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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Critical Role started off as a Twitch livestream, but it now mostly rolls out pre-recorded episodes.</li><li>The crew returned to its chaotic roots to promote Daggerheart, a new game it created in-house.</li></ul>For a crew that became famous on the livestreaming platform Twitch, it is now rare, nine years on, to see the cast of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/critical-role-dungeons-dragons-sold-out-live-show-wembley-arena-2023-9">Critical Role</a> going live to their 1.3 million followers.But while a March livestream was framed as a one-off event, the cast got back together on Tuesday night to promote their new game, Daggerheart.Playing a motley crew called The Menagerie, the cast — minus resident jokester Sam Riegel — took a close to four-hour-long jaunt through another fantasy world of longtime game master Matt Mercer's making, unraveling the mystery of a dark power plaguing the land.If you have no idea what I'm talking about, Critical Role is a group of eight voice actors who've been playing their way through three sprawling Dungeons &amp; Dragons campaigns on Twitch for over 1,300 hours.Now, Critical Role — a company by the same name the eight co-founders run together — is dabbling in everything nerdworld, from creating two of their own <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/matt-mercer-critical-role-tease-legend-of-the-mighty-nein-2024-4">animated series</a> to building a board game empire.Daggerheart, which <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/critical-role-launches-daggerheart-disruptor-dungeons-and-dragons-2024-3">dropped in open beta format in March</a>, is one of several games from CR's publishing house, Darrington Press. It appears to be an answer to the Hasbro-owned D&amp;D — and, as the CR crew demonstrated, it can draw an audience.Daggerheart has its own lore, magic, and monsters, but it still functions on core tenets like character sheets and rolling dice. It also comes with character cards and introduces the TTRPG world to <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" href="https://app.demiplane.com/nexus/daggerheart">a new slate of character types</a>.What makes CR's new venture into Daggerheart so interesting is that the crew appears to be embracing, once again, the funhouse chaos of its early-day Twitch streams.<div type="image" title="The cast of Critical Role play Daggerheart" height="1892" width="3352" msid="110144400" hostid="261"></div>The Daggerheart stream also starkly contrasts with the intense narrative and life-and-death stakes unfolding in the team's main campaign. It's different from the tragedy one expects when engaging with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/critical-role-candela-obscura-liam-obrien-gothic-horror-gaming-2024-4">Candela Obscura</a>, a gothic horror game the crew is also promoting.In Daggerheart, the cast plays a motley crew of non-human adventurers. The BAFTA-winning Laura Bailey of "The Last of Us: Part II" fame is a self-described "sneaky little mushroom" rogue. The team's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/critical-role-6-hour-candela-obscura-liam-obrien-finale-twitch-2024-4">heartbreak prince</a>, Liam O'Brien, plays a monkey with an Irish accent and major healing powers.At the risk of spoiling the episode for fans, the "Daggerheart" two-shot game now looks set to get a third installment. The group didn't manage to complete what they needed to do during Tuesday night's episode, so it's morphing into a mini-campaign.The cast members have talked about how fun creating their new characters for Daggerheart has been. But it's unclear how much time the main cast plans to invest in running Daggerheart games live, considering these characters were built for a quick, one-off session."It's a bug and a monkey and a mushroom and a frog. So, we'll see," O'Brien said during an April episode of the team's talk show, "4-Sided Dive."It isn't just fun and games, though — CR is now in the big leagues, and big money is involved. They've notched some major milestones in recent years: their <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/critical-role-wembley-live-show-nerd-heaven-2023-10">live show</a> <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/critical-role-wembley-live-show-nerd-heaven-2023-10">sold out an arena in London,</a> and even Amazon agreed to fund their animation projects, after an <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/criticalrole/critical-role-the-legend-of-vox-machina-animated-s">$11.3 million fundraising run</a> smashed Kickstarter records.The crew is also striking out on their own with an in-house streaming service, Beacon. It's a daring gambit that, if successful, will <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/critical-role-beacon-subscription-service-twitch-membership-2024-5">cut major streaming partners like Amazon-owned Twitch and YouTube out of their empire</a>.

Critical Role returns to its fast and loose livestream roots to promote its Hasbro-killer board game empire

<ul><li>Dream11 founder Harsh Jain shared his plight with finding investors in the first few years of his startup that is now a unicorn.</li><li>At the TiE Global Summit 2019, Jain said that the first 150 investors refused to invest in Dream11 but he learnt a lot from those rejections.</li><li>It raised $110 million from Tencent. It turned unicorn (startup with a valuation of over $1 billion) in November 2019 </li><li>Its popularity skyrocketed after IPL and ICC signed them as the official partner.</li></ul>In 2009, Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth were living a fantasy. Those were times when iPhones were just becoming popular and smartphones are not all-pervading like they are –right now. Even for those who owned such phones, 2G powered data did not come cheap. Yet, the Founders of Dream11 were trying to raise money for a fantasy cricket game shaped after EPL, after IPL was launched a year back. “We had 150 people say ‘No’ before we got to our first funding. Perseverance is what it takes. Every single no came with a why, it taught me something about our business and how to grow,” Jain said at the TiE Global Summit (TGS). In a session chaired by Business Insider at the Summit — an annual event which showcased India's vibrant startup ecosystem — Jain shared the journey of his startup that introduced '<keyword id="6370198" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="fantasy-gaming">fantasy gaming</keyword>' as a business to India. The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) is a global not-for-profit organisation founded in 1992 by a bunch of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who had roots in the subcontinent. TiE helps startups with mentoring, networking, education, funding, and incubation. Dream11 founder Harsh Jain was a headliner at this year's edition of the TGS. The Dream journey Within nine years, Dream11 raised $110 million from Tencent. It turned unicorn (startup with a valuation of over $1 billion) in November 2019 after a secondary investment from Steadview Capital, an Asia-focused alternative asset manager. Its popularity skyrocketed first after IPL and ICC both signed them on as the official partner. It now has 75 million users on its platform and has a robust model to go with - as it earns 15-20% of a gamer’s winnings. Jain believes that there is a lot of potential ahead for fantasy gaming. “India is a large market to address where 700 million people expected to use sports online in India in the next few years,” he said. Other than providing a platform for gaming, Jain believes that their offering provides with something more--- a way to overcome tediousness. “Indians are bored that's why they keep looking at their phones. Suddenly because of Jio everyone has data and access, we need to engage them and provide entertainment. The reason why Dream11 is popular because we give that on something they love – sports,” he said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/dream11-will-sell-sports-merchandise-and-game-tickets-on-fancode/articleshow/72066243.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Dream11-backed Fancode will sell sports merchandise and game tickets</a>

‘I heard 150 noes before first funding’- reveals one of India's newest unicorns Dream11

<ul><li><keyword id="48485" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bombay-high-court">Bombay High Court</keyword> has dismissed a PIL which claimed <keyword id="6214644" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dream11">Dream11</keyword> encourages gambling. </li><li>The High Court order has said that it is a game of skill, and not chance. </li><li>Earlier, the Punjab and Haryana High Court too had declared the Dream11 format of fantasy sports as legal.</li></ul>Indian gaming unicorn Dream11 has got another big boost – from Bombay High Court no less. The <a href="https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/dream-11-bombay-hc-dismisses-pil-fantasy-league-145760">High Court</a> dismissed a PIL filed by an advocate and said that Dream11 is a game of skill and not of chance. The PIL had claimed that online fantasy league game encourages gambling. This comes after the Punjab and Haryana High Court too declared the Dream11 format of fantasy sports as legal. The order said that the game requires considerable skill and judgment. This order was further ratified by the Supreme Court. The Indian fantasy gaming industry is projected to be a ₹118.8 billion market by 2023. While cricket holds the majority of the market share, other games are picking up too. Dream11 has had a great run this year – from turning a unicorn with a billion Dollar valuation, in April 2019. Its users also swelled to 67 million after IPL in 2019, and was also the official partners for the league. With the ongoing World Cup, Dream11 aims to gain even more. “We expect to have 90 million users by the end of the World Cup and 100 million by the end of 2019,” Bhavit Sheth, COO, Dream11 had told Business Insider in an interview earlier. Sheth and Harsh Jain had co-founded the startup, 11 years ago. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/icc-cricket-world-cup-2019-dream11s-userbase-can-hit-90-million/articleshow/69580087.cms">As England vs South Africa game kicks off, the World Cup is fuelling Dream11's dream run in 2019</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/kapil-dev-becomes-brand-advisor-for-apne11/articleshow/69766260.cms">This 1983 cricket World Cup star just turned brand advisor for India’s latest fantasy gaming startup</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/mobile-premier-league-raises-series-a-funding-of-35-5-million-from-sequoia-india-times-internet-and-goventures/articleshow/69017909.cms">This 7-month old startup has $35.5 million funding from Sequoia and Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador</a>

Two Indian courts have now ruled that online fantasy leagues are legal and a game of skill

<ul><li>Newly launched startup <keyword id="7750611" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="apne11">Apne11</keyword> has roped in <keyword id="1229" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kapil-Dev">Kapil Dev</keyword> to be its brand advisor. </li><li>The Indian fantasy gaming market is a hot one right now with the ICC Cricket World Cup going on.</li><li>Startups like <keyword id="6214644" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dream11">Dream11</keyword> and Mobile Premier League have already become established names in the sector.</li></ul>As the fantasy gaming industry in India grows along with the World Cup fever, more and more startups are entering the industry. A newly launched startup Apne11 has roped in former Indian skipper Kapil Dev to be its ‘brand advisor’. “I am thrilled to be associated with Apne11 as it will present an open opportunity for millions to compete against one another and have the chance to connect with sports on an even deeper level than before,” said Dev. Apne11 follows the same mantra as most fantasy gaming startups – users get to choose their own team on the platform from amongst the players on the actual field and be awarded points in accordance with the performance of the selected team combination. Growing market The Indian fantasy gaming market is projected to touch $5 billion in the next two years, according to Roland Landers, CEO, All India Gaming Federation. However, this sector already has the presence of the likes of Dream11, which has over 60 million users and is also associated with major cricketing events like the Indian Premier League and the ICC World Cup along with having <keyword id="6354832" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ms-dhoni">MS Dhoni</keyword> as its brand ambassador. Dream11 also became India’s first gaming unicorn in April 2019. Another player in the same field is Mobile Premier League which got 20 million users within seven months of its launch along with a funding of $35.5 million from Sequoia India. MPL has current Indian skipper <keyword id="6354486" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="virat-kohli">Virat Kohli</keyword> as its brand ambassador. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/icc-cricket-world-cup-2019-star-network-and-hotstar-viewership/articleshow/69719956.cms">ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 viewership so far on Hotstar is far from the IPL peak</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/icc-cricket-world-cup-2019-dream11s-userbase-can-hit-90-million/articleshow/69580087.cms">As England vs South Africa game kicks off, the World Cup is fuelling Dream11's dream run in 2019</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/mobile-premier-league-raises-series-a-funding-of-35-5-million-from-sequoia-india-times-internet-and-goventures/articleshow/69017909.cms">This 7-month old startup has $35.5 million funding from Sequoia and Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador</a>

This 1983 cricket World Cup star just turned brand advisor for India’s latest fantasy gaming startup

<ul><li>The Indian government is reportedly all set to increase <keyword id="6354679" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="gst" source="Orion">GST</keyword> on online gaming to 28%, a proposal that could spell trouble for the industry and players alike. </li><li>The online gaming industry is expected to cross $5 billion valuation by 2025, but the taxman’s greed could kill the golden-egg laying hen. </li><li>Experts are worried about the impact this could have on the industry – both the players and the businesses, which are still in their early days. </li></ul>The Indian government is reportedly all set to tax casinos, online gaming and horse racing at the highest slab of GST – 28%. Looks like the taxman is intent on treating these recreational activities and skills on par with tobacco, cigarettes, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/28-gst-on-crypto-transactions-india-is-reportedly-mulling-another-tax-levy-next-week/articleshow/92407767.cms">cryptocurrencies</a> and luxury cars. Online betting, gambling, casinos and horse racing have long been treated ‘unfairly’ by the Indian taxman – while GST has been considerably moderate at 18% until now. Winnings and other income earned from these activities have been taxed at the highest rate of 30% without any deductions whatsoever. Now, a new <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/28-gst-likely-on-casinos-online-gaming-horse-races-on-gross-revenue/articleshow/92474293.cms?from=mdr">report</a> suggests that the government is mulling increasing the GST rate to 28% – the highest in effect currently. This will be applicable on compulsory food and beverages as well, driving up the costs for businesses and participants. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="92356710" title="INTERVIEW: The big picture on 5G, Big Tech-telco war with COAI’s Dr SP Kochhar" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Fantasies are taxed too, and that too doubly" comment="subhead" text="Fantasies are taxed too, and that too doubly">Fantasies are taxed too, and that too doubly</cmsannotation> The government proposal says that GST will be charged on the gross revenue, not the net value added, which goes against both global tax ethics – as well as the very foundation of the GST regime, which intends to remove the undesirable double taxation effect. "Taxing online gaming, horse racing, and casinos at gross revenue instead of net value addition would be a departure from the global tax ethics," Rajat Mohan, senior partner, AMRG &amp; Associates told PTI. This could have an adverse impact on the entire industry. For instance, the online gaming sector which includes the likes of MPL, Zupee, Winzo and other startups, is expected to cross $5 billion in valuation by 2025, according to a <a href="https://www.ibef.org/blogs/india-s-nascent-gaming-industry-on-the-rise">IBEF report</a>. The government earned nearly ₹1,500 crore from fantasy sports in the form of taxes in FY21. A Deloitte report says that the combined industry contribution could cross a whopping ₹16,000 crore cumulatively over the next two years. And the taxman believes that he found a goose which lays golden eggs. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="The costly game of confusion" comment="subhead" text="The costly game of confusion">The costly game of confusion</cmsannotation> The online gaming industry has been plagued by the ambiguous nature of government’s tax policies. The taxman has often been said to be confused about the nature of online games – whether those involve skills or are just gambling. It might be justified to tax gambling at the highest rate of tax, but experts believe that punishing games of skill in the same manner is unfair. To make matters worse, the government wants to raise the tax from 18% to 28%. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Mukesh Ambani, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and more, to be affected" comment="subhead" text="Mukesh Ambani, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and more, to be affected">Mukesh Ambani, <keyword id="6398943" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="rakesh-jhunjhunwala" source="Orion">Rakesh Jhunjhunwala</keyword> and more, to be affected</cmsannotation> This can also have an adverse impact on telcos, which are banking on online gaming as a new revenue stream as the industry seems to be entering a phase of stagnation. “Rather than being just the pipe, telcos like Jio (RIL owned) and Bharti are focusing on gaming as an incremental source of ad/subscription revenue. In fact, RIL believes that gaming in India will be bigger than music, movies and television shows put together,” said a report by Bank of America Securities. This could also impact <keyword id="201442" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="delta-corp" source="Orion">Delta Corp</keyword>, the only listed casino operator in the country which has seen its fortunes fade away, with even Rakesh Jhunjhunwala paring down his holdings in the company considerably. <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype=""><cdata><![CDATA[]]></cdata></div> “This would be a distress the business model to a great extent as the touted super tax will have to be funded either by the platform, who do not make that kind of money in this business or would go on to reduce the prize pool size – effectively bringing down the interest in customer engagement,” Adarsh Somani, senior partner at ELP Law, told Business Insider India. This would wreak havoc on the gaming industry, and even if the government wants to reduce difficulties by offering a single – but higher – rate of tax, the valuation methodology will have to be made clear, Somani added. As things stand today, there is plenty of ambiguity that will have to be worked out by the government – even a small misstep could spell a lot of trouble for the gaming industry and its participants. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/auto-and-finance-stocks-can-bounce-back-even-if-the-market-crashes-in-july/articleshow/92436186.cms">Auto and finance stocks can bounce back even if the market crashes in July</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/rbi-kept-the-rupee-exceptionally-stable-so-far-and-the-tide-could-turn-for-the-better-say-experts/articleshow/92414356.cms">RBI kept the rupee ‘exceptionally’ stable so far, and the tide could turn for the better say experts</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/interview-the-big-picture-on-5g-big-tech-telco-war-with-coais-dr-sp-kochhar/articleshow/92356710.cms">INTERVIEW: The big picture on 5G, Big Tech-telco war with COAI’s Dr SP Kochhar</a>

India is betting on casinos, online games and horse races to fill its coffers

<ul><li><keyword id="6214644" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dream11">Dream11</keyword> is India’s first gaming unicorn and it is aiming to add another 23 million users in 45 days. </li><li>The startup has gained over 17 million users during this year’s Indian Premier League. </li><li>Former Indian cricket team captain <keyword id="6354832" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ms-dhoni">MS Dhoni</keyword> is the brand ambassador of the startup. </li></ul>India’s first gaming unicorn the fantasy league startup Dream11 has had quite the dream run this year. Having gone from 50 million users in April to over 67 million users after the IPL, with the World Cup, it is only gearing up for more users and traffic. Besides MS Dhoni, who is Dream11’s brand ambassador, 9 new cricketers have been signed up by the startup with the commencement of the <keyword id="4054187" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ICC-Cricket-World-Cup-2019">ICC Cricket World Cup 2019</keyword> – Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock, Kagiso Rabada, Andre Russell, Jason Holder and Kane Williamson. “We expect to have 90 million users by the end of the World Cup and 100 million by the end of 2019.” Bhavit Sheth, COO, Dream11 had told Business Insider in an earlier interview. Bhavit Sheth and Harsh Jain had co-founded the startup 11 years ago. So, according to estimates the startup during this year’s IPL gained over 17 million users, while during last year’s IPL it had gained over 30 million users. When in 2014, Dream11 raised its first round of funding they still had just 300,000 users. In 2019, the startup turned unicorn with an investment from Steadview Capital which came on board after buying secondary shares from Dream11’s existing investors Kalaari Capital, Think Investments &amp; Multiples Equity. For the IPL, The Board of Control for Cricket in India had announced Dream11 as an official partner. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/dream11-is-eyeing-the-unicorn-tag-riding-on-ipl-and-cricket-world-cup-in-2019/articleshow/68458528.cms">2019 may be the biggest year for this 11-year old Indian gaming startup</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/gaming-startup-dream11-strikes-gold-as-the-official-partner-of-ipl/articleshow/68426121.cms">Gaming startup Dream11 strikes gold as the official partner of IPL</a>

As England vs South Africa game kicks off, the World Cup is fuelling Dream11's dream run in 2019

<ul><li>In an interview with Business Insider, co-founder of <keyword id="7087972" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="mobile-premier-league">Mobile Premier League</keyword> Sai Srinivas Kiran G. talks about how they raked up 20 million users in just 7 months. </li><li>The platform has raised a series A funding from <keyword id="563136" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sequoia-India">Sequoia India</keyword>, Times Internet, and GoVentures, along with participation from existing investors. </li><li><keyword id="6354486" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="virat-kohli">Virat Kohli</keyword> is the brand ambassador of the platform.</li></ul>Mobile Premier League, the <keyword id="3351303" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gaming-startup">gaming startup</keyword>, has raised a series A funding of $35.5 million led by Sequoia India, Times Internet, and GoVentures. And what’s more, the just 7-month old startup also has Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador. In August 2017, Sai Srinivas Kiran G. and Shubham Malhotra started the gaming platform when they realised three things they call the “holy trinity of the internet” – the price of data today is almost zero, the price of a device is extremely cheap and the third but the biggest factor, people now have an accessible and very convenient method for payments. “That’s when we thought why can’t we build a platform where people come together, pick a game of their choice and compete in tournaments across the country and hopefully one day, across the world. That’s how the Mobile Premier League came about,” Sai told Business Insider. MPL is a horizontal mobile eSports platform where every day about 25-30 online gaming tournaments are held. Every day for some of their tournaments, 150,000 to 300,000 are competing to win, said Sai. While MPL doesn’t develop the games themselves, it works with third-party developers and then publishes the game on the platform. “The platform today is not mature enough to be open for all developers, but the eventual goal is to make it a platform where any developer can create and then publish a game for all users,” said Sai. However, it also has a large competitor in the fantasy gaming space – Dream11, the gaming unicorn which already has MS Dhoni as its ambassador. Dream11 has over 50 million users and aims to have 100 million by the end of the<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/dream11-is-eyeing-the-unicorn-tag-riding-on-ipl-and-cricket-world-cup-in-2019/articleshow/68458528.cms"> year.</a> And Sai, too, rightfully credits Dream11 to have built the fantasy gaming industry in India. But, the horizontal Indian online gaming industry today has over 200 million users and the numbers are expected to grow to 50 million by 2022. MPL too hopes to have a piece of that cake. “In just 7 months, we have had great traction as we already have about 25 million users,” he said. Helping them in their quest for growth, is Virat Kohli. Kohli’s appointment as a brand ambassador was strategic – to help introduce the brand to the millions of people who know and follow the cricketer. While Kohli too saw potential in the product to sign it up, Sai said “there was a little bit of luck mixed into the whole thing.” When it comes to funding, Sai and Malhotra are actually one of Sequoia’s favourites. Their previous startup was Creo, which built the streaming media dongles called Teewee, was also funded by Sequoia. Creo was acquired by Hike last year. Their current funding will help them grow faster by hiring the right talent to build out their product infrastructure and build not just an India centric product but a global one. They are currently making revenue from paid tournaments, sponsored tournaments, and advertising. However, Sai says that being so new in the gamef, their focus remains on user growth. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/mobile-premier-league-signs-virat-kohli-as-brand-ambassador/articleshow/68266803.cms">It’s Virat Kohli Vs MS Dhoni in the Indian e-gaming space</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/dream11-enters-the-unicorn-club-brings-on-board-steadview-capital/articleshow/68788418.cms">Dream11 becomes India’s first gaming unicorn</a>

This 7-month old startup has $35.5 million funding from Sequoia and Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Nicolas Gentile is the 37-year-old pastry chef who aims to be Italy's first real-world Hobbit.</li><li>Gentile is building out a Tolkien-inspired shire in Abruzzo, complete with Hobbit burrows and a pub.</li><li>This week, his project got a boost from <keyword id="12044065" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="lord-of-the-rings" source="Orion">Lord of the Rings</keyword> cast members, including Elijah Wood.</li></ul>A 37-year-old super-fan of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy has received the support of three cast members of the cinematic trilogy to raise funds for <a href="https://www.insider.com/italian-pastry-chef-has-been-living-like-real-life-hobbit-2021-9">a real-world Shire in central Italy</a>.In a series of Cameo appearances, Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd, and Sean Astin, each praised Nicolas Gentile's project to bring Bag End to life, which has been underway for the past three years and documented on Instagram as <a href="https://www.instagram.com/_myhobbitlife_/">_myhobbitlife_</a>."It is incredible what you're doing. I love all of the costumes and all of the set photos you've done," said Elijah Wood, who starred in the films as Frodo Baggins."It is absolutely perfect from what I remember Bag End to be," he added. "If I'm ever in your neck of the woods, in your Shire, I would love to visit."Gentile previously told Insider that he spent almost all of his life savings to design and build a little hobbit burrow from scratch on a plot of land outside the city of Chieti in Abruzzo, central Italy."I have always loved fantasy literature and <keyword id="11898343" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="movies" source="Orion">movies</keyword>, Dungeons and Dragons, and video games," he said. "But at some point in my life, I felt like I was living the adventures of others and not my own. I decided that I, too, would live my life like a character in the movies and books I loved so much."Sean Astin, who played Frodo's gardener and friend Samwise Gamgee in the films, was exuberant about the world Nicolas has built so far."What an amazing thing you are doing! You are making it - the real Shire in Italia. It's incredible," he said.The video appearances were part of a crowdfunding kickoff to raise $1.8 million for the next stage of the project: a full-size hobbit village called <a href="https://www.laconteagentile.it">La Contea Gentile</a>.La Contea Gentile is expected to operate as a nonprofit and accommodate a large underground home and four smaller houses where other families could reside. Gentile says he doesn't intend to make the area a tourist spot but rather a small community where people live off the land.Formerly a pastry chef with a degree in geology, Gentile plans to replicas of the Green Dragon Inn and a large version of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/29/peter-jackson-home-bilbos-hobbit-house">Bilbo Baggins' house</a>, all powered by solar energy."If I had wanted to get rich, I would have invested in bitcoin!" he said. "All I want is to meet people like me, who have the same magic in their eyes and a love for the simple things in life, who enjoy dinner with friends and an adventure in the woods now and then."

'Lord of the Rings' actors voice their support of Italian pastry chef's plan to build a Hobbit-inspired pub and solar-powered shire

<ul><li><keyword id="7087972" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="mobile-premier-league">Mobile Premier League</keyword> had plans of spending 40% of its marketing budget on <keyword id="6354312" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="IPL">IPL</keyword> this year.</li><li>With the suspension of the league, we speak to <keyword id="6176095" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Abhishek-Madhavan">Abhishek Madhavan</keyword>, Senior Vice President, Growth and Marketing, MPL who tells us how the brand plans to communicate with its consumers now, and what its plans to grow the business further is.</li></ul>The <keyword id="6357332" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gaming">gaming</keyword> and esports sector in India has been witnessing good growth in India, thanks to improved accessibility in technology and cheaper internet. That investors and venture capitalists are putting in monies in the sector is further proof that there is a huge opportunity. A recent report by <keyword id="274082" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Maple-Capital-Advisors">Maple Capital Advisors</keyword> stated that the Indian gaming sector saw investments of around $544 million between the August 2020 and January 2021 period, a number that is expected to double over the next 12-18 months on the back of higher user awareness and accelerated engagement. Over the past few years, we have seen a number of e-gaming players enter the market. Many of these have been spending substantial amounts on advertising too. One such player, Mobile Premier League (MPL), announced in February this year that it had raised $95 million in a Series D round of funding, bringing its value to $945 million after raising. With this fresh round of funding, MPL planned to expand its eSports portfolio and bolster its efforts to organize more eSports tournaments nationally and internationally at scale. It is also looking at accelerating its international expansion this year. Last month, MPL also acquired esports gaming platform <keyword id="6231572" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="GamingMonk">GamingMonk</keyword> that hosts esports tournaments across multiple platforms. MPL had invested on the Indian Premier League last year and reaped impressive results, it saw the number of gamers on its platform go up 7X post IPL so this year too, the platform had launched an aggressive campaign to grab maximum eyeballs during the league. However, with the suspension of the league, how does it impact its marketing plans for the rest of the year? We spoke to Abhishek Madhavan, Senior Vice President, Growth and Marketing, MPL who told us how the year has been so far for the platform and what more we can expect from it through the rest of the year. Excerpts: <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) We had thought 2020 was a difficult year but 2021 has been an even difficult one so far. How has the year been so far for MPL from a business standpoint?" text="Q) We had thought 2020 was a difficult year but 2021 has been an even difficult one so far. How has the year been so far for MPL from a business standpoint?">Q) We had thought 2020 was a difficult year but 2021 has been an even difficult one so far. How has the year been so far for MPL from a business standpoint?</cmsannotation> It’s been quite a year in general. What the country is witnessing is unprecedented and right now, our focus is on trying to do our bit in helping out and ensuring that our employees and their families are safe. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) In terms of growth, the pandemic had led to a lot of people staying at home, exploring newer ways of keeping themselves entertained and fantasy gaming benefited from that. What kind of growth have you witnessed in the last one year?" text="Q) In terms of growth, the pandemic had led to a lot of people staying at home, exploring newer ways of keeping themselves entertained and fantasy gaming benefited from that. What kind of growth have you witnessed in the last one year?">Q) In terms of growth, the pandemic had led to a lot of people staying at home, exploring newer ways of keeping themselves entertained and fantasy gaming benefited from that. What kind of growth have you witnessed in the last one year?</cmsannotation> Last year’s lockdown due to the pandemic was a black swan event that nobody could have foreseen. Yet, it did help the gaming industry as people explored their skills by taking to gaming platforms from their homes. However, pure fantasy apps were affected due to the lack of live sporting action last year. That being said, we added over 3 crore users on MPL last year. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) You were supposed to spend 40% of our ad budget on IPL. As the league stands postponed indefinitely, how are you modifying your marketing plans for the rest of the year?" text="Q) You were supposed to spend 40% of our ad budget on IPL. As the league stands postponed indefinitely, how are you modifying your marketing plans for the rest of the year?">Q) You were supposed to spend 40% of our ad budget on IPL. As the league stands postponed indefinitely, how are you modifying your marketing plans for the rest of the year?</cmsannotation> We will be back on IPL media properties whenever the league returns. However, since our business is not IPL dependent, we are looking at other conventional media channels to run our brand campaigns on, at the moment. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) You had an aim of increasing your user base to 10 crore by the end of the league. How do you aim to achieve this target now?" text="Q) You had an aim of increasing your user base to 10 crore by the end of the league. How do you aim to achieve this target now?">Q) You had an aim of increasing your user base to 10 crore by the end of the league. How do you aim to achieve this target now?</cmsannotation> We are a gaming platform. And while the IPL definitely helps us, what we offer our users goes beyond just fantasy sports. There are over 50 games on MPL across categories like esports, casual, fantasy, etc, and once things get better for the country, you will hear from us on our campaigns. Right now, our focus is on helping the situation get better in whatever way we can. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) What kind of growth had you seen from associating with IPL last year?" text="Q) What kind of growth had you seen from associating with IPL last year?">Q) What kind of growth had you seen from associating with IPL last year?</cmsannotation> Last year’s IPL broke viewership records and we too benefited from our partnerships and associations with teams such as KKR and RCB. We engaged our gamers with activities such as player meet-and-greets, special contests, and giveaways. During IPL 2020, the number of fantasy gamers on MPL increased by 7 times compared to pre-IPL, and the number of daily installs of the MPL app increased by 100% compared to pre-IPL 2020. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) In the last few years, there has been a boom of fantasy gaming platforms in India. How are you differentiating yourself?" text="Q) In the last few years, there has been a boom of fantasy gaming platforms in India. How are you differentiating yourself?">Q) In the last few years, there has been a boom of fantasy gaming platforms in India. How are you differentiating yourself?</cmsannotation> We are a full-fledged gaming platform with a 365-day value proposition and we aren’t a fantasy app that is dependent on sport seasons or leagues. With our wide variety of games and features, we attract a wide range of users above the age of 18, going all the way to ages 60 and above. Gamers can find all kinds of games on our platform, along with social features to connect with the gaming community. We are also organising fortnightly esports tournaments in games such as Chess, World Cricket Championship, etc, and entry to these tournaments is absolutely free, with lakhs in prize money up for grabs. We are also live-streaming these tournaments to millions of viewers through our social media handles. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) Where do you think MPL's next phase of growth will come from?" text="Q) Where do you think MPL's next phase of growth will come from?">Q) Where do you think MPL's next phase of growth will come from?</cmsannotation> Esports is currently on the upswing in India and across the world. We think India has an abundance of talent in esports and mobile esports is the best way forward in recognising and honing this vast talent pool. Esports being recognised by traditional sports competitions like the Asian Games is a big boost for this sector. We aim to take esports to the masses via our mobile application and are geared for the growth coming in from this sector. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) Will you continue with your Hain Akal Khelo MPL campaign despite IPL's suspension considering it had been gaining traction?" text="Q) Will you continue with your Hain Akal Khelo MPL campaign despite IPL's suspension considering it had been gaining traction?">Q) Will you continue with your Hain Akal Khelo MPL campaign despite IPL's suspension considering it had been gaining traction?</cmsannotation> The core message behind the ‘Hain Akal Khelo MPL’ campaign is that fantasy sports require skill and knowledge of the game. While we launched it along with the IPL, the campaign continues to run as the core message applies to all fantasy sports. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) What is your vision for MPL? Where do you want to see it in the next few years?" text="Q) What is your vision for MPL? Where do you want to see it in the next few years?">Q) What is your vision for MPL? Where do you want to see it in the next few years?</cmsannotation> We want to be the world’s biggest esports and skill gaming platform. That is the vision we have right from the start and we feel India is poised to become a global leader in esports. We have a great number of skilled game developers who can make games for the world and we have so many gamers who are waiting for an opportunity to excel in esports. By bringing them together on our platform, we can exhibit India’s prowess to the world. Our Indonesia business is doing really well and this has encouraged us to plan to expand to other geographies as we march towards realizing our vision.

We will be back on IPL media properties whenever the league returns: Abhishek Madhavan, Mobile Premier League

<ul><li><keyword id="3156357" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rivigo">Rivigo</keyword> is the latest startup to attain the $1 billion valuation.</li><li>This year, India has already seen 8 <keyword id="6362513" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="startups">startups</keyword> joining the unicorn club. </li><li>With 3 months left for 2019, this year could break 2018’s record of 8 unicorns.</li></ul>India’s unicorn club seems to be having a good year as eight startups joined the coveted club In 2018, eight startups turned unicorns basically reached $1 billion in valuation. Here’s a look at all the startups that have crossed the valuation mark so far in 2019. Rivigo The latest startup to join the unicorn club is logistics startup Rivigo. The logistics sector had long been in the limelight after Delhivery turned unicorn. After this, both Rivigo and Blackbuck raised funds, heating up the race to being a unicorn. Now, Rivigo has managed to be a unicorn after it raised $4.9 million from South Korea's KB Platform Fund. After the deal closed, it is valued at $1.05 billion. Delhivery In March this year, Delhivery became 2019’s first unicorn. This was after the logistics tech startup raised $395 million from SoftBank. After its funding in March, it’s valued at $1.6 billion. The logistics solutions company was founded by Sahil Barua, Mohit Tandon, Suraj Saharan, Kapil Bharti and Bhavesh Manglani. They created a stronghold in the market by partnering with e-commerce majors like Flipkart and Paytm amongst others. Big Basket The grocery retail startup became a unicorn in March 2019. Bigbasket closed its Series F round of funding with an investment of $150 million, which valued it at $2.3 billion. The funding was led by Bigbasket’s earlier investor Alibaba, along with a new investor – Mirae Asset. The grocery sector which is now buzzing with new entrants like Swiggy. Grofers too turned its finances around, and has recently turned a soonicorn after the latest round of funding in May 2019. Ola Electric Ola’s subsidiary Ola Electric also turned a unicorn like its parent company. Its growth has also been fast as most of Ola’s existing investors placed their bets on the company. In July, it became a unicorn after raising $250 million from Softbank. In May, Ola Electric also raised funds from former Vodafone Group CEO Arun Sarin. Some of its other illustrious investors include Chairman Emeritus of Tata Group, Ratan Tata. In March, it had raised ₹4 billion from Ola’s existing and early investors – Tiger Global and Matrix India. Dream 11 India’s first gaming unicorn is Dream11, a fantasy gaming startup. It announced a secondary investment from Steadview Capital, an Asia-focused alternative asset manager in April 2011 which gave brought it its unicorn status. The 11-year old startup had a dream run in 2019, after signing up with IPL and the BCCI as its official partners. The cricket world cup along with IPL helped it clock in stellar numbers. In an interview with Business Insider, one of its founders Bhavin Sheth said that the startup hopes to hit 100 million users by the end of the year. Icertis In July 2019, India and US-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform Icertis became a unicorn. It raised $115 million in funding from Azim Premji’s Premji Invest and US-based VC firm Greycroft. The company, which offers contract management, has 5.7 million contracts across 90 countries. Some of its are Adobe, Airtel, Cognizant, Infosys, and Microsoft. Druva The Indo-US startup Druva entered the unicorn club in June 2019. The cloud data protection startup raised $130 million in a round that was led by Viking Global Investors. It also saw participation from funds like Neuberger Berman and Atreides Management. Existing investors Riverwood Capital, Tenaya Capital, and Nexus Venture Partners too participated in the round. Druva is a SaaS (Software as a Service) startup which was founded by Jaspreet Singh and Milind Borate in 2008. Its patented cloud architecture enables cyber governance, improves cyber resiliency, and helps customers gain critical insights. Citius Tech The healthtech company was a lesser known startup which gained unicorn status. The company provides healthcare solutions, using technologies like business intelligence, mobility and IoT, Big Data, cloud computing, predictive analytics and data science. The company was acquired by Baring Private Equity Asia in July 2019, which gave it a valuation of $1 billion.

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Critical Role returns to its fast and loose livestream roots to promote its Hasbro-killer board game empire

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‘I heard 150 noes before first funding’- reveals one of India's newest unicorns Dream11

BI India Bureau

Two Indian courts have now ruled that online fantasy leagues are legal and a game of skill

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This 1983 cricket World Cup star just turned brand advisor for India’s latest fantasy gaming startup

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India is betting on casinos, online games and horse races to fill its coffers

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This 7-month old startup has $35.5 million funding from Sequoia and Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador

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'Lord of the Rings' actors voice their support of Italian pastry chef's plan to build a Hobbit-inspired pub and solar-powered shire

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With Rivigo joining the club, these are the 8 unicorns of 2019 so far

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