Josh Andrews

Taking Gaming to the Next Level: Enter the Sweaty Esports

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It would be very easy to pass a line of cyclists spinning madly on stationary bicycles, sweating profusely with their eyes fixed on screen for regular fitness junkies. However, inside Paris’ National Velodrome, there is so much more to what is going on than just a regular day at the gym. The bikes, in this case, are not regular exercise bikes and the 10 extremely fit cyclists decked out in full racing kits are actually pedaling away on svelte racing bikes mounted on indoor trainers which are tuned to vary the levels of resistance to the rider’s effort, just like it would be in a real bike race. The computer screens display a virtual cycling platform which is where the racing action is.

In the virtual racing world, the bike riders have avatars pedaling through landscapes marred with tunnels, dark forests as well as lava-spewing volcanoes. The idea is to simulate a real-world racing scenario – well, the lava-spewing volcanoes is a rather a bizarre addition to it, but that is what video games are all about. The riders’ avatars go at each other in the same way they would in a real race and the feel of it is just as realistic since a steep climb in the virtual world is actuated through an uptick in the bikes’ resistance. The idea that the pain and effort in the virtual world can be reproduced in the real world is what makes this exciting new Esports venture a gem.

Is it the future?

Already, a number of popular sporting events have been spawned from the idea of merging Esports and traditional sports. Cycligent CVR World Cup is one of the pioneering sporting events that intend to marry the growing popularity of Esports with the grit and determination associated with the physical sporting events. This presents a whole new dimension to both traditional sports and Esports, and it will go a long way in merging both markets or even extending it.

While only about 200 spectators attended the Paris race, over 28,000 viewers watched the race online. Similarly, about 1.1 million viewers streamed 2017’s World’s Toughest Mudder Sufferfest on Facebook even though not very many spectators were present at the arena. Now, the International Olympic Committee has shown interest and intends to introduce an Esports tournament as we approach February’s Winter Olympics that will be held in South Korea.

According to Cycligent CEO, Frank Garcia, “Doesn’t physical Esports make more sense? You see suffering and you see elation. People connect with that.”

Clearly, now that Esports has shifted from being a mere fad to an integral part of the sporting entertainment scene, there is bound to be more interest and investments. Esports like League of Legends and Dota 2 are already attracting tens of thousands of spectators to their arenas as well millions more who enjoy the action via various streaming platforms. Online spectatorship has been on the rise for CVR and Tough Mudder as well, and the decision by the Olympics to venture into Esports will be transformative to the initiatives that depend on true sporting excellence.

Why Businesses Should Still Climb On-Board the Bitcoin Train

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Apparently, the world has gone cold on bitcoin ever since its meteoric rise in 2017 but all this has been subject to a lot of debate which makes arriving at a definite answer quite difficult. Considering the rising popularity of altcoins like Ripple’s XRP token and Ethereum, both of which have been trading at feverish rates, it may seem as if bitcoin is no longer the world’s most dominant digital currency. Well, not everyone is of a similar opinion and despite the hit that bitcoin might have taken in recent weeks, cryptocurrency experts have faith that it will eventually bounce back – Tom Lee, one of the crypto experts, believes that bitcoin could potentially double its price by the end of the year. In a CNBC interview, Lee pointed out that bitcoin’s recent price drop is nothing more than a “healthy consolidation” and that by the summer it would be trading at $20,000.

There will always be predictions and speculations emanating from both sides of the crypto divide but it is undeniable that bitcoin has etched out a spot as an established spending tool for very many people.

Bitcoin might have been around for a little less than a decade but this is an incredibly long time in “cryptocurrency time” – it is the oldest cryptocurrency and this means that it will always serve as a benchmark for its successors. However, it is not going away, at least not anytime soon. As such, businesses looking to appeal to the next generation of consumers should lean towards cryptocurrencies, more specifically bitcoin.

UK’s Bitcoin Spending

The United Kingdom seems to have been a trendsetter because it was already gearing up for crypto-powered spending long before bitcoin’s price boom last year. A 2015 Mining Pool study revealed that over 80 percent of Brit bitcoin owners felt that there were not enough places to spend the cryptocurrency at the time.

Also, while typical cryptocurrency traders and users are known to save their coins instead of spending them, Brits have always portrayed a willingness to spend theirs. As illustrated by these habits, bitcoin has evidently breached the mainstream market which implies that a business that invests in it would be making a very wise move.

Effectively targeting and appealing to bitcoin users both in the UK and the rest of the world means that the product has to be in line with market values as well as the underlying ethos. Practically speaking, it is also crucial that the product prices are set in accordance with the latest bitcoin value. The success of the business depends upon the way it will stay up to date with daily bitcoin charts that effectively keeps up with bitcoin’s insane market fluctuations and developing trends. Businesses can then use this information to tailor their prices to offer more attractive deals to their customers or at least an equivalent pricing deal.

One other area that business could take advantage of is the decentralization and anonymity features that all cryptocurrencies offer. Well, of course, total anonymity is still a long shot, but finding ways to reduce the amount of personal data required to make transactions would be very helpful for both the business and the customers. Since the bitcoin ecosystem already has these in place implementing it should not be that hard, should it?

Ex-Revel Casino Customers Tell What They Want In New Casino

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Atlantic City’s former Revel Casino failed due to a number of reasons after being in operation for just a little over two years – these included huge debts, a relatively over-saturated casino market in the northeastern United States as well as what can only be defined as a fundamental misreading of their main clientele base.

However, the casino is set to be reopened with a different name under the leadership of Colorado developer Bruce Deifik who purchased it from Glenn Straub for over $100 million more than Straub got it for. With Deifik at the helm of this new project, there are a lot of exciting prospects for the Atlantic City casino market especially because there are a lot of expectations pertaining to the new casino. Former Revel casino customers have been quite vocal about what they expect from the new casino, all of which revolved around five key factors:

The Casino’s Accessibility Needs To Improve

Revel casino’s layout seemed to be quite an issue for the customers. For instance, the giant escalator that ran from the ground floor to the casino level that was expected to be an eye-catching feature turned out to be rather annoying to the customers. Similarly, navigating through the casino itself was a rather daunting task thanks to the interior layout of the casino floor which ebbed and flowed in several different directions.

The Ban on Smoking

While this would normally seem to be a marketing advantage to the general population where smoking is getting less and less prevalent every year, the gambling population does not really reflect the dynamics of the general population. In fact, it is more likely for gamblers to be smokers than it is for the non-gambling population – as such, many of them smoking gamblers felt that the casino which they were patronizing could at least allow them some room to enjoy a smoke or two. However, there is no official word from the new owners in regards to lifting this ban or at least changing it.

The Food in the Restaurants

Revel casino owned a decent number of celebrity restaurants that would draw legions of loyal high profile customers as well as great reviews from the clientele. The buffet, a casino staple, was however not present and customers were quick to point this out hoping that the matter will be handled before the casino reopens.

The customers want more affordable dining options which may even get better if they bring back some of the customer-favorite eateries.

Initially, Revel casino opted not to have a buffet so as to set itself apart from all the other casinos in its attempt to appeal to the luxurious market of high rollers, financial professionals, and luxury tourists. The management soon came to a realization that that particular market was not large enough to sustain the casino resort.

Entertainment

Revel was already a pretty a popular name among concertgoers who were drawn to it by some of its outstanding features such as the layout and acoustics as well as its marquee events which raised the price bars for the market. Many of former Revel casino’s customers hope to see the return of HQ, the outdoor pool, and day-club.

HQ was one of Atlantic City’s most popular entertainment offerings.

Shopping and Rewards

While a considerably large number of customer revealed that they were happy with Revel casino’s retail outlets, an even more significant number of its former customers want to see more generous offers for all player levels.

Indian Boxer Vijender Singh Joins PokerBaazi as Ambassador

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Poker has been rising in popularity for quite some time in many parts of India with many online poker operators nabbing the opportunity to get a piece of the growing market. PokerBaazi is the latest poker operator that is making tremendous effort to market itself to the Indian poker-playing market through various endorsements with the most recent being their move to sign Indian Super Middleweight boxing champion Vijender Singh.

The signing of sporting figures has proven to be quite an effective marketing method especially in the west where the likes of Neymar Jr, Usain Bolt, Christiano Ronaldo, Boris Becker and Rafael Nadal have represented PokerStars as ambassadors at one time or the other. On a similar note, British former World Super Middleweight champion Carl Froch is currently the PartyPoker ambassador and Brazillian soccer star Denilson is currently representing 888poker. Evidently, the success of the endeavors have attracted the interest of other online casino operators both in the West and the rest of the world – India is just one of them and we should see the trend continue with even more public figure endorsements in the near future. This move is particularly important for markets that are similar to the Indian market where poker is still disregarded because it is not considered to be a game of skill and it is also still illegal. The goodwill that public figures, sports figures, and celebrities attract is rather a big deal when it comes to ensuring that poker is legitimized in the country and that it eventually appeals to the mainstream audience.

In addition to bridging the gap between PokerBaazi and Hindu-speaking states like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, PokerBaazi founder Nakivran Singh also believes that Vijender’s sporting background will play a significant role in the campaign to take poker to the next level in India.

“It gives me immense pleasure to welcome Vijender Singh on board as the brand ambassador of PokerBaazi.com. As a professional boxer, he has already won tremendous accolades for India in the past. His reputation as a serious sportsperson and champion will help us in promoting poker as a serious sport that only flourishes on sheer skill and talent. We are looking forward to a long-term association with Vijender Singh,” the PokerBaazi founder said in a January 22 press release.

Why Singh?

After winning multiple medals as an amateur boxer, Singh went ahead to win all of his ten professional fights, seven of which were through knockouts. His success on the global stage made him one of India’s leading sports figures and amassed him a Twitter following of over 3.2 million. While the Indian boxer’s social media presence may not be at par with those of former sportsmen and now poker players like Usain Bolt or Christian Ronaldo, his new deal with PokerBaazi will work in both their advantages – 3.2 million followers is still a pretty big deal.

Singh himself is quite happy with his sponsorship deal saying, “As a sportsperson, it is always an honor for me to be part of campaigns or associate with brands that endeavor to promote sports in the nation. PokerBaazi is doing a great job of utilizing technology and letting Indians play online a game that they adore.”

Pixel.bet Gets Into Frenzied Esports Betting Industry

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While the debate rages on about whether Esports betting should be treated as regular sports betting or as a class of its own, a number of startups and established gambling operators are already implementing their own variations of how they think the trade should be handled. For instance, gaming operators such as Pinnacle have already established dedicated Esports portals and are moving forward to implement more Esports-only offerings. Similarly, traditional sports operators have begun to acknowledge the impact that Esports is having on the industry and are thus including a range of Esports offerings alongside their long lists of traditional sports offers.

Pixel.bet is the newest entrant into the growing Esports betting industry. The Curacao-licensed operator which launched a live beta at the beginning of the year opted for an Esports-only approach in a bid to cater for the mobile-first gambling market. Despite being a newcomer to the frayed Esports industry, Pixel.bet has already proved to be quite a spectacle – it offers the usual selection of leading Esports and tournaments that are available on other popular and top platforms. According to the company, traditional bookmakers are not having much luck in attracting Esports bettors simply because of lack of understanding of what they want their betting platforms to be.

“Traditional operators are led by sports and casino — the whole branding, site experience and UX/UI in the products are dictated by this,” says Pixel.bet CEO Richard Smith. “Right now, I think it’s fair to say that most have not put the resource or hired the right people to drive this forward. It’s created a wonderful opportunity, though, for Esports-only brands and product innovation, with the up and coming Esports focused brands.”

Richard Smith believes that by being an Esports-only operator is going to help them in building community trust which the company thinks is very important. Pixel.bet is however not the only Esports-only proposition in the market right now but it is only bound to receive serious competition from Unikrn which is undoubtedly the leading market contender at the moment. Pixel.bet intends to follow in Unikrn’s footsteps and compete at the level of customer experience instead of price. Furthermore, the platform will be built based on feedback from Esports enthusiasts and this will probably see it soar to the top.

MGM Outspends Its Competitors in Connecticut Casino Bid

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The Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribal nations are preparing to begin work on the Windsor casino in a few weeks. Meanwhile, the renowned MGM Resorts International is raising its bet for the state’s lucrative gambling opportunities.

At the moment, up to $20 million worth of monthly revenue is at stake in Connecticut and this can be attributed to the offer for a Bridgeport casino as well as the fierce opposition to the East Windsor site that is within 17 miles of the $900 million MGM casino which is almost complete in Springfield, Mass.

According to a Hearst Connecticut Media review of the Office of State Ethics’ public records, MGM Resorts International upped its ante in 2017 and ended up spending over $3.8 million in ads for both TV and radio as well as in lobbying the state’s lawmakers and agencies who included Attorney General George Jepsen and Governor Dannel P. Malloy. On the other hand, even after going at it as a joint venture, the Mashantucket and Mohegan tribes spent less than $1.2 million, which would obviously give their competitors with deeper pockets an upper hand. MGM Resorts International went further and paid Ballard Partners $270,000 to be its Washington lobbyist to focus on the Department of the Interior and the White House.

While the tribes are not too happy about MGM’s progress citing the casino operator’s disregard for the protection of jobs and revenue in the state, the company’s management are of a totally different opinion;

“It has taken a concerted effort just to be part of the conversation in Connecticut,” said Bernard Kavaler, MGM’s spokesperson. “We continue to believe that an open, competitive process would be best for the state and its taxpayers, and we continue to believe that Bridgeport is the best location — in terms of jobs and economic development — for a commercial casino in Connecticut.”

MGM’s efforts are also gaining a lot of support from various lawmakers since according to Av Harris, director of legislative affairs and public policy in Bridgeport, MGM has been “very consistent and very serious the whole time about their interest in developing a major casino/entertainment facility” in the city.

A Review of Bitcoin’s and Crypto’s Rather Strange Week

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This week has been a pretty dull one for bitcoin especially with the dramatic price drops that unearthed some doubt about the hype that cryptocurrencies had created towards the end of 2017. It eventually recovered, but by doing so, it only reminded the world of how unpredictable decentralized digital currencies are. Furthermore, there have been reports that regulators are planning to toughen the market – this along with the reported evocations of the Great Depression in many ways made the week even more turbulent than expected.

Perhaps one of the biggest reasons for bitcoin’s price drop is the possibility of cryptocurrency trading being outlawed in some countries from various parts of the globe. One of the countries whose government has been hinting at such a move is South Korea. Earlier this week, Park Sang-ki, South Korea’s justice minister said that the country’s government had rather “great concerns” pertaining to digital currencies and was therefore “basically preparing a bill to ban cryptocurrency trading through exchanges”, especially because they think that crypto will make tax evasion easier.

While South Korea has since been seen to have softened its stance on the matter after a spokesperson of the Presidential Office said the possibility of a ban on crypto exchanges was simply “one of the measures prepared by the Ministry of Justice, but … not a measure that has been finalized”, investors are still panicking over the confusion caused by the uncertainty of how exactly the country intends to crack down on crypto.

There is a good reason for investor panic since even if the total ban on crypto exchanges does not come to pass, South Korea can still impose new regulations that could hugely impact the market – like bans on anonymous crypto trading accounts and underage investors, for instance. In a similar scenario, last September, the Chinese government shut down domestic changes and according to more recent reports, there are even going an extra mile to cut off access to all online crypto platforms and services operating from within or outside its borders.

Even Europe is Bursting Bitcoin’s Bubble

Financial watchdogs in Europe have begun to tighten the screws on cryptocurrencies as well in a bid to ease up the pressure of the price boom that is considered by many European economists to be nothing more than a bubble. Europe’s financial regulators watched cautiously as the price of bitcoin soared to nearly $20,000 last year. In the process, other cryptocurrencies also received a much-needed boost.

However, Europeans have hopped off of the back seat and they are now joining other policymakers from various parts of the globe in warning investors of the possibility that the crypto bubble could pop. French and German politicians, for instance, recently revealed plans to present a joint proposal that calls for the regulation of cryptocurrencies at March’s G20 summit.

Golden Nugget Online Brings Live Dealer Casino Hold’em to NJ

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Golden Nugget Atlantic City becomes the first brick-and-mortar casino in the US to launch an online live dealer Casino Hold’em poker table. Live dealer online casino games are becoming more entrenched in the New Jersey casino culture and Golden Nugget being an iGaming leader in the state, it was just a matter of time before it expanded its already polished online casino offering that includes popular titles like American Roulette, Blackjack, and Dragon Bonus Baccarat. Furthermore, all the table games that the online casino platform offers are accessible via both desktop computers and mobile devices which makes it suitable for a wide audience of table game players.

“Being the first to offer a Live Dealer version of the world’s most popular poker game in America, Casino Hold’em, shows our commitment to delivering on an innovative and world-class product to our patrons,” said Golden Nugget’s Senior Vice President and General Manager of Online Gaming, Thomas Winter.

The casino operator’s variant of live dealer Casino Hold’em was developed by Stephen Au-Yeung and builds on the popularity of the mechanics of classic Texas Hold’em while offering players an option to play against the casino’s dealers. This new live dealer offering is in partnership with renowned European casino games developer Ezugi whose popularity has been increasing significantly in the United States.

Initially, the live dealer Casino Hold’em tables will run from 0300 HRS to 0300 HRS ET from Sunday To Thursday and 1200 HRS to 0300 HRS ET on Fridays and Saturdays since the live dealer games requires the company to employ licensed and certified human casino dealers.

Evidently, even though 2018 is just a few days old, Golden Nuggets is already gearing up for a great year ahead, and an even better 2019, especially for its players. Golden Nuggets first launched live dealer games back in 2016 with a select number of live dealer games that we mentioned earlier. The company witnessed great returns from these offerings and decide to differentiate it from its other offerings in the state. Now, Golden Nugget offers a total of seven concurrent live dealer games – a number that is bound to increase with time. The casino operator’s gross revenue has been the highest in the state despite its reluctance towards participation in peer-to-peer New Jersey online poker sites. Investing in live dealer games will solidify its position as the number one place for gamblers who are attracted to its amazing collection of over 470 slots and table games.

ICE 2018: UltraPlay To Elevate Its Esports Betting Solutions

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Advanced betting solutions provider UltraPlay has announced that it will be expanding its portfolio through a premium Esports betting site offering during this year’s ICE Totally Gaming that will run in London from February 6^th to February 8^th.

Having been part of the iGaming industry for seven solid years, UltraPlay has what it takes to successfully expand its portfolio through the launch of its latest products which they say will offer revolutionary match-predicting systems and thus the widest odds feed in the market. Dubbed odds.gg, the system will be presented with all the latest upgrades and add-ons that UltraPlay has been working on in the past year. In addition to its most popular game titles, UltraPlay has also extended its odds feed to include such titles as Kind of Glory, Heroes of the Storm Live as well as live betting options GWENT for FIFA Interactive World Cup. Alongside the Esports betting company’s diversified catalog of 25 competitive games, it further offers over 3,000 events every month and more than 1,500 in-play events.

Last month, UltraPlay announced that GWENT, the Witcher Card Game, was to be added to its Esports betting portfolio which makes it the first online betting provider to offer betting options for the renowned card game. During the acquisition, Peter Ivanov, UltraPlay’s Head of Esports trading said that he believed that “the game holds a great potential to attract many esports punters with passion and experience in card games.”

“Gwent is a perfect choice for a card game that offers endless fun to the players. The esports betting brands using UltraPlay’s products will be one step ahead of the competition providing another exciting option to their players,” he added.

Since it was founded in 2010, UltraPlay has always been very ambitious about offering innovative approaches to the online gaming industry using modern technology to provide advanced betting solutions that are focused on Esports, bitcoin solutions, sports betting, live betting and online casinos.

CoinPoker to Launch Stage 1 of Its ICO on January 19

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CoinPoker, the growing cryptocurrency-based online poker room that was launched in late 2017, has announced that its Stage I Initial Coin Offering (ICO) will be launching on January 19^th at 1000 HRS GMT. This stage of the poker room’s ICO will offer 127.5 million CHP tokens for sale at a price of 1 ETH to 4,200 CHP – CHP is the digital currency that CoinPoker uses on its platform. So far, there is a lot of optimism going around especially considering how successful the November 16 to November 22 pre-ICO launch was. CoinPoker sold out a whopping 100 million CHP tokens in six days at a great price of 1 ETH to 6,600 CHP.

As such, the Stage I ICO is attracting a lot of attention and interest from a lot of people with some even submitting whitelist registrations with hopes of hopping on to the early buyers’ list during the January 5 to January 15 open period. This stage of CoinPoker’s ICO will run until January 26 but the time will definitely be extended in case the offering is not fully sold out by then. After that, there are plans for a Stage II ICO where the online poker room will be offering another 137.5 million CHP at a price of 1 ETH to 3,500 CHP. An official date for the Stage II ICO is yet to be announced but once it is completed, CoinPoker will have distributed 375 million CHP tokens which represent 75 percent of its total supply of 500 million CHP token.

As an incentive, CoinPoker will be returning 15 percent of the tokens collected throughout the entire span of the ICO to its community. This will be done through real-money tournaments with one of the closest being scheduled for January 21^st and will include a Tesla S worth £71, 000 as the top prize.

Swimming in Success

CoinPoker also launched its real-money games and promotional campaigns shortly after the pre-ICO in November – among them is a freeroll series where the prize will be 5 million CHP tokens. Both the promotions and the real-money games became huge successes with the CoinPoker online poker room already having up to 30,000 unique registrations as well as 20,000 MVP downloads.

The online poker room also now boasts of over 4,000 unique daily players as well as 15,000 CHP token holders. All this is thanks to the experienced CoinPoker staff who have been very diligent about fixing existing bugs and improving the platform’s stability. Community relations have also played a key role in its success as the staff strive to optimize outreach via various social media platforms. Additionally, the site has a very strict security policy that makes it a great place for poker players who are very keen on this aspect. Customers are further allowed to get involved in all this by giving their suggestions and stating their preferences in regards to what the platform should improve on.