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• Paysafe Group's online prepaid payment provider reinforces collaboration with the world's largest esports company as a global official partner;
• New paysafecard exclusives available to the esports community which has 380m viewers worldwide.
paysafecard, a market leader in online prepaid payments and part of global payments provider Paysafe Group, announces the expansion of its partnership in 2019 with ESL (eslgaming.com), the world’s largest esports company. In addition to paysafecard’s sponsorship of community competitions through ESL Play, the collaboration will increase its international footprint this year through paysafecard’s support for tournaments and leagues such as ESL One in India.
This latest partnership extension further reinforces paysafecard’s commitment to the global esports space, which attracted around 280 million viewers in 2018*. The esports industry represents a global entertainment business that was estimated to be worth USD 900 million last year** and is predicted to grow to almost USD 2 billion worldwide by 2022. paysafecard aims to support the payment needs of esports enthusiasts by offering gamers faster, more convenient and more secure online prepaid solutions.
Udo Müller, CEO of paysafecard, explains: "We are proud to support ESL as one of the company’s main sponsors for the second year in a row and therefore continue to contribute to the professionalisation and increased awareness of esports. paysafecard’s connection to esports has been a part of our DNA since our company was founded 18 years ago to offer the gaming community a safe and simple way to pay. We are therefore very excited to be supporting the esports community so closely and look forward to a successful cooperation with ESL in 2019.”
“ESL and paysafecard have more in common than a long and successful collaboration. We share the same passion and focus on the esports community, and together we want to further develop the industry and generate sustainable growth of the ESL ecosystem on every level,” says Bernhard Mogk, SVP Global Sales & Business Development at ESL. "We look forward to raising the bar for esports again in 2019 and beyond together with paysafecard.”
paysafecard exclusives for the esports community:
• The ‘paysafecard esports Hall of Fame’ will honour well-known, accomplished personalities for their achievements during their esports careers, as well as individuals who have made significant contributions to the growth of the industry. This award recognises individual performers and outstanding activities in esports, with the goal of promoting the professionalism and universal values in the industry. Three awards will be presented in 2019, each through a combination of jury and community voting.
• ‘paysafecard Beat the Legends’ gives fans the opportunity to prove their skills against professional players or influencers live on an ESL stage. This chance will be offered four times in 2019, at different finals of the national championships.
• paysafecard will also reward the most passionate esports fans. By participating in the paysafecard Ultimate Experience, they can win an all-expenses-paid trip to an ESL stadium event, including two VIP/premium tickets, visitor access to the player areas and backstage areas, access to the VIP area, and a meet and greet with professional players and local influencers. All of this will be accompanied by an ESL photo and video team and documented in an after-movie.
For more information about the partnership and details on the activations, please follow paysafecard.com/esports.
*Statista.com, Prognose zur Anzahl der Esports-Zuschauer weltweit 2016-2021
**Forbes, forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2018/07/11/how-big-can-esports-grow-in-2018/#151044f86a36
Ovum, britishesports.org/news/esports-will-be-worth-almost-2bn-in-2022-claims-new-report/
About paysafecard
Founded in 2000, paysafecard (paysafecard.com) is a market leader in online prepaid payment methods and part of the broad portfolio of innovative payment solutions and services offered by the Paysafe Group. It operates under the brands of paysafecard, my paysafecard, paysafecard Mastercard® and Paysafecash. Available in over 650,000 outlets in nearly 50 countries worldwide, paysafecard enables easy and secure online purchases over the internet as payment is made using a unique, 16-digit paysafecard PIN and customers do not need to share sensitive financial data such as bank account or credit card details online. In 2018 the paysafecard team launched Paysafecash - a new, alternative prepaid payment method for customers who want to pay online easily and safely using cash. Paysafecash is already being used in multiple European markets as well as Canada. Headquartered in Vienna, in 2017 paysafecard achieved prepaid merchant transaction volumes of 2.8 billion Euro.
About Paysafe Group
Paysafe Group (Paysafe.com) is a leading global provider of end-to-end payment solutions. Its core purpose is to enable businesses and consumers to connect and transact seamlessly through industry-leading capabilities in payment processing, digital wallet, card issuing and online cash solutions. With over 20 years of online payment experience, an annualized transactional volume of over US $80 billion, and approximately 3,000 employees located in 12+ global locations, Paysafe connects businesses and consumers across 200 payment types in over 40 currencies around the world. Delivered through an integrated platform, Paysafe solutions are geared toward mobile-initiated transactions, real-time analytics and the convergence between brick-and-mortar and online payments.
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anna.howard[.]paysafe.com 
