BIRKIRKARA, Malta, June 17, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via OTC PR WIRE – Esports Entertainment Group, Inc. (OTCQB: GMBL) (or the "Company"), a licensed online gambling company with a specific focus on esports wagering and 18+ gaming, is pleased to announce a multi-year partnership with Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (“HBSE”) to provide safe and transparent P2P esports betting to Dignitas fans via VIE.gg. Dignitas is an international esports team with one of the most iconic and recognizable brands in the professional gaming industry that fields teams in seven of esports' largest and most popular games.
Dignitas is the esports organization of HBSE, a globally renowned sports and entertainment company whose portfolio includes the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils, Crystal Palace F.C. and the Prudential Center, one of the world’s top-ranked venues located in Newark, N.J. HBSE is owned by an investor group led by Managing Partners Josh Harris, the Co-Founder and Senior Managing Director of Apollo Global Management, LLC., as well as, David Blitzer, the Global Head of Blackstone’s Tactical Opportunities group.
FIRST NORTH AMERICAN TIER-1 ESPORTS PARTNERSHIP FOR VIE.GG SETS NEW BENCHMARK
As a world champion and one of the original names in esports with a successful history since 2003, Dignitas represents the first North American Tier-1 esports organization to partner with the Company’s VIE.gg esports betting platform. Dignitas is working with VIE.gg for the following reasons:
1. The VIE.gg P2P model is much more attractive to Dignitas because an esports fan (a Dignitas fan) always wins, as opposed to a "house" model where odds are heavily stacked against fans.
2. VIE.gg is the first and most transparent esports bet exchange as a result of Esports Entertainment Group being a fully reporting SEC issuer in the United States.
3. Player safety features built into VIE.gg create a fun but responsible esports betting experience for fans. For example, players must choose their maximum bet amounts when they initially sign up with VIE.gg. Any subsequent increase to those levels requires a 30 day cooling off period to make sure players do not get carried away.
4. The recent addition of pool betting is a further extension of the P2P model, which allows groups of opposing fans to wager against each other when their teams go head to head.
5. Given the fact some esports fans bet on esports, Dignitas fans may as well bet on a safe platform that also supports the organization.
Dignitas CEO Michael Prindiville stated, “Esports Entertainment Group and Vie.gg offer a premier destination for our fans to engage with the games they love in ways that play upon a competitive spirit that is decidedly Dignitas in nature. The future of Dignitas is bound to our fans and the way they engage, interact, share and are moved by our content, products, players, streamers and more. The partnership with Esports Entertainment Group and Vie.gg is extremely natural; we are connected in our shared dedication to developing and amplifying the gaming space in this period of rapid and inspiring growth, and as it blends naturally with entertainment, music, lifestyle, and more.”
Grant Johnson, CEO of Esports Entertainment Group stated, “I am very proud of this new partnership with HBSE and their Dignitas esports brand, which is founded in our shared common beliefs of player safety above all else. I look forward to sharing our incredible product with Dignitas’ highly engaged fan base over the next three years and beyond. For Esports Entertainment Group, a partnership of this calibre is a significant milestone for our shareholders and tremendous validation of both our P2P esports wagering model and future plans within the esports world.”
This press release is available on our Online Investor Relations Community for shareholders and potential shareholders to ask questions, receive answers and collaborate with management in a fully moderated forum at https://agoracom.com/ir/EsportsEntertainmentGroup
RedChip investor relations Esports Entertainment Group Investor Page:
http://www.gmblinfo.com
ABOUT DIGNITAS
Dignitas is an international esports team with one of the most iconic and recognizable brands in the professional gaming industry that fields teams in seven of esports' largest and most popular games: Apex Legends, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Rocket League, SMITE, Clash Royale and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and League of Legends through the recent merger with Clutch Gaming. Dignitas' innovative and authentic brand position offers a premier opportunity for partners seeking a direct portal into the gaming and esports market. Dignitas was originally formed in September 2003 with the merger of two Battlefield 1942 teams. In September 2016, Dignitas was acquired by the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association. Dignitas is a part of the Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment family of innovative and competitive holdings owned by an investor group led by Managing Partners Josh Harris and David Blitzer, which also includes the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League, and the Prudential Center, world-renowned arena in Newark, N.J. In June 2019, Dignitas merged with the Houston Rocket’s owned and operated Clutch Gaming, to form a new, gaming-centric, media and entertainment company.
ABOUT VIE.GG
VIE.gg offers bet exchange style wagering on esports events in a licensed, regulated and secured platform to the global esports audience, excluding jurisdictions that prohibit online gambling. VIE.gg features wagering on the following esports games:
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO)
- League of Legends
- Dota 2
- Call of Duty
- Overwatch
- PUBG
- Hearthstone
- StarCraft II
VIE.gg has announced affiliate marketing partnerships with 190 esports teams from around the world and expects that number to increase in 2019.
ABOUT ESPORTS ENTERTAINMENT GROUP
Esports Entertainment Group, Inc. is a licensed online gambling company with a specific focus on esports wagering and 18+ gaming. Esports Entertainment offers bet exchange style wagering on esports events in a licensed, regulated and secure platform to the global esports audience at vie.gg. In addition, Esports Entertainment intends to offer users from around the world the ability to participate in multi-player mobile and PC video game tournaments for cash prizes. Esports Entertainment is led by a team of industry professionals and technical experts from the online gambling and the video game industries, and esports. The Company holds licenses to conduct online gambling and 18+ gaming on a global basis in Curacao, Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Company maintains offices in Malta, Curacao and Warsaw, Poland. Esports Entertainment common stock is listed on the OTCQB under the symbol GMBL. For more information visit www.esportsentertainmentgroup.com
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
The information contained herein includes forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or to our future financial performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond our control and which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Any forward-looking statement reflects our current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to our operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. We assume no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. The safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 protects companies from liability for their forward-looking statements if they comply with the requirements of the Act.
Contact:
Corporate Finance
+356-2757-7000 (Malta)
ir@esportsentertainmentgroup.com
Media & Investor Relations Inquiries
AGORACOM
ESPO@agoracom.com
http://agoracom.com/ir/eSportsEntertainmentGroup
U.S. Investor Relations
RedChip
Dave Gentry
407-491-4498
info@redchip.com