Sports and entertainment rights holders are empowered by digital collectibles that are tradable assets to be utilized in prediction games
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Victory Square Technologies Inc. (“Victory Square” or “Company” ) (CSE:VST) (OTC:VSQTF) (FWB:6F6) portfolio company, GameOn Entertainment Technologies (“GameOn”) (CSE:GET) (FSE: 9E7), the leader in providing broadcasters, TV networks, OTT platforms, leagues, tournaments and sportsbooks with interactive, social experiences around sports, TV and live events, today announced a partnership with NFT platform Blockparty to launch a first-of-its-kind NFT Predictor product.
By harnessing the power of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and blockchain technology, sports and entertainment rights holders can now turn their digital collectibles into valuable assets to be collected, traded and utilized by fans via a unique predictive gaming product that brings them closer to their favorite sports, TV and live events.
“We’re bullish that utility is paramount in any successful collectibles experience,” said Matt Bailey, CEO of GameOn. “IP holders are demanding new ways to harness blockchain technology and digital collectibles, not just minting and selling NFTs. Our predictive gaming platform that’s built, tested and in the market, allows the gamification of NFTs and helps IP holders create a more rewarding, authentic and engaging experience for their fans whether it’s for sports, TV or live events.”
The NFT Predictor, spearheaded by Santiago Jaramillo, former Head of Sports at Dapper Labs (NBA Top Shot), enables fans of rights holders who partner with GameOn to build up their collection by acquiring NFTs—images, video or audio—by either purchasing packs or via a marketplace. From there, they leverage those assets to make predictions about upcoming events and are rewarded with exclusive NFTs for finishing high on the leaderboard. Completed collections of high-value NFTs can then be traded in for real-life rewards including tickets, merchandise and other exclusive offerings.
GameOn will leverage Blockparty’s platform to issue NFTs on the blockchain, allowing content partners to add permanent, tamper-proof watermarks to the collectibles to ensure legitimacy. This will give fans, creators and collectors a way to validate the collectible’s rarity and authenticity while using them as a utility in predictive gaming.
“Our mission is to empower brands to form deeper connections with their communities and fans through digital collectibles,” said Vladislav Ginzburg, CEO of Blockparty. “We’re so excited to partner with GameOn, a company as equally passionate about utility-driven NFTs, to give sports and entertainment rights holders the opportunity to use digital assets in a first-of-its-kind game experience while driving deeper engagement between fans and their favorite content.”
NFTs and digital collectibles exploded into culture, particularly sports, in early 2021 thanks to the popularity of NBA Top Shot, where users would unpack, collect and trade basketball highlights called Moments. A LeBron James’ dunk made headlines in April when it sold for more than $387,000 in NBA Top Shot’s peer-to-peer marketplace.
Digital collectibles continued to grow in popularity as brands, organizations, athletes and celebrities including Taco Bell, Patrick Mahomes, Nike, Lindsay Lohan and Pringles released NFTs. Digital collectibles are still utilized in sports as organizations, leagues and athletes continue to see value in this new fan engagement with the New Jersey Devils becoming the first NHL organization to sell an NFT in May and MLB announcing a long-term deal with Candy Digital in June.
“Not only does the NFT Predictor product extend fan engagement for IP holders, but it creates a much greater opportunity from a revenue-share standpoint as NFTs perpetually generate revenue when they’re bought and resold,” Bailey said. “We aren’t an NFT company or a blockchain company, and this isn’t another version of NBA Top Shot; this is another innovative string in our bow that helps us on our mission to empower the most-watched content with the world’s most innovative predictive gaming technologies.”
GameOn has a dynamic and experienced management team led by its CEO, Matt Bailey (Brooklyn Nets, Barclays Center) and Chief Product Officer, Santi Jaramillo (Dapper Labs, NBA Top Shot, EA Sports), as well as its Directors, J Moses (Take-Two Interactive), Shafin Tejani (Victory Square Technologies), Liz Schimel (Apple News) and Carey Dillen (YYoga). GameOn began trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) under the symbol ‘GET’ on June 1, 2021, and recently announced an exclusive partnership with Indian entertainment super app MX Player that will introduce cricket prediction games for mobile.
Media Relations Contact – Howard Blank, Director Email: howard@victorysquare.com Telephone: 604-928-6066
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