EBET reportedly pivots from esports with layoffs

Public esports betting company EBET, formerly known as Esports Technologies, is reportedly pivoting from esports.

A change in strategy: It seemingly believes that the casino business will serve it better moving forward.

• EBET has laid off a "large number" of its employees as it moves away from competitive gaming, sources told esports newsletter Sharpr.
• The report states that the betting company is changing its strategy from focusing on its esports offering to instead lean into its casino business.
• While the exact amount of staff impacted by the layoffs was not disclosed, Sharpr reports that it's a "large number." While it's not necessarily a perfect indication of the company's workforce, 65 people classify EBET as their employer on LinkedIn.
• However, the report specifically states that XSET Co-founder Clinton Sparks and Atari Founder Nolan Bushnell have both departed from their roles as Advisors to the company.
• In an SEC filing on August 2, EBET revealed that Bart Barden will be terminated from his role as Chief Operating Officer as of February 2, 2023. This was first reported by Sharpr.

The company: It changed its name from Esports Technologies to EBET in May.

• The report claims that the majority of the company's revenue was coming from betting in Germany and Thailand, though this wasn't verified by multiple sources.
• However, it's undeniable that EBET looked to strengthen its non-esports offerings through the $75.9M acquisition of Aspire Global's B2C business in late 2021. The deal included online casinos and sportsbooks such as Karamba, Hopa, Dansk777, BetTarget, Griffon Casino, and GenerationVIP.
• Layoffs have become common in esports as of late, though predominantly across competitive organizations such as Dignitas, Guild, ORDER, 100 Thieves, TSM, and Semper Fortis. The pandemic certainly made things difficult for many, and now times are tough again with the general economic downturn.
• Speaking of the pandemic, esports betting saw an upturn due to the absence of sports. When sports returned, the volume of betting on competitive gaming reduced significantly.