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Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast Announce Major Esports Entrance For Magic: The Gathering®
Reading Time: 3 minutes
$10 Million in combined prize pool up for grabs in 2019
New Magic Pro League offers play and streaming contracts worth $75,000
New Mythic Championship events anchor the Magic tournament structure
First $1 Million tournament to be held at PAX East in 2019
Game Awards, Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast announced a brand new esports program coming in 2019 for Magic: The Gathering, which boasts a $10 million prize pool across digital and tabletop Magic.
“Today is an extremely important day for Magic: The Gathering as we announce our commitment to esports and our Magic players by evolving our tournament structure to include a $10 Million prize pool.” said Chris Cocks, President of Wizards of the Coast. “We are fully embracing esports and affirming Magic as a leader in the collectible card game category while providing lucrative opportunities for pros, players, sponsors, and esports partners.”
With over 35 Million Magic players to date in over 70 countries around the world, Magic’s new esports structure is designed to appeal to a wide audience of card game players and offers an open platform to allow all Magic players the opportunity to compete.
The Magic Pro League (MPL) establishes a new level of professional play and features 32 of the top ranked Magic players from around the world. Players in the MPL are offered play and streaming contracts worth $75,000. Members of the MPL will play in weekly match-ups on Magic: The Gathering Arena® that will lead to newly introduced Mythic Championship events.
Mythic Championships are the new flagship competitions for Magic: The Gathering Arena esports and tabletop Magic competitive play. Mythic Championships will feature MPL players battling against challengers from the Magic community. The Magic: The Gathering Arena esports program kicks off with a $1 Million Mythic Invitational at PAX East 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. More details on how to climb the ranks and battle the pros will be revealed in early 2019.
“The past 25 years of Magic competition has led us to design this comprehensive esports program that would support Magic: The Gathering Arena, while increasing our investment in tabletop Magic,” said Elaine Chase, Vice President of Esports at Wizards of the Coast. “Our investment in esports will catapult the game to new heights while providing support to the players by giving them the platform to build their brand and bring Magic to a broader audience.”
ABOUT HASBRO
Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) is a global play and entertainment company committed to Creating the World’s Best Play Experiences. From toys and games to television, movies, digital gaming and consumer products, Hasbro offers a variety of ways for audiences to experience its iconic brands, including NERF®, MY LITTLE PONY®, TRANSFORMERS®, PLAY-DOH®, MONOPOLY®, BABY ALIVE® and MAGIC: THE GATHERING, as well as premier partner brands. Through its entertainment labels, Allspark Pictures and Allspark Animation, the Company is building its brands globally through great storytelling and content on all screens. Hasbro is committed to making the world a better place for children and their families through corporate social responsibility and philanthropy. Hasbro ranked No. 5 on the 2018 100 Best Corporate Citizens list by CR Magazine and has been named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies® by Ethisphere Institute for the past seven years. Learn more at www.hasbro.com
ABOUT WIZARDS OF THE COAST
Wizards of the Coast brings people together through their shared love of games. Magic: The Gathering®, Dungeons & Dragons®, and other Wizards games are enjoyed by friends around the world, both at gaming tables and on digital platforms. We bring together world-class creators in game design, worldbuilding, fantasy art, and interactive events to create unforgettable moments. Wizards of the Coast is a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS). For more information, visit www.wizards.com.
Source: Wizards of the Coast
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Levy announcement: GamCare statement and data
Statement:
Mark Weiss, Deputy CEO and Director of Communications and External Affairs at GamCare, commented: “We welcome today’s announcement from the Government on the statutory levy and look forward to working with the NHS, other providers and future commissioners to ensure the success of the new treatment, prevention and research system.
“At GamCare, our priority is making sure that people who need support for gambling harms receive it as quickly and effectively as possible. With a record 55,000 people calling the National Gambling Helpline last year alone, now is the right time for this important clarity on the future system.
“With 27 years’ experience running the National Gambling Helpline, GamCare plays a vital role ensuring people can access gambling harms support when they need it most.
“Just as we welcome this renewed focus on treatment, we recognise the importance of protecting vulnerable people, particularly children, before harms escalate. That’s why we welcome the Government’s emphasis on prevention. Having witnessed a steep rise in our Helpline callers citing difficulties with online slots, GamCare further welcomes the introduction of new youth-focussed stake limits – an important step in preventing future harm.”
Additional new data from GamCare
- Almost half of calls (45%) to the National Gambling Helpline now cite issues with online slot machine games.
- The proportion of calls to the National Gambling Helpline citing issues with online slot machine games has increased by one-third since the pandemic, according to the gambling support charity GamCare.
- The charity found that, of the 6697 callers who disclosed a form of gambling to Advisers on the Helpline in 2023-2024*, 45 per cent cited challenges with gambling on online slot games, a figure which stood at 34 per cent in 2020-2021.
Activity | 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 |
Online Slots | 33.6% | 45.8% | 43.9% | 44.6% |
The post Levy announcement: GamCare statement and data appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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Play’n GO announces exclusive game launch with Hard Rock Bet
Play’n GO, the world’s leading casino entertainment provider, has today announced the release of a new game title available exclusively to Hard Rock Bet online casino players in New Jersey.
Play’n GO recently announced the beginning of its partnership with Hard Rock Digital to provide premium content for its highly-rated Hard Rock Bet online casino in New Jersey.
The Swedish-founded gaming giant partnered up with the renowned global entertainment brand to create Hard Rock Pork N Roll, a spin-off of another wildly popular Play’n GO title, Piggy Blitz. The resulting game is the outcome of many months of collaboration and is predicted to entertain Hard Rock Bet players in the same style as its predecessor.
Magnus Olsson, Chief Commercial Officer at Play’n GO, commented “Our formal partnership with Hard Rock Digital is still in its relative infancy, but many months of work have gone into both the partnership itself and the design of this game, with input from both businesses. We’re excited by this new exclusive title, and it is a testament to the innovation and creativity of our game designers to create a fun spin-off of one of our classic titles. Hard Rock Pork N Roll is sure to be a huge success- the name of the game alone makes it stand out as an instant classic! This game is evidence of our ability to create top-quality, bespoke content for all of our customers, something we’re looking forward to doing more of in future.”
Grant Williams, SVP-Casino, Hard Rock Digital added “Our ‘Only at Hard Rock’ section continues to grow with another exclusive, bespoke experience and the addition of Hard Rock Pork N Roll—an immersive title that seamlessly weaves signature Hard Rock elements into the gameplay. Working with Play’n Go on this custom creation has set the standard for future collaboration, and we’re confident that Hard Rock Pork N Roll will quickly become a headliner among the 2,300+ games on our top-rated app.”
To find out more about Play’n GO and its Hard Rock Digital partnership, as well as its US activity, please visit playngo.com.
The post Play’n GO announces exclusive game launch with Hard Rock Bet appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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Stretch Network announces Black Friday Weekend Tournament
Black Friday Weekend is here! Stretch Network introduces another player-focused initiative – the Black Friday Weekend promotion. Running from November 29th to December 1st, this event offers up to 90% discounts on buy-ins for the World Poker League tournament series.
Here’s how it works:
- Players register for special phase tournaments at a reduced cost.
- These 2-minute events don’t require player actions and provide the same starting stack as the target tournament.
- After the phase tournament ends, players are automatically registered for the main event.
- Players already in the target tournament will have their stacks combined for added excitement.
Raise with us to go all-in on player satisfaction.
The post Stretch Network announces Black Friday Weekend Tournament appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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