Luckbox set for possible merger, acquisition
Sharpr is a weekly newsletter covering the intersection of esports, betting, and Gen Z
Hi everyone, Cody here.
Today we’re taking a closer look at a possible merger or acquisition on the horizon for Luckbox, Counter-Strike’s recent move to tighten up the length of games, and more.
Other than that, I admit that Bill Belicheck’s challenge flag throw from this past weekend’s game against the Dolphins has been living rent-free in my mind.
Let’s get into it.
In this week’s edition of Sharpr…
Luckbox set for possible merger, acquisition.
Valve motions to shorten length of Counter-Strike 2 matches.
Unikrn teams up with Gamers Club.
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Luckbox set for possible merger, acquisition
Real Luck Group, operator of esports betting platform Luckbox, has unveiled it has received a Letter of Intent (LOI) for a potential merger or acquisition.
The company says the deal will provide the company with resources and capital to fund its ongoing operations and growth.
The transaction is contingent upon approval from the TSX Venture Exchange.
Real Luck Group says it expects an initial capital injection by the end of September and to subsequently finalize the transaction.
Luckbox also filed its Q2 2023 earnings in late-August – here’s the takeaway stats:
Betting handle was approximately $8.5M, up from $7M in Q1.
Revenue was $422,784, dropping 8% sequentially from $461,741 in Q1.
Net loss was $2M, down from $3.28M in Q1.
Marketing and advertising was $752,715 – a 60% decrease from the prior quarter.
As of June 30, Real Luck Group had $1.25M in cash and assets.
Real Luck Group CEO Thomas Rosander added that, in addition to “operational improvements” seen in its Q2 results, its B2B product “is being received well by large potential B2C customers” in a press statement.
🔎 Between the lines: Luckbox has shown steep growth in the last year across just about every KPI.
It’s revenue for H1 2022 was just $24,000 – this year, it’s over $884,000. Player registrations have tripled since Q4 2022, reaching 450,000 this quarter. The company generated $6M more in betting handle in Q2 than it had in the entirety of FY22.
However, the operator’s burn rate is catching up with its cash balance. With a $2M net loss in Q2 and around $580,000 in unrestricted cash left on its balance sheet, capital injection will be critical for Luckbox.
Valve motions to shorten length of Counter-Strike 2 matches
Game developer Valve revealed that the competitive mode for Counter-Strike 2 will move to a Max Round 12 format in order to shorten the length of matches.
A Counter-Strike match is played in two halves – one half as terrorists, and the other as counter-terrorist.
For over a decade, Counter-Strike had utilized an MR15 format, meaning that each half spanned 15 rounds, with teams needing to claim 16 rounds to win a match; under MR12, teams only need to win 13 rounds to best their opponents.
The length of an average Counter-Strike match has become more dreadfully apparent. According to data from HLTV, a full best-of-three CS:GO is 3 hours and 29 minutes on average, which is longer than most major sports – just see the graph below.
The research points out that a viewer could watch two Formula 1 races before the average three-map Counter-Strike match is finished. Perhaps more importantly is that matches are around 40 minutes longer than a best-of-three in Valorant, the tactical first-person shooter game which has cut into Counter-Strike’s player base.
Veteran esports producer and broadcaster Jason Baker said watching Counter-Strike was a “commitment” in an HLTV interview, also noting that abbreviating matches could benefit the viewing experience for fans as well.
"But right now, unless there's a blow-out, it's a commitment to watch Counter-Strike, and there's so much other competition for eyeballs. Give people some instant gratification a little bit.
“The longer your days go, things get missed,” he said. “If you can keep overall broadcast days into the 10 to 12-hour range, you're gonna have a better broadcast.”
🔎 Between the lines: It’s no secret that attention spans are shortening, with Microsoft’s now-infamous study claiming Gen Z loses concentration faster than a goldfish.
Sports stakeholders are well aware of the trend. Leagues such as the NBA and NFL were rumored to have weighed options to accelerate games while the MLB introduced the pitch clock this season – trimming around 25 minutes off a nine-inning game.
Counter-Strike is the first esport to follow this trend by paring down its broadcast, and it raises the question whether we’ll see more publishers follow suit. A full best-of-five in League of Legends or Dota 2 can last more than three hours, which, again, is still longer than most other sports broadcasts.
While the data highlights how the length of esports could be tiresome (and I’ve indeed felt it during my days covering Counter-Strike), it’s a topic that has yet to be broached in gaming.
It’s something worth thinking about, though – as the esports audience ages up into adulthood, fans may not have the same time to commit to watching full-length matches, and Valve’s move to tighten up games could open up the doors for the same discussion in other esports.
Unikrn teams up with Gamers Club
Unikrn has announced a partnership with LATAM-focused gaming tournament platform Gamers Club.
Beginning in October, Unikrn will offer “custom odds” on its peer-to-peer product UMode for the “most dedicated” CS:GO players in Brazil and Chile.
First deposits on Unikrn will count toward a free entry to one of Gamers Club’s online tournaments.
Gamers Club will also host a series of CS:GO tournaments held on custom, Unikrn-branded maps.
The partnership is the operator’s latest since striking a deal with Team Liquid in February. Like its deal with Gamers Club, the Team Liquid agreement was focused on the Latin American market.
All things considered, Unikrn’s partnership features solid integration – branded maps, concessions between both products, and focus on a targeted community.
🗞 In the news
DraftKings has registered a trademark for “CashPicks,” said to be a mobile fantasy sports app.
The hackers behind the BetMGM and Caesars cyberattacks claim to have stolen six terabytes of data.
Bayes Esports has extended its partnership agreement with DATA.BET.
📈 By the numbers
New research from Deloitte claims 67% of fans expect sports consumption to be more interactive by 2030.
Fanatics had its best month by GGR since launching in April at $1.1M, though it was still $470,000 in the red on an NGR basis due to heavy bonuses.
US casinos have their best July ever, winning nearly $5.4B from gamblers.
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*Disclaimer: I am a full-time employee of Rivalry.