By FinancialBuzz.com

NEW YORK — In recent news, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), the federal law that limited sports betting to only the state of Nevada for the last 25 years. According to a report by CBSNews, Jefferies analyst David Katz projected in a recent note to clients, that the sports betting market at $1.2 billion to $57 billion and the potential revenue at between $62 million to $2.9 billion for casinos. The ruling against PASPA is expected to increase the appetite for sports consumption both online and on traditional television, which is a significant development for the straggling sports television industry. Internet of Things Inc. (OTC: INOTF), Scientific Games Corporation (NASDAQ: SGMS), The Stars Group Inc. (NASDAQ: TSG), Riot Blockchain, Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT), Pareteum Corporation (NYSE: TEUM)

Sports betting may become a new growth industry for blockchain businesses after the U.S. Supreme Court’s May 14 decision. A report by Bloomberg Law explained that the distributed ledger technology could bring efficiency to manual procedures in place within casinos to verify identities and flag problematic transactions, to tracking payouts, anti-money laundering compliance, and taxes. Matt Corva, counsel for ConsenSys, said to Bloomberg, “A betting business built on blockchain technology might assuage some of the historical concerns held by people about sports betting in the U.S., such as the threat of collusion, money laundering, and tax evasion, all of which would be more easily identifiable and enforceable against with a trustworthy shared ledger and the robust identity frameworks blockchain can provide.”

Internet of Things Inc. (OTC: INOTF) also listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker (TSX-V: ITT). Earlier this morning the company announced breaking news that, “Is pleased to provide a corporate update detailing its recently accomplished milestones and current growth initiatives. Appointment of President & COO – IoT Inc. recently announced the appointment of James Sutcliffe as President & COO. Mr. Sutcliffe will oversee operations, investee companies and merger & acquisition opportunities.

Mr. Sutcliffe brings more than 20 years’ experience in global operational and financial leadership. Earlier in his career, he was as a key member of a management team that grew a Fortune 150 Tier 1 automotive supplier’s Asian operations ten-fold. During this time, Mr. Sutcliffe held senior corporate development, finance, and executive management roles. Spearheading entry into new markets in Asia, he was instrumental in guiding start-ups and acquisitions in China, India, and Korea.

Mr. Sutcliffe commented, “IoT Inc. is at a critical inflection point given its growth opportunities in Asia and North America. I am excited to leverage my relationships and operating experience as the company pursues very compelling and complementary accretive acquisitions.”

Corporate Repositioning: The Company has developed a new website designed to encourage investor signups and inbound business opportunities and enhanced marketing collateral including a new corporate presentation. In addition, IoT Inc. has signed up to participate in investor focused conferences over the next few months to raise awareness. This corporate repositioning reflects the new strategic vision of the Company and will serve as the foundation to expand its strategic plan to acquire and operate growth-ready technology companies.

Equity Financing: After the original public announcement of a private placement financing in December 2017, the Company closed an over-subscribed funding round of $2,300,000. This working capital provides a sufficient runway to continue execution of its long-term corporate growth strategy and to pursue strategic acquisitions.

Portfolio Company Updates: Weather Telematics Inc. The Company announced that it has entered into a letter of agreement to acquire Weather Telematics Inc. (“WTX Inc.” or “Weather Telematics”), a data science company offering real-time advanced AI-based predictive road condition weather analytics for safer, connected and autonomous transportation. For further details read the May 14, 2018 press release. Weather Telematics recently announced a partnership with Teletrac Navman, a global software-as-a-service provider that leverages location-based technology for GPS tracking solutions, to provide dynamic weather data including a real-time view of hazardous road conditions to the DIRECTOR® fleet management platform.

New Hope IoT Intl. Inc. (or the “JV”) – Management is pleased with the progress that continues to be made with factory automation initiatives as IoT Inc. expands its presence in Greater China. The JV continues to make headway with artificial intelligence in China and pending the closing of WTX Inc., the Company will look to leverage their unique data and technology by integrating it into its manufacturing process optimization platform to turn traditional manufacturing operations into smart industrial IoT enabled facilities.

Blockstrain Technology Corp. (“Blockstrain”) – The Company made a strategic investment in Blockstrain Technology Corp. (TSX-V: DNAX). Blockstrain delivers a secure and immutable blockchain platform to establish global certainty for cannabis strains and their ownership. Blockstrain closed a non-brokered private placement raising gross proceeds of $10,500,000, and also completed its go public transaction earlier this week. Based on yesterday’s closing price of Blockstrain, IoT Inc’s position in the company is worth more than 250% of its original investment. The Company is in discussions with Blockstrain and is evaluating how to deploy and leverage its strategic technology applications into the Blockstrain ecosystem.

Braingrid Corp. (“Braingrid”) – In December 2015, IoT Inc. acquired an 8.33% minority equity position in Braingrid for $500,000. Braingrid recently closed a $2,500,000 equity financing and continues to work on its public listing on the Canadian Securities Exchange. Braingrid intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, such as continuing expansion of its R&D department as well as furthering the execution of its long-term roadmap. Management expects that Braingrid’s go-public transaction will be accretive to IoT Inc.

New Opportunities – IoT Inc. looks to capitalize on new opportunities when they fit the Company’s core investment criteria. There are occasionally new legislation and regulatory guidelines that open new markets, particularly the recent Supreme Court of the United States ruling that struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA), an act that largely outlawed sports betting outside of Nevada. This change in legislation effectively clears a path for the legalization of sports betting in the United States. Research firm Eilers & Krejcik Gaming estimates a regulated United States sports betting market could generate $6.03 billion in annual revenue by 2023. Additionally, the Canadian Gaming Association estimates that Canadians are wagering approximately $10 billion annually through illegal bookmaking operations in Canada, and more than $4 billion through offshore online sports gambling websites, meaning that many people are betting through illegal and nefarious channels. As a result of these regulatory changes, IoT Inc. has formed a strategy to capitalize on the opportunity to develop, commercialize and monetize an AI-based platform using the Company’s innovative technologies within the sports wagering marketplace.

About Internet of Things Inc. – Internet of Things Inc. is a strategic investor in growth-ready companies with innovative technology solutions. The Company creates value through its portfolio companies’ expertise in the IoT, AI and Blockchain solutions, by turning data into actionable intelligence to drive more efficiency into organizations. The Company has a joint venture partnership, New Hope IoT Intl Inc., with New Hope Data Technology Co. Ltd. Internet of Things Inc. also has strategic investments in Braingrid Corp. and Blockstrain Technology Corp. and has its headquarters in Toronto, Canada.”

Scientific Games Corporation (NASDAQ: SGMS) is the world leader in offering customers a fully integrated portfolio of technology platforms, robust systems, engaging content, and services. The Company is the global leader in technology-based gaming systems, digital real-money gaming and sports betting platforms, table games, table products and instant games, and a leader in products, services, and content for gaming, lottery, and social gaming markets. On Monday, the company shares expert opinions on PASPA and sports betting opportunities in the United States. Barry Cottle, CEO SG Interactive and incoming President & CEO of Scientific Games, says: “Scientific Games is uniquely equipped to help our customers capitalize on this new sports betting opportunity. As an end-to-end supplier, we will provide operators with SG Digital’s OpenBet™, a global leading sports platform solution, and our integrated gaming and lottery systems technologies that currently support our customers around the world.”

The Stars Group Inc. (NASDAQ: TSG) is a leading provider of technology-based product offerings in the global gaming and interactive entertainment industries. On Tuesday, the company reacted to the decision by the United States Supreme Court to strike down, as an unconstitutional exercise of Federal power, the nearly 30-year ban on sports betting under the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, or PASPA. The decision follows The Stars Group’s recent announcement of its agreement to acquire Sky Betting & Gaming, the fastest growing established sports betting operator in the United Kingdom, the world’s largest online gaming market, and its recent acquisition of 80% of the combined CrownBet and William Hill Australia businesses, which combined form the third largest online sports betting operator in Australia, the world’s second-largest online gaming market. The acquisition of Sky Betting & Gaming, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018, will create the world’s largest publicly listed online gaming company with massive global scale, deep industry expertise, unrivalled brand awareness, a robust technology platform, expansive player database, and deeply rooted focus on the customer, all of which together will support The Stars Group in establishing itself as an important participant in emerging markets like the United States.

Riot Blockchain, Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT) is focused on building, supporting, and operating Blockchain technologies, primarily through its cryptocurrency mining operations and other internally developed businesses, as well as through potential joint ventures, acquisitions, and targeted investments in the sector. Recently, the company announced a strategic investment in The Block Crypto, Inc. The Block is building a community for enthusiasts of blockchain technology and crypto assets.  The platform will provide members with high-quality content, powerful community discussion, access to experts, and regular industry events.  The Company’s investment in The Block will be used to advance its technology and continue building its team.

Pareteum Corporation (NYSE: TEUM) is the rapidly growing Cloud Communications Platform company. On February 6, 2018, the company announced that it has published a whitepaper to explore the opportunities that Blockchain enables including security, identity management, and settlement. The whitepaper begins with defining how Blockchain supports the integration of various forms of traditional and next-generation payment models. Providing real-world use cases, the whitepaper demonstrates how Blockchain relates to the communications market. The Whitepaper explores how the Pareteum Global Cloud Service Platform supports Blockchain enablement and why it’s important for mobile solutions providers to understand the basics of this new technology.

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