses regional or international video gaming events in which professional and amateur players compete against one another.  According to data provided by Statista, the global eSports market was valued at just over USD 1.08 Billion in 2021, an almost 50% increase from the previous year. Asia and North America currently represent the largest eSports markets in terms of revenue, with China alone accounting for almost one fifth of the market. Overall, the main source of revenue for the industry comes from sponsorships and advertising. The report also indicates that the global eSports audience size reached 474 million people. Furthermore, in the years to come, the market’s audience size is projected to grow, reaching over 577 million viewers worldwide. Intema Solutions Inc. (TSX-V: ITM) (OTC: ITMZF), Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA), Super League Gaming, Inc. (NASDAQ: SLGG), Corsair Gaming, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRSR), Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: EGLX)

A major component of the eSports market is betting. In the U.S., eSports betting is not legal on a federal level, and instead the legality of this segment varies on a state-by-state basis. Next year however, the first-ever ‘sanctioned’ esports skill-based wagering event is expected to be held at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Atlantic City, in New Jersey. According to esportsbest.com, this event is being regarded as a ‘tremendous accomplishment’, and it promises to offer both competitors and bettors a never-before-seen experience. The tournament is poised to kickstart a wave of activity on LANDuel, a player-vs-player wagering platform that the Esports Entertainment Group purchased in June of 2021.

Intema Solutions Inc. (TSX-V: ITM) (OTC: ITMZF) announced yesterday breaking news that regarding, “Parabellum Media Inc. (“Parabellum”), owner of Parabellum Esports and Northern Shield Academy. Intema recently signed a letter of intent to acquire Parabellum (see press release dated December 8, 2021).

On December 12, 2021, Parabellum Esports won a very significant promotion match to earn a spot in the highly coveted Rainbow Six North American Pro League. The team is planning to move to Las Vegas to begin training for the 2022 season. They will be joined by some of the biggest esports teams in the world, including Astralis, TSM and Spacestation Gaming.

The 2021 North American League saw nine teams compete for over US$400,000 in prizing plus the chance to compete at the Six Invitational, which has a prize pool of US$3,000,000. The league is played on Local Area Network (LAN) in Las Vegas, which will continue to be the case throughout the 2022 season.

“We are gearing up to build a championship company and it’s only fitting that our competitive esports team is already picking up major accolades,” said Laurent Benezra, President and CEO of Intema.

Rainbow Six Esports continues to see major growth in 2021. It is ranked in the top 10 most-played PC games based on monthly users and in the top 10 in earnings for competitive play.1

“We are tremendously proud of our team and its accomplishment in getting into the pro league. But we aren’t here for participation trophies, we’re here for championships, and that’s exactly what we intend to bring home,” said Ben Feferman, CEO of Amuka Esports, the parent company of Parabellum Esports.

The Parabellum Esports team was founded and managed by Chris Lamarucciola. The 4/5 Canadian roster includes P3NGU1N, Eskaa, SpiriTz, KoolAid and Melted. Parabellum has already won over US$100,000 in 2021, which includes two North American Challenger League Stage wins and a top 12 finish at the 2021 Six Invitational in Paris. The team’s next match will be in January 2022, as it is one of four teams to compete for the last spot in the Six Invitational, which will take place February 8-10, 2022, at Place Bell in Montreal.”

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) and WarnerMedia announced back in November the completion of EA’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Games’ Playdemic, Ltd. for $1.4 billion in cash, subject to customary purchase price adjustments. “We are thrilled to officially welcome the Playdemic team to Electronic Arts, adding to our growing mobile portfolio and expanding our leadership in sports,” said Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts. “The addition of the incredible Playdemic team not only adds to the strength of our mobile teams globally, it also continues our expansion and investment in U.K.-based talent. With Playdemic now part of Electronic Arts, we’re excited to bring even more amazing and innovative mobile games to diverse audiences around the world.”

Super League Gaming, Inc. (NASDAQ: SLGG) and Screenvision Media, a national leader in cinema and premium video advertising, announced back in November the launch Super League Spotlight, an exciting multi-episode series showcasing the best in-game action, created specifically for in-theater audiences. The first installment of the series launches today in over 2000 movie theaters nationwide. Super League and Screenvision’s Super League Spotlight series presents top highlights from the live stream broadcasts of popular gaming influencers within Super League’s established Core Gamer and Young Gamer networks, featuring several of the most well-known game titles in the world. With an average two-minute run time, each episode of Spotlight amplifies the best and most exciting in-game moments of the past month. This original Super League content series serves as part of the growing partnership between Screenvision and Super League, working together to give brands cross-channel opportunities to reach young adult cord-cutters with gaming-related content both in-theater and at home. Audiences in movie theaters across the country will have a front row seat to all of the competitive action on the big screen, viewing the best in engaging gameplay that Super League has to offer. Hyundai will serve as the initial series sponsor as part of a year-long partnership with Super League.

Corsair Gaming, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRSRannounced last month announced the first shipments to customers of its new range of ORIGIN NEURON, MILLENNIUM, GENESIS, M-Class, and L-Class desktops, putting today’s most powerful DDR5-equipped PCs in the hands of customers weeks ahead of the competition. Ideally placed within the CORSAIR group to access the latest components and technology, ORIGIN PC has benefitted from early access to high-performance CORSAIR DDR5 memory and the latest Intel Z690-chipset motherboards through close cooperation with industry partners such as Asus and MSI. This has resulted in an accelerated development and quality assurance process, combining proven CORSAIR hardware such as PC cases, coolers, and power supplies with cutting edge DDR5 memory and the latest Intel 12th generation processors, putting the most powerful ORIGIN PC systems in the hands of gamers weeks ahead of many competitors. “The integration of the complete array of CORSAIR hardware and DDR5 memory into ORIGIN PCs has allowed us go from specs to finished systems in record time,” said Kevin Wasielewski, Senior Director of DIY Marketing at CORSAIR and co-founder of ORIGIN PC. “Our ability to leverage partnerships and expertise from across the CORSAIR group is helping us put our best-ever systems in gamers’ hands faster.”

Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: EGLXreported back in November that Unique Visitor traffic to its digital media property in the United States reached an all-time high in October 2021, based on recent digital media ratings from Comscore, a leading independent third-party measurement firm. The Enthusiast Gaming digital media property reached 47.8 million U.S. Unique Visitors for the month of October (Comscore Media Metrix®, Desktop 2+, Mobile 13+, October 2021, U.S.). The metric does not include additional under-18 mobile video traffic to the Company’s property, or viewership in the Company’s esports and entertainment division, including viewership of Luminosity Gaming. Enthusiast Gaming ranks between streaming platform Twitch, and game platform Roblox, as a top property in the overall Games category, which includes Gaming Information and Online Gaming sites. “This Comscore data shows the continued growth and attractiveness of our platforms to the coveted U.S. Gen Z and Millennial audience,” commented Adrian Montgomery, CEO of Enthusiast Gaming. “Gaming continues to take a greater share of overall Internet traffic, and we are proud to be next to companies like Twitch and Roblox in taking a greater share of overall gaming traffic.”