Reading Time: 4 minutes

The National Basketball Association has just turned 73 years old and is one of the four major leagues for professional level sports in North America. Thanks to this age and prominence, it is often considered the world’s leading basketball league, with good reason. Whilst comprising of teams only from the United States and Canada, the NBA attracts many international players who join from every continent. In addition, the average NBA team is worth $1.9 billion, considerably more than teams in other leagues.

Expanding the Empire

The NBA is currently enacting a strategy to leverage its brand around the world, developing audiences in regions outside of the United States including the UK, Africa and China. As part of this it recently announced the launch of a NBA YouTube channel to stream games to sub-Saharan audiences.

The eSports Expansion

In 2017, the NBA and games developer Take-Two Interactive announced that 17 of the 30 NBA teams would be taking part in the inaugural NBA 2K eSports League. This list included big names like the New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers and the Toronto Raptors. The first of these eSports games took place in 2018, using the NBA 2K video games. Like real life games, NBA 2K eSports League games are contested between two teams of 5 players, making use of the “Pro-Am” mode found in the consumer version of NBA 2K 2018.

Just like in real life basketball, the eSports teams are generally made up of the following types of player:

• Point guard: generally taking the on court leadership role for the team, typically having the best ball handling and passing skills to assist in creating shots
• Shooting guard: typically the best shooter on the team, tasked with exploiting these skills, particularly when shooting from behind the three-point line
• Small forward: often considered the most versatile position of the five, the small forward often takes on the role of the shooting guard, but is more likely to score baskets from lay-ups or slam dunks in contrast to the shooting guard’s three-point shooting abilities
• Power forward: a versatile role, similar to the centre, which requires shooting and defence skills against all types of players
• Centre: typically the tallest players, defending against shots and collecting rebounds.

The “eSeason”

In the real world, the NBA Championship will be decided between the Toronto Raptors and the Golden State Warriors in mid June. Currently, odds comparison site Oddschecker is ranking the Raptors as favourites to take the crown. However, the NBA 2K eSports season begins in spring and finishes in summer. This timing allows the NBA to have its brand utilised for a larger portion of the year, beyond the end of the traditional basketball season.

eSports has become a multi million dollar industry.  Photo by Anthony Brolin, License

First Mover Advantage

The NBA’s announcement in 2017 that it would be launching the NBA 2K eSports League meant that it was the first major sports brand in the United States to enter the world of eSports. In contrast, most other eSports leagues are organised by tech companies like Intel – or games companies like Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite. Therefore, if the NBA is successful it will have several years of development to build a loyal eSports fan base, before rivals such as the National Football League or Major League Baseball join the party.

Growing Already

After a successful first year, four additional real life NBA teams will be joining the NBA 2K eSports League lineup, bringing the total number to 21. These new teams are: the Atlanta Hawks, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Brooklyn Nets and the Minnesota Timberwolves.The growth provides mutual benefits, since the teams will bring with them their own existing supporters who are more likely to follow their team’s eSports team, than an unknown entrant. In addition, the fans of eSports are likely to also gain a stronger interest in the real life team, buying merchandise and visiting games.

Live Streaming

Just as traditional sports leagues like the NBA have sold rights to air games on TV, the NBA 2K eSports League has signed a deal to have its games streamed live over the internet. The deal with streaming platform Twitch sees all games shown live, available to its audience of 15 million daily active users. The multi year streaming deal also includes commentary and analysis, just like you would expect from traditional TV coverage of any other sport.

The NBA 2K eSports deal is not Twitch’s first with the NBA. In December 2017, the two companies signed a deal that enabled Twitch to live stream games from the NBA G League, the official minor league, with up to 6 matches each week being distributed on the platform.

Sponsorship

Just like traditional sports leagues, the NBA 2K eSports League has signed a number of major sponsorship deals with large companies. Games are played on computers provided by gaming PC brand Alienware, using powerful processing chipsets supplied by Intel. Players use HyperX sponsored headsets and Scuf Gaming branded controllers. Teams also have their own sponsors, with their logos displayed on the teams’ in-game uniforms, just like in real life.

Conclusion

The growth in eSports has been massive, with large sums of money now being invested in creating leagues with all of the hallmarks of a traditional sport. In its quest to become a global sports brand, the NBA has been able to leverage its existing assets to create a large following in eSports, almost overnight. By launching the league in 2018 with 17 existing NBA teams, the NBA 2K eSports League already had loyal fans of 17 established sports clubs who would want to support them. Thus, it has a pre-made fanbase, huge financial assets and an established brand to leverage sponsorship deals and to use in negotiations when selling streaming rights.

In addition, the NBA’s venture into eSports is a significant opportunity to expand the reach of its brand into new geographic regions, as well as to new demographics that had not previously been interested in basketball. Even if a player does not become an avid watcher of NBA games, sales of the NBA 2K video game titles are also likely to benefit from the exposure of the NBA 2K eSports League.

Source: Latest News on European Gaming Media Network
This is a Syndicated News piece. Photo credits or photo sources can be found on the source article: How the NBA is Making Waves in eSports

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Spinsane, the latest release from NetEnt’s world-leading production studio, is a high-energy game with a land-based feel and big pay-out potential. The 5-reel, 3-row, 27-line video slot is based on classic stepper mechanics and has a look and feel that brings the ultimate slot machine experience, boosted with suspense effects randomly activated to add to the excitement.

Get ready for super fun in the superhero-themed slot Spinfinity Man by Betsoft Gaming. Featuring a 7×7 cluster grid and wins of up to 5000x, there’s plenty to be excited about. Not only can our titular hero use his superpowers to amass huge wins, but he’s also ready to face off against his evil nemesis: the dastardly Mr. X. Chase him through Metropolis and battle for your chance to win huge in the bonus rounds!

Quickspin, the Sweden based slot specialist, has released its first ever jackpot game, Dragon Chase. This 3×5 reel slot with 20 betlines boasts a stunning Asian theme steeped in traditional symbols, with striking graphics accompanied by beautiful themed music. Dragon Chase boasts several fantastic features, such as “Dragon Pearl Respin,” that are guaranteed to create a unique and thrilling gaming experience. In the Dragon Pearl Respin feature, users can collect up to 15 Dragon Pearl symbols to trigger the Mini, Minor, Major, or Grand Jackpot. The more symbols, the higher the jackpot level.

Realistic Games is offering players the chance to win big Down Under with its latest release, Aussie Adventure. The five-reel slot features some of the country’s most iconic sights and sounds, with bouncing kangaroos, shrimps on the barbie, a surfing koala on Bondi Beach, and the infamous digeridoos. Aussie Adventure gives players the chance to fly to Australia in the free spins bonus round, where they’re greeted with upside down reels, a retrigger chance at any point, and a jackpot of up to 250x their starting stake.

Kalamba Games has released its latest fun-filled title Joker 3600, offering players a nostalgic 80s themed slot experience with the chance to win big. Joker 3600’s 80s theme incorporates elements of classic computing, movies, toys and of course fruit, as well as other media particularly resonant with 40+ demographic. Joker 3600is exclusively distributed on the ORYX Gaming platform and is now available to leading casino operators.

Pragmatic Play, one of the leading software providers for video slots, live casino and bingo, has unveiled its latest premium slot game, 5 Lions Gold. Offering 243 ways to win, the engaging 3×5 video slot features distinctive golden symbols including frogs, turtles and dragons. Three yin-yang scatter symbols trigger the free spins feature, while the lion symbol is a substituting wild which appears randomly on reels two, three and four.

Microgaming, has launched Ruby Casino Queen, developed exclusively by Just For The Win. This luxurious five-reel, 20-payline slot transports players into a glamorous world of riches. Ruby Casino Queen features respins, free spins and three types of wilds, all accompanied by sumptuous sounds and dazzling graphics.

Source: Latest News on European Gaming Media Network
This is a Syndicated News piece. Photo credits or photo sources can be found on the source article: Week 24 slot games releases

Reading Time: 1 minute

Sports betting revenue in West Virginia has increased by 69% in May to $937,065, while amounts wagered rose 4%.

The Penn National Gaming-operated Hollywood Casino remains the leading venue in the state generating $672,070 in revenue from $7.64m staked. Eldorado Resorts’ Mountaineer Casino ranked second with revenue of $222,736 and total wagers of $2.84m.

Delaware North’s Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack and Mardi Gras Casino did not accept any wagers again last month as its sportsbooks remained closed. Neither casino has processed any sports bets since early March. However, both the Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack and Mardi Gras Casino paid out on a number of bets placed prior to the split, leaving them with minor losses for the month.

Source: Latest News on European Gaming Media Network
This is a Syndicated News piece. Photo credits or photo sources can be found on the source article: Sports Betting Revenue of West Virginia Increases in May