Ourgame International Holdings Limited has released a statement outlining an ambitious expansion of its eSports facilities into the U.S. and China, as well as plans to expand its World Poker Tour.
The company hopes to expand the tour into Japan and South American markets. It plans to finance the expansion by issuing subscription shares that are expected to gather around 416 million HKD, or about $53 million, according to a report in Inside Asian Gaming. The money would be used to expand Ourgame’s poker and eSports businesses as well as overhauling its board game offer in mainland China.
The company said 125 million HKD would be used to expand its eSports facilities through its subsidiary, Allied eSports International. Plans call for building four to six new eSports arenas in the United States and two to four facilities in China. The sites are expected to be completed during the next two years.
Ourgame also plans to spend around 62 million HKD to expand the World Poker Tour, including “geographic expansion” such as tournaments, TV content, and marketing with a special focus on the South American and Japanese markets. Another 37 million HKD will be used for game development and advertising of the PlayWPT line of online products.
The expansion is a response to “intensified competition” that saw the company suffer losses of 68.4 million Yuan for the six months ending June 2017 and a year-on-year revenue drop of 34.5 percent, the report said.
