Mark Elfenbein, Cooper Moo, Riccardo Zacconi

Transcript for Skill Based Gaming

Casual Connect Europe, Winter 2006

Riccardo Zacconi, King.com
Mark Elfenbein, SkillJam.com
Cooper Moo, WorldWinner.com

Skill Gamers sku to the same demographic as Casual Gamers (64% female)

Skill games are also known as Cash Games

Skill Games tend to be easy, short games. Each game ‘must have’ the same ‘play’ conditions, in order to make them qualify into a skill game. Each of the three main companies represented by the panel have their own key attributes to deem web games as ‘Skill Games’.

SkillJam are in the process of running a $1million skill gaming competition, in conjunction with the Game Show TV network.

World Winner announced that they host on their network Skill Based Games based on TV Quiz shows Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune.

Skill Gaming is deemed legal in most of the 50 US states, some of the exceptions being FL / IL / AZ. Also it is deemed legal in many EU territories, some exceptions being France and Italy.

Skill based games can be multiplayer turn based games like chess or pool. Or single player games where you challenge other users for highest scores. Like in Polar Bowler – an ice bowling game on WorldWinner.com.

Skill Game Revenue

Cash Entry Fees (Challenges / Tournaments
Subscriptions
Advertising

WorldWinner has recently signed a deal with Luxor to adapt that into a skill based game. They have also signed a deal to promote the Jeopardy skill based game on and around the TV show.

King.com has created unique skill based games and not just converted casual games into skill based games.

SkillJam made the point that many casual games are now deemed ‘trusted brand’ – which make the transition easier for users to invest playing in a ‘familiar game’ for cash.

There is nothing wrong with simple games. Solitaire is a top played skill based game.

All sites offer, fair-matching algorithms and re-challenge options.

The President & CEO of WorldWinner, Stephen Killeen has worked directly with the IRS over the last few years to determine the legalities / taxes for skill based games.

King.com said it was looking to move into the Asian Market

85% of skill game players are females over the age of 25.

King.com – over t he next 2-3yrs with the penetration of Broadband the market will increase. Skill Games offering will increase for users and their will be more consolidation in the market.

SkillJam – 2% - 3% of users will convert to online pay to play offerings. Interactive TV gaming will become more popular over the next year or so. As will subscription based opportunities.

WorldWinner – They have a team dedicated to anti-cheating technologies.

King.com advertises on TV in Europe (RTL)

SkillJam provide games for Lodgenet.com – 400,000 hotel rooms in the USA.

END

Delivered at Casual Connect Amsterdam, Winter 2006

Riccardo Zacconi (email)

King.com offers skill based tournaments, where players can compete against each other in skill games like pool or Mahjong and win prizes. Riccardo co-founded the company in 2003.

Before King.com, Riccardo joined uDate.com as Vice President Sales and Marketing Europe. Prior to uDate he was an Entrepreneur in Residence at Benchmark Capital, with the task of finding new investment opportunities. He joined Benchmark after his first online company, Spray Network, an internet portal sold to Lycos Europe in 2000. Prior to his internet life, Riccardo worked for 8 years in consulting, at the Boston Consulting Group and LEK.

Cooper Moo (email)

As vice president of business development, Cooper leads WorldWinner’s overall business development strategy and operational execution of deals with content and distribution partners. Cooper joined the company in 2004 as director of business development and has negotiated agreements for the company’s major partnerships including Pogo/EA, AOL, MSN, PopCap, Hasbro and Fremantle.

Prior to joining WorldWinner, Cooper was senior manager of e-commerce for Monster.com. In this role, he represented Monster's interest in a $104 million dollar, four-year partnership with AOL. As director of strategic partnerships for Salary.com, he created and managed partnerships with Monster, Yahoo!, CareerBuilder and other major online media companies. Before entering the online space, Cooper was a partner in a Seattle trading company for eight years.

Cooper is a frequent presenter at industry events, having spoken at the Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco, the Austin Games Conference, the LA Games Conference, and Casual Connect in both Seattle and Amsterdam. Cooper resides near Seattle and graduated from the University of Oregon with a B.A. in International Relations focused on China.

Mark Elfenbein (email)

HOME \| LECTURES & ARTICLES \| BUSINESS MODELS \| SKILL BASED GAMES Transcript for Skill Based Gaming Casual Connect Europe, Winter 2006 Riccardo Zacconi, King.com Mark Elfenbein, SkillJam.com Cooper Moo, WorldWinner.com Skill Gamers sku to the same demographic as Casual Gamers (64% female) Skill games are also known as Cash Games Skill Games tend to be easy, short games. Each game ‘must have’ the same ‘play’ conditions, in order to make them qualify into a skill game. Each of the three main companies represented by the panel have their own key attributes to deem web games as ‘Skill Games’. SkillJam are in the process of running a $1million skill gaming competition, in conjunction with the Game Show TV network. World Winner announced that they host on their network Skill Based Games based on TV Quiz shows Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. Skill Gaming is deemed legal in most of the 50 US states, some of the exceptions being FL / IL / AZ. Also it is deemed legal in many EU territories, some exceptions being France and Italy. Skill based games can be multiplayer turn based games like chess or pool. Or single player games where you challenge other users for highest scores. Like in Polar Bowler – an ice bowling game on WorldWinner.com. Skill Game Revenue Cash Entry Fees (Challenges / Tournaments Subscriptions Advertising WorldWinner has recently signed a deal with Luxor to adapt that into a skill based game. They have also signed a deal to promote the Jeopardy skill based game on and around the TV show. King.com has created unique skill based games and not just converted casual games into skill based games. SkillJam made the point that many casual games are now deemed ‘trusted brand’ – which make the transition easier for users to invest playing in a ‘familiar game’ for cash. There is nothing wrong with simple games. Solitaire is a top played skill based game. All sites offer, fair-matching algorithms and re-challenge options. The President & CEO of WorldWinner, Stephen Killeen has worked directly with the IRS over the last few years to determine the legalities / taxes for skill based games. King.com said it was looking to move into the Asian Market 85% of skill game players are females over the age of 25. King.com – over t he next 2-3yrs with the penetration of Broadband the market will increase. Skill Games offering will increase for users and their will be more consolidation in the market. SkillJam – 2% - 3% of users will convert to online pay to play offerings. Interactive TV gaming will become more popular over the next year or so. As will subscription based opportunities. WorldWinner – They have a team dedicated to anti-cheating technologies. King.com advertises on TV in Europe (RTL) SkillJam provide games for Lodgenet.com – 400,000 hotel rooms in the USA. END Delivered at Casual Connect Amsterdam, Winter 2006 Riccardo Zacconi (email) King.com offers skill based tournaments, where players can compete against each other in skill games like pool or Mahjong and win prizes. Riccardo co-founded the company in 2003. Before King.com, Riccardo joined uDate.com as Vice President Sales and Marketing Europe. Prior to uDate he was an Entrepreneur in Residence at Benchmark Capital, with the task of finding new investment opportunities. He joined Benchmark after his first online company, Spray Network, an internet portal sold to Lycos Europe in 2000. Prior to his internet life, Riccardo worked for 8 years in consulting, at the Boston Consulting Group and LEK. Cooper Moo (email) As vice president of business development, Cooper leads WorldWinner’s overall business development strategy and operational execution of deals with content and distribution partners. Cooper joined the company in 2004 as director of business development and has negotiated agreements for the company’s major partnerships including Pogo/EA, AOL, MSN, PopCap, Hasbro and Fremantle. Prior to joining WorldWinner, Cooper was senior manager of e-commerce for Monster.com. In this role, he represented Monster's interest in a $104 million dollar, four-year partnership with AOL. As director of strategic partnerships for Salary.com, he created and managed partnerships with Monster, Yahoo!, CareerBuilder and other major online media companies. Before entering the online space, Cooper was a partner in a Seattle trading company for eight years. Cooper is a frequent presenter at industry events, having spoken at the Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco, the Austin Games Conference, the LA Games Conference, and Casual Connect in both Seattle and Amsterdam. Cooper resides near Seattle and graduated from the University of Oregon with a B.A. in International Relations focused on China. Mark Elfenbein (email)