Where is the money? Mobile, Mobile, Mobile

ePlay operates in US$1.1B eSports, US$107B mobile games, US$107B mobile advertising, US$150B Sports Advertising and US$37.9B Sports Gaming Market

In 2018, the USD$150B traditional sports advertising market still towers in size over esports and sports gaming (gambling) at over USD$100B more revenue than esports and sports gaming combined. At the same time the growth of mobile advertising and mobile games, a combined USD$207B industry, points to a clear path of growth. What are the 3 things to know about sports, esports, and entertainment revenue growth? Mobile, mobile, mobile.

Esports

Esports is big and growing based on almost 100% console gaming. That is now changing with mobile esports. Starting this year key developments such as: new mobile games and esports teams that are suited to competitive play and new technology from Apple and Youtube have come online. In addition, game developers like SuperCell (Tencent) and ePlay are pushing hard with mobile games that are suited for the esports market. Esports is gaining on sports gaming in terms of revenue and may surpass gambling as mobile esports explodes.

"Professional gaming on the smartphone is set to explode in popularity. The question isn’t if," Tencent America’s director of esports Ramon Hermann, "it’s when.“It’s going to get huge, If you travel to Asia, gaming has migrated to mobile. It’s crazy."

China Daily recently reported the esports market in China alone will reach USD $18 billion with over 430 million players and viewers. Pokémon Go is estimated to have a global gross revenue of USD $2.01 billion since 2016. Amateur and professional mobile esports buffeted by mobile advertising, digital goods, skins, sneakers, and hoodies looks to increase 20x in the coming years.

ePlay's Big Shot

ePlay is initially focused in the USD$321B global mobile advertising, mobile game and Augmented Reality verticals and is currently expanding into the fast-growing esports vertical. And, like Tencent, that is what ePlay is doing with the flagship game Big Shot. Like Pokemon Go, Big Shot users explore their surroundings for clues and hints. In Big Shot, they discover NBA athletes instead of monsters, then decide to take a selfie, share their videos and pictures and enter their drafted players into challenges. Big Shot players can stream this whole experience live to Twitch and Youtube.

Big Shot Mobile Esports Streaming

Big Shot players live stream their experiences in the real world as they interact with the virtual world. They share their strategy, their challenges, their tips, and their swag with their fans. A single Big Shot streamer with an audience of 10 multiplies the exposure to the game and the brands contained in the game by 10x. And of course, Big Shot streamers are going to have audiences of all sizes. Big Shot is part of a series of games focused on sports, esports, and entertainment.

Monetization is through in-app purchases and advertising. There ends up being two audiences: Gamers and Viewers. This is one reason why esports is as exciting, or even more exciting, than sports. The market size of advertising to NFL football players is infinitely smaller than advertising to the massive number Pokemon Go and other mobile game players. Live esports audiences will soon rival the size Super Bowl audiences, however, they already surpass the overall audience size - there are just a lot more mobile game players than there are football players. And that’s just it, isn’t it? Almost nobody watching the football game tonight is watching to improve their football skills. But that’s not how esports works right now. Gamers are streaming and viewers are watching to become better gamers. So, selling advertising or in-app purchases becomes important revenue sources in that combined USD$207B industry.

Augmented Reality

Also in the chart above is the projected USD$ 117.4B Augmented Reality (AR) industry (Markets and Markets research). AR opens up brand new in-app purchase and advertising opportunities that will help grow the esports, mobile game, and mobile advertising businesses. So whether its a new skin for a player, activating a beverage lid at the game with the lid-size hockey player, in-game product placement, sneakers, or hoodies, AR will contribute to new revenues in mobile esports. ePlay is partnering with athletes and influencers for unique signed swag, retail activation with localized promotion and creative engagement of clients in their vicinity, and to support their charities. ePlay has developed AR Ad Kit to help advertisers and fans to come together to advertise and sell sneakers, jerseys, backpacks, and ball caps. Advertisers can pay game developers to give these things away to show up in the game and to be streamed to viewers - remember the 2 audiences gamers and viewers.

AR AdKit allows Nike to say, "Meet Lebron at all Nike stores in AR from 2:00 -3:00 PM on Sunday".