The role of the Launchpad initiative in helping to nurture new, fledgling businesses, was put into sharp focus on day 1 of GiGse, when news broke of the acquisition of former Launchpad finalist, LEET Gaming by Unikrn. Unikrn, CEO, Rahul Sood said the goal was to platformise the LEET brand so that casinos would be able to create localized eSports tournaments and, in the process, create an eSports ecosystem.

Esports

The panel was unequivocal in its view that whilst eSports was not a one size fits all strategy for casinos, it does represent an opportunity to drive traffic to venues. Reviewing the debates, Clarion Gaming’s, Head of Content, Ewa Bakun said: “It’s clear that eSports is a value proposition which is incredibly important to millennials and which requires a mind shift on behalf of operators. The GiGse audience learned about venues converting room suites to bunk rooms in order to host eSports leagues, in the process building a business around eSports and hosting the teams. Anybody who’s thinking 5-10 years down the road has to consider the importance of catering to the millennial. According to Seth Schorr, Chief Executive Officer of Fifth Street Gaming, it is undeniable that people under 30 years are not motivated to play traditional casino games, indeed, he advised they found games of chance both stupid and offensive. He added that eSports wagering will be a huge part of this equation. Replying to a question from the floor, he stated that the money in eSports was from a mix of verticals, including wagering, but also by bringing skill games onto the gaming floor and monetization of the eSports consumer.”

Tribal Gaming Innovation