SMAAASH Entertainment

SMAAASH owns and operates 32 gaming and entertainment centers across 16 cities in India. The company uses sports simulation technology to offer recreational and gaming activities, such as motor racing, bowling, football, and cricket.

SMAAASH entered the esports industry with its acquisition of esports team organization Simplicity Esports in 2018. Simplicity was founded in 2017 and fields teams in esports such as League of Legends, Apex Legends, and Mortal Kombat. In January 2020, Simplicity acquired Flamengo Esports, a Brazilian esports organization, through which it will be entering the 2021 League of Legends franchise competition, Campeonato Brasileiro de League of Legends (CBLoL). In September 2020, Flamengo Esports entered a partnership with Red Dragon (gaming peripherals company), where Red Dragon would sponsor its training center in exchange for 7.5% of its equity. Moreover, it announced an agreement to offer consulting services and gaming center equipment sales with live stream broadcast company Huvi.

Simplicity Esports operates around 81 esports gaming centers (as of October 2021) across the US together with PLAYLive Nation, which it acquired in July 2019.  Simplicity Gaming announced that it plans to expand its esports center footprint by opening around 30 new esports gaming centers over a period of 18-24 months in May 2021. The locations, which will predominantly be at shopping malls, will range from 2,000 sq. ft. to 4,000 sq. ft. The company also reported that its gaming center acquisitions in 2019 had generated more than USD 3 million in revenue. From October 2020 to March 2021, the company announced the acquisition of 7 esports gaming centers. It also signed non-binding letters of intent to acquire four more esports gaming centers by December 2020. These gaming centers generated combined revenues of USD 2.7 million in 2019.

In 3Q FY2021, the company reported total revenue of around USD 430,000, up 12.5% YoY. Sales from company-owned stores grew threefold to around USD 320,000 compared to the previous year. Esports revenue from team sponsorships, prize winnings, league sponsorships, and the company’s share of league revenues totaled USD 60,000, a decline of 34% YoY. This was mainly due to the cancellation of live events and the impact on sponsorship revenue.