[Edaily Reporter Kang Min-koo ] The sports prediction platform “Polyball” is enhancing its service to allow fans to earn rewards based on their level of engagement with the platform, leveraging its digital asset wallet infrastructure.

Hecto Innovation(214180), an IT-based information service company, announced on the 6th that it has signed a “Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)” with Beagles to jointly pursue a “fan-participation platform business.”

The two companies will combine Hecto Innovation’s platform operation capabilities and digital asset wallet infrastructure with Beagles’ physical merchandise and digital content to build a “Fandom Economy” ecosystem that drives fan engagement and provides rewards for fan activities.

Hecto Innovation will begin fully utilizing digital asset wallet infrastructure to further develop Polyball into a platform that connects sports fans and teams. In the future, Polyball users will be able to store tickets in the form of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) in their wallets and receive rewards through their wallets for activities such as predicting game outcomes, cheering, voting, and participating in events.

Beagles supports the integration of online and offline fan activities by combining physical merchandise embedded with NFC (Near Field Communication) and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology with digital content. Membership merchandise featuring NFC and RFID technology allows fans to enter stadiums through dedicated gates or easily participate in events, offering both the joy of collecting merchandise and the fun of participation.

Along with further developing Polyball, the two companies plan to hold discussions with governing bodies of various sports disciplines. They aim to introduce NFT technology to tickets for a wide range of sporting events to eradicate scalping and contribute to fostering a healthy sports-viewing culture.

Lee Hyun-cheol, CEO of Hecto Innovation, stated, “Polyball will not only offer the fun of predicting match outcomes but also serve as a communication channel connecting sports fans with various teams and take the lead in fostering a healthy sports culture.” He added, “Through this business agreement with Beagles, we will seek to create synergies by linking various physical merchandise with digital content.”