The U.S. economic shutdown triggered by the epidemic continues. On April 23, local time, the U.S. Department of Labor announced the latest number of people applying for unemployment benefits for the first time. Although the data has fallen for three consecutive weeks, the overall situation is still not optimistic: the employment growth accumulated in the United States since 2009 has been in the last five weeks. The inside was erased.
According to the Wall Street Journal, although the epidemic continues, many young Americans have "studied" some alternative ways to "make money"-participating in online game competitions. In this regard, some American netizens expressed concern, “Unemployment and gambling are not the best combination.”
makes money while playing games?
Robert Johnson, 29 years old this year, recently played around 10 games with unknown players every day in NBA 2K. This is his favorite online game. Now he plays it not only for hobbies, because this game can also make money.
Johnson, who lives in Cleveland, USA, often places bets through an app called Play One Up (APP), with a bet of $45 per game. Last month, he won about $1,600 by playing games. Johnson used the money to buy a lot of daily necessities and paid part of his credit card bills for his parents. Since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic in the United States, his parents have lost their jobs.
△Last month, Robert Johnson won about $1,600 by playing games. According to the “Wall Street Journal”
in an interview with the “Wall Street Journal”, Johnson said: “I like doing this kind of thing very much. I don’t need to leave home. I can rest whenever I want to. I don’t need to ask for leave.” He used to be one. A basketball coach, responsible for teaching local youth. The new crown pneumonia epidemic prevented him from continuing to work.
Nowadays, video game apps and websites have sprung up like mushrooms, and more and more young Americans who cannot go anywhere due to the new crown pneumonia epidemic are beginning to make money in this way. Brandon Pitt, CEO of
Play One Up, said: "Last month, people used this program to compete for cash in more than 10,000 1-on-1 matches, and the number of matches was more than twice the usual."
△ Brandon Pitt, CEO of Play One Up. According to the picture, the "Wall Street Journal"
Players’ Lounge is the same type of software as Play One Up. According to the CEO of the software development company Austin Woolrich, the number of games played by the software last month has increased by about 70% compared to usual, and the number of new users has increased by more than 50%.
"Unemployment and gambling are not the best combination"
Now e-sports (Esports) competitions are also quite hot. People who don’t know each other play a series of games online and then win prizes. Gabe Rubin is the head of the "GamerSaloon" company, which often organizes e-sports competitions and some 1-on-1 small-scale competitions. He said: "Every one of our indicators is growing substantially." The company now has 1.3 million members. There are many types of games that
can use to play against. For example, shooting games can choose "Call of Duty" (Call of Duty) and "Fortnite" (Fortnite), football can choose "FIFA", etc., the amount of bet for a game is from 5 US dollars to 10,000 US dollars. Wait. The vast majority of APP income depends on taking a small part of betting or advertising and sponsorship.
△According to the “Wall Street Journal”
, New York, Frankfurt Cournet Klein law firm partner Sean Kane said: “In many states in the United States, there is no such act of winning prize money through online game competitions. Be recognized as gambling, is legal. Mainly because it is a skill-based activity, gamers can control the outcome of the game."
Gary Hash, who lives in Virginia, is a long-term user of "Game Salon." The 35-year-old recently spent more time on this app than usual. He previously worked in his father's church, and after the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia, the United States suspended all religious activities.
He participates in the "Madden NFL" games and usually bets $25 per game. He used to win often, but recently he often loses. Whenever he loses many times in a row, he will take a break and comfort himself by saying: "Victories one after another are actually bad for the players themselves. The more you playWell, the less likely it is for people to play with you. "
has some people who really make a living by participating in e-sports, including professional players from various teams, but this is a very small number of people. For those who are unemployed due to the impact of the epidemic, this is a kind of profit. The way to get living expenses. Last month, David Gerry, a sophomore at Kent State University in Ohio, quit his part-time job at a local food delivery company because he was afraid of being infected. He used to occasionally earn a little money on Play One Up. Now we mainly rely on this game to earn living expenses.
has different opinions on this. Some netizens said: “Unemployment and gambling are not the best combination. E-sports evolves into gambling and will lose its meaning. "Some netizens said: "E-sports related to money has existed for a long time. But I will not place bets on others on any APP. How do you know that the accounts your opponent uses on these apps are legal, or your opponent is just an agent. "
Red Star News reporter Wang Yalin Luo Tian
Editor Peng Yi
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