Latest News
Tekkorp Capital Announces Partnership with Circle Squared
Tekkorp Capital, the betting and gaming industry M&A and advisory powerhouse, has announced a new partnership with Circle Squared.
As a recently launched consultancy, Circle Squared, created by a quartet of respected and experienced industry professionals, now receives the immediate validation of having been selected as Tekkorp’s exclusive partner for all areas of Technical Strategy, including due diligence.
Tekkorp hand-picked Circle Squared to tap into the decades of collective experience which the four-strong team brings across delivering large scale tech platforms and transformation
programs for the betting and gaming industry. Partners Clyde Harris, Graham Cassell, Mick d’Ancona and Peter Sherman have worked with, and for, some of the biggest names in the gaming and betting industry, including Ladbrokes, OpenBet, Paddy Power, Betfair, Flutter and Caesars Entertainment.
The Tekkorp team offers deep experience of M&A, JVs, strategic partnerships, disposals, carve-outs and fundraising, highlighted by $24bn of deal value completed in the digital gaming space. Its current and historical knowledge of the corporate strategies, personalities and M&A tactics of the buyer universe affords Tekkorp and its clients a unique vantage point from which to solve complex business issues across technology selection, product due diligence, contract negotiation, entry strategy and competition comparison.
Consequently, Circle Squared will benefit from Tekkorp’s global reach and unparalleled access to the marketplace, as well as working alongside its top tier executive team. Founded by Matt Davey, Tekkorp Capital was set up to advise and invest in public and private companies who innovate in the global digital gaming ecosystem, and has put together an enviable team of deal-makers and strategic advisers, such as the ex-head of corporate strategy and development at The Stars Group, Robin Chhabra, former CEO of William Hill Online, Crispin Nieboer, and former William Hill US Chief Financial Officer, Mark McMillan.
“Circle Squared have quickly demonstrated that their experience, coupled with a structured and common sense approach to gaming technology, makes them easy to work with and produces quality output. We look forward to continuing this fruitful collaboration across a diversity of deals and structures,” said Tekkorp Capital CEO, Robin Chhabra.
“Our consulting services across a broad range of areas already cover market-entry and growth strategy, product and technology diligence, target suitability analysis, media partnerships and vendor selection. Now the Circle Squared team will help sharpen up the technical end of these services for our clients.”
Mick d’Ancona, one of the founders of Circle Squared added: “The Circle Squared team are delighted to be partnering with the advisors at Tekkorp Capital. Tekkorp is the best in the business in their space, and we’re excited to be able to bring our insight and expertise to help support them in their advisory and deal-execution activities.
“Tekkorp is retained by some significant blue-chip global gaming companies to help them solve their most pressing strategic issues. And we’re looking forward to adding our combined nous and abilities to sharpen their already multifaceted due-diligence acumen. Whether it’s competition comparison, general suitability analysis, specific technical product testing, background operational insight, or contractual stress-testing, Circle Squared brings an array of capabilities to the table.”
Latest News
Crypto Sportsbook, Sportsbet.io’s player wins huge $3.2m jackpot from $5 spin
A lucky Sportsbet.io player is celebrating the win of a lifetime after turning a single 5 USDT spin into a 3.2 million USDT jackpot on a popular slot game.
The huge winner was playing Midnight Marauder Dream Drop with perfect timing, with their spin triggering Relax Gaming’s Dream Drop Mega Jackpot of more than $3 million in the USDT stablecoin currency.
Alex Haig, Director at Sportsbet.io, said: “Another day, another multi-million dollar jackpot dropping on Sportsbet.io. We’re quickly gaining a reputation for jackpot wins, and this latest player is truly living the dream by turning $5 into $3.2 million. With one of the best collections of premium games to choose from, it won’t be long before more life-changing jackpots are won on Sportsbet.io.”
It isn’t the first time Sportsbet.io players have landed multi-million dollar paydays on the site.
Earlier this year one sports bettor landed $3 million on an ambitious, seven-way multibet.
And at the end of last year, another player won the largest slots jackpot in history, turning a single $50 spin into an incredible $42 million prize with Games Global’s WowPot!™ progressive jackpot.
Asia
Savvy Games Delegation Joins More Than 30,000 Fans for Tencent and Hero Esports’ Honor of Kings Grand Finals in Beijing
The inaugural King Pro League Grand Finals 2024, the biggest esports event in China, drew more than 30,000 fans to a sold-out Beijing Workers’ Stadium on Nov 16. A delegation from Savvy Games and the Esports World Cup Foundation also joined the iconic event hosted by Chinese tech giant Tencent and the largest esports company in Asia, Hero Esports (formerly known as VSPO).
HRH Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, Vice Chairman of Savvy Games Group (Savvy); Brian Ward, CEO of Savvy; and Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation, attended the tournament where two top Chinese esports teams competed for the inaugural Holy Dragon Cup and a record prize pool.
A total of 70 million rmb ($9.8 million) was awarded to the top 12 teams who advanced through the rounds of the six-week-long tournament. The final showdown was between Chengdu All Gamers and Chongqing Wolves, where Chengdu All Gamers emerged victorious in a best-of-seven series and took home 22 million rmb ($3.1 million) in prize money.
King Pro League, the premier esports league for Tencent’s hit game Honor of Kings, is the biggest esports league in Asia. Honor of Kings is the world’s most popular mobile game with more than 100 million daily players. Hero Esports has been the organizer of KPL tournaments since the league was first launched in 2016.
This year marks the inaugural KPL Grand Finals, which replaces the Honor of Kings International Championship for Chinese Honor of Kings competitors and features the top teams from across China, one of the biggest esports markets in the world with the most players. Events were held at arenas in Chengdu, Hangzhou and Changsha, with the Grand Finals event being held in Beijing.
The popularity of esports is growing rapidly around the world, encouraged by government support in a number of countries and new products and technology. According to a Frost & Sullivan Report, the market size of the esports gaming industry has experienced a significant increase at a CAGR of 15.2% from US$29.8 billion in 2017 to US$52.6 billion in 2021, and is expected to increase further at a CAGR of 12.1% from US$57.9 billion in 2022 to US$102.4 billion in 2027.
The report also shows that the number of gamers globally has experienced a significant increase at a CAGR of 7.1% from 2.3 billion in 2017 to 3.1 billion in 2021, and is expected to further increase at a CAGR of 5.5% from 3.3 billion in 2022 to 4.3 billion in 2027.
Danny Tang, CEO and Co-Founder of Hero Esports, commented: “Hero Esports is proud to have been a part of the first King Pro League Grand Finals, which is an example of the high calibre esports tournaments that fans and players everywhere deserve. The strong enthusiasm we’ve seen for this event in its first year is a testament to the significant growth of interest in this sport and the support of our high-profile sponsors. The atmosphere in the arena was electric and we congratulate the Chengdu All Gamers in winning the inaugural Holy Dragon Cup.”
Hero Esports, formerly known as VSPO, is a leading player in the global esports industry, collaborating with major game developers and global brands and organizing tournaments for players and fans across the world. It is the biggest esports tournament operator in Asia, having hosted 86 tournaments in the region in 2023, of which 62 were in China, compared with a total of 77 tournaments in 2020, of which three were overseas. The company recently announced the Esports Asian Champions League (ACL), Asia’s new premier international esports tournament featuring multiple titles.
Sponsors of the King Pro League Grand Finals 2024 include Meituan, Snapdragon and SAIC Volkswagen and iQOO.
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