Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/803478
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 26 MARCH 2017 VI Gaming Twier adds more esports to live-streaming eorts Germany given green light to revised gambling treaty TWITTER'S latest live streaming deal will see the network gaining access to 1,500 hours of esports competitions, through new part- nerships with ESL and DreamHack, two of the biggest organisations in the pro-gaming world. The agreement brings over 15 events from the ESL One, Intel Extreme Masters and DreamHack circuits to Twitter, where they'll be available for live viewing on the web and mobile devices, through the Twitter app. Esports is a large and growing market, and is estimated to reach over a billion dollars by 2019. Thanks to services like Amazon- owned Twitch, watching players compete in real-time has become more accessible to more casual gaming fans, who can't travel to events to watch in person. This is not Twitter's first step into the esports space, either – the com- pany last year announced a part- nership with Eleague to live stream the organisation's semifinals and championship competitions. The new deal is a bit different, as it's not just a one-off event. In ad- dition to the various live streamed competitions, ESL will produce live original content for Twitter, including a weekly 30-minute show that includes highlights and behind-the-scenes footage. The streams will begin on Saturday, 4 March, with ESL's Intel Extreme Masters Katowice kicking things off, with pro gamers competing on "StarCraft II." The DreamHack events will begin with DreamHack Austin in April. These events, from 28 to 30 April, will feature several titles, including "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive," "StarCraft II," "Street Fighter V," and "Hearthstone." All the streams will be found in Twitter's app, or through dedicated landing pages for the organisations involved: esl.twitter.com, iem.twit- ter.com, and dreamhack.twitter. com. As with its other live stream deals, Twitter will sell TV-style ads against the live content. Plus, it will also offer original highlight and re- cap clips for advertisers to sponsor and promote on Twitter, where it will share in the ad revenue. Both ESL and DreamHack are a part of the international digital entertainment group, MTC, head- quartered in Stockholm, Sweden. According to Marcus Lindmark, CEO & President at DreamHack, Twitter is already a strong esports platform because it's where fans already engage with DreamHack events. "This will be a shortcut for fans, as they can both watch and engage on the platform at the same time," he says. Prior to this deal, ESL had partnered with other streaming platforms like Twitch, YouTube and Facebook to distribute its indi- vidual competitions worldwide. For Twitter, the deal may bring a number of new users to its service, as well as well as give it a way to test out original content, and the advertising potential surrounding that. "Esports is growing at a rapid pace and we see this collaboration as a way to tap into the engaged audience of gamers that are already using Twitter as a primary source of content," said Anthony Noto, COO at Twitter, in a statement. "By partnering with the leading esports companies like ESL and DreamHack, we look forward to bringing the best of esports live video and conversation together on Twitter." DESPITE the heavy criticism from the European Commission (EC), Germany approved a new federal gambling treaty. Industry experts believe that this move could lead to an expansion of Germany's sports betting market. The leaders of 16 states of Ger- many voted to approve the new State Treaty on Gambling. It lifts the previous treaty's controversial cap on the number of available sports betting licences. Further, the treaty aims to increase enforcement against unauthorised operators and allows the future possibility of legalising online casino gambling activity. The treaty, which will take effect on January 2018, must still be ratified by each individual German state. It was reported that politicians of the northern state of Schleswig- Holstein have already advised that the treaty is unlikely to be approved, even though the state has a long tradition of supporting online gambling. Earlier this month, the European Commission expressed its criticism stating that the treaty was "not a viable solution" to the problems highlighted in the failed 2012 treaty. The German Sports Betting As- sociation (DSWV) said the vote was a "small step in the right direction", but the new regulations are "not yet suitable for creating an attractive legal offering" that will convince German punters to support local betting sites. In the meantime, Mybet com- mented: "As a member of the DSWV the company supports the offer by the association to start a dialogue with politicians to develop a mutually satisfactory sustainable solution." Germany's new gambling law has been in a transitional phase since 2012 and is set to come into full force next year