UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 20-F

(Mark One)   

☐ REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR (g) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

OR

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020

OR

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from        to

OR

☐ SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of event requiring this shell company report

Commission file number 001-39885

VERSUS SYSTEMS INC.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

N/A

(Translation of Registrant’s name into English)

British Columbia

(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

1558 West Hastings Street

Vancouver BC V6G 3J4 Canada

(Address of principal executive offices)

Matthew Pierce

6701 Center Drive West, Suite 480

Los Angeles, CA 90445

(310) 242-0228

(Name, telephone, email and/or facsimile number and address of Company contact person)

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

(Title of Class)

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act:

None

(Title of Class)

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the Annual Report: At December 31, 2020, 10,733,586 common shares and were issued and outstanding.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. ☐ Yes  ☒  No

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.☐ Yes  ☒ No

Note-checking the box above will not relieve any registrant required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 from their obligations under those sections.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.☐ Yes  ☒ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).☒ Yes  ☐ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large Accelerated Filer ☐ Accelerated Filer ☐ Non-Accelerated Filer ☐ Emerging growth company ☒

If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards† provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

† The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow.☐ Item 17☐ Item 18

If this is an Annual Report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).☐ Yes  ☒ No

Versus Systems Inc.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

Unless otherwise indicated, all references in this Annual Report on Form 20-F (this “Annual Report”) to “we,” “our,” “us,” “the company” “our company” or similar terms refer to Versus Systems Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries. We publish our consolidated financial statements in Canadian dollars. In this annual report, unless otherwise specified, all references to “$” and “C$” mean Canadian dollars and all references to “US$,” “USD” and “dollars” mean United States dollars.

This Annual Report includes our audited annual consolidated financial statements, or the “Financial Statements.” Our audited consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2020, December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018 were prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS, as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IASB, the independent, private-sector body that develops and approves IFRS, and Interpretations issued by the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee, or IFRIC. None of the financial statements were prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States.

Unless indicated otherwise, our financial information in this Annual Report has been prepared on a basis consistent with IFRS as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board. In making an investment decision, investors must rely on their own examination of our results and consult with their own professional advisors.

The share and per share information in this Annual Report reflects the one-for-16 reverse stock split of our outstanding common shares that became effective on December 15, 2020.

Unless otherwise indicated, information contained in this Annual Report concerning our industry and the markets in which we operate is based on information from independent industry and research organizations, other third-party sources (including industry publications, surveys and forecasts), and management estimates. Management estimates are derived from publicly available information released by independent industry analysts and third-party sources, as well as data from our internal research, and are based on assumptions made by us upon reviewing such data and our knowledge of such industry and markets, which we believe to be reasonable. Although we believe the data from these third-party sources is reliable, we have not independently verified any third-party information. In addition, projections, assumptions and estimates of the future performance of the industry in which we operate and our future performance are necessarily subject to uncertainty and risk due to a variety of factors, including those described in “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” These and other factors could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the estimates made by the independent parties and by us.

Trademarks and Service Marks

All service marks, trademarks and trade names referred to in this Annual Report are the property of their respective owners. Solely for convenience, the trademarks and trade names in this Annual Report are referred to without the ®, © and ™ symbols, but such references should not be construed as any indicator that their respective owners will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, their rights thereto.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report includes forward-looking statements. These statements involve risks known to us, significant uncertainties, and other factors which may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements.

Some of the statements in this Annual Report constitute “forward-looking statements” that represent our beliefs, projections and predictions about future events. From time to time in the future, we may make additional forward-looking statements in presentations, at conferences, in press releases, in other reports and filings and otherwise. Forward-looking statements are all statements other than statements of historical fact, including statements that refer to plans, intentions, objectives, goals, targets, strategies, hopes, beliefs, projections, prospects, expectations or other characterizations of future events or performance, and assumptions underlying the foregoing. The words “may,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “will,” “project,” “intend,” “continue,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “expect,” “plan,” “potential,” “opportunity,” “scheduled,” “goal,” “target,” and “future,” variations of such words, and other comparable terminology and similar expressions and references to future periods are often, but not always, used to identify forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the following: 

These statements are necessarily subjective, are based upon our current plans, intentions, objectives, goals, strategies, beliefs, projections and expectations, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements described in or implied by such statements. Actual results may differ materially from expected results described in our forward-looking statements, including with respect to correct measurement and identification of factors affecting our business or the extent of their likely impact, the accuracy and completeness of the publicly-available information with respect to the factors upon which our business strategy is based, or the success of our business. Furthermore, industry forecasts are likely to be inaccurate, especially over long periods of time.

Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether, or the times by which, our performance or results may be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time those statements are made and management’s belief as of that time with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Important factors that may cause actual results, our performance or achievements, or industry results to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, those discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report.

PART I

ITEM 1. IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISERS

Not applicable.

ITEM 2. OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE

Not applicable.

ITEM 3. KEY INFORMATION

A. Selected Financial Data

The Company has chosen to early comply with the SEC’s amendments to modernize, simplify and enhance certain financial disclosure requirements in Regulation S-K, and in accordance therewith is omitting Item 3.A. 

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

An investment in our securities carries a significant degree of risk. You should carefully consider the following risks, as well as the other information contained in this Annual Report, including our historical financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report, before you decide to purchase our securities. Any one of these risks and uncertainties has the potential to cause material adverse effects on our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results which could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements expressed by us and a significant decrease in the value of our common shares and warrants. Refer to “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”

We may not be successful in preventing the material adverse effects that any of the following risks and uncertainties may cause. These potential risks and uncertainties may not be a complete list of the risks and uncertainties facing us. There may be additional risks and uncertainties that we are presently unaware of, or presently consider immaterial, that may become material in the future and have a material adverse effect on us. You could lose all or a significant portion of your investment due to any of these risks and uncertainties.

Risks Related to Our Business

We have a relatively limited operating history and limited revenues to date and thus are subject to risks of business development and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.

Because we have a relatively limited operating history and limited revenues to date, you should consider and evaluate our operating prospects in light of the risks and uncertainties frequently encountered by early-stage operating companies in rapidly evolving markets. These risks include:

Our future growth will depend substantially on our ability to address these and the other risks described in this section. If we do not successfully address these risks, our business could be significantly harmed. To date, we have had minimal revenues. Even if we do achieve profitability, we cannot predict the level of such profitability. If we sustain losses over an extended period of time, we may be unable to continue our business.

Future acquisitions or strategic investments could disrupt our business and harm our business, results of operations or financial condition.

We may in the future explore potential acquisitions of companies or strategic investments to strengthen our business. Even if we identify an appropriate acquisition candidate, we may not be successful in negotiating the terms or financing of the acquisition, and our due diligence may fail to identify all of the problems, liabilities or other shortcomings or challenges of an acquired business.

Acquisitions involve numerous risks, any of which could harm our business, including:

Failure to appropriately mitigate these risks or other issues related to such strategic investments and acquisitions could result in reducing or completely eliminating any anticipated benefits of transactions, and harm our business generally. Future acquisitions could also result in dilutive issuances of our equity securities, the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities, amortization expenses or the impairment of goodwill, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.

We may require additional funding for our growth plans, and such funding may result in a dilution of your investment.

We attempted to estimate our funding requirements in order to implement our growth plans. If the costs of implementing such plans should exceed these estimates significantly or if we come across opportunities to grow through expansion plans that cannot be predicted at this time, and our funds generated from our operations prove insufficient for such purposes, we may need to raise additional funds to meet these funding requirements.

These additional funds may be raised by issuing equity or debt securities or by borrowing from banks or other resources. We cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain any additional financing on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all. If we fail to obtain additional financing on terms that are acceptable to us, we will not be able to implement such plans fully if at all. Such financing even if obtained, may be accompanied by conditions that limit our ability to pay dividends or require us to seek lenders’ consent for payment of dividends, or restrict our freedom to operate our business by requiring lender’s consent for certain corporate actions.

Further, if we raise additional funds by way of a rights offering or through the issuance of new shares, any shareholders who are unable or unwilling to participate in such an additional round of fund raising may suffer dilution in their investment.

We may not have sufficient capital to fund our ongoing operations, effectively pursue our strategy or sustain our growth initiatives.

Our remaining liquidity and capital resources may not be sufficient to allow us to fund our ongoing operations, effectively pursue our strategy or sustain our growth initiatives. The report of our independent registered public accountants on our financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 stated that our negative cash flows from operations, inability to finance our day-to-day operations through operations and expectation of further losses indicates that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on our ability to continue as a going concern. If we require additional capital resources, we may seek such funds directly from third party sources; however, we may not be able to obtain sufficient equity capital and/or debt financing from third parties to allow us to fund our expected ongoing operations or we may not be able to obtain such equity capital or debt financing on acceptable terms or conditions. Factors affecting the availability of equity capital or debt financing to us on acceptable terms and conditions include:

If we are unable to obtain the equity capital or debt financing necessary to fund our ongoing operations, pursue our strategy and sustain our growth initiatives, we may be forced to scale back our operations or our expansion initiatives, and our business and operating results will be materially adversely affected.

Changes in our relationships with our most significant customer, HP, including the loss or reduction in business from HP, could have an adverse impact on us.

For the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018, one customer, HP, represented 99.9%, 99.9% and 99.8%, respectively, of our total net revenues. Until such time, if ever, that we are able to diversify our customer base and add additional significant customers, the loss of HP as a customer would materially impair our overall consolidated financial condition and our consolidated results of operations. Our contractual relationships with customers, including HP, generally are terminable at will by the customers on short notice and do not require the customer to provide any minimum commitment. Our customers could choose to divert all or a portion of their business with us to one of our competitors, demand rate reductions for our services, require us to assume greater liability that increases our costs, or develop their own prizing or rewards capabilities. Failure to retain our existing customers or enter into relationships with new customers could materially impact the growth in our business and our ability to meet our current and long-term financial forecasts.

Our operations are significantly dependent on changes in public and customer tastes and discretionary spending patterns. Our inability to successfully anticipate customer preferences or to gain popularity for games may negatively impact our profitability.

Our success depends significantly on public and customer tastes and preferences, which can be unpredictable. If we are unable to successfully anticipate customer preferences or increase the popularity of the games that have embedded at our platform, the per capita revenue and overall customer expenditures may decrease, and thereby negatively impact our profitability. In response to such developments, we may need to increase our marketing and product development efforts and expenditures, we may also adjust our product pricing, we may modify the platform itself, or take other actions, which may further erode our profit margins or otherwise adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. In particular, we may need to expend considerable cost and effort in carrying out extensive research and development to assess the potential interest in our platform and to remain abreast with continually evolving technology and trends.

While we may incur significant expenditures of this nature, including in the future as we continue to expand our operations, there can be no assurance that any such expenditures or investments by us will yield expected or commensurate returns or results, within a reasonable or anticipated time, or at all.

If we cannot continue to develop, acquire, market and offer new products and services or enhancements to existing products and services that meet customer requirements, our operating results could suffer.

The process of developing and acquiring new technology products and services and enhancing existing offerings is complex, costly and uncertain. If we fail to anticipate customers’ rapidly changing needs and expectations, our market share and results of operations could suffer. We must make long-term investments, develop, acquire or obtain appropriate intellectual property and commit significant resources before knowing whether our predictions will accurately reflect customer demand for our products and services. If we misjudge customer needs in the future, our new products and services may not succeed and our revenues and earnings may be harmed. Additionally, any delay in the development, acquisition, marketing or launch of a new offering or enhancement to an existing offering could result in customer attrition or impede our ability to attract new customers, causing a decline in our revenue or earnings.

We make significant investments in new products and services that may not achieve expected returns.

We have made and will continue to make significant investments in research, development and marketing for existing products, services and technologies, including developing new Software Development Kits (SDKs) for console gaming, wearables, smart TV systems, AR/VR, new feature sets for our core products, and entirely new products and platforms that we are developing for specific customers, as well as new technology or new applications of existing technology. Investments in new technology are speculative. Commercial success depends on many factors, including but not limited to innovativeness, developer support, and effective distribution and marketing. If customers do not perceive our latest offerings as providing significant new functionality or other value, they may reduce their purchases of our services or products, unfavorably affecting our revenue and profits. We may not achieve significant revenue from new product, service or distribution channel investments, or new applications of existing new product, service or distribution channel investments, for several years, if at all. New products and services may not be profitable, and even if they are profitable, operating margins for some new products and businesses may not be as high as the margins we have experienced historically. Furthermore, developing new technologies is complex and can require long development and testing periods. Significant delays in new releases or significant problems in creating new products or offering new services could adversely affect our revenue and profits.

If we fail to retain existing users or add new users, our results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected

The size of our users’ level of engagement are critical to our success. Our financial performance will be significantly determined by our success in having our products adding, retaining, and engaging active users. To the extent that our active user growth rate slows, our business performance will become increasingly dependent on our ability to increase levels of user engagement in current and new markets. If people do not perceive our products to be useful, reliable, and trustworthy, we may not be able to attract or retain users or otherwise maintain or increase the frequency and duration of their engagement. A decrease in user retention, growth, or engagement could render us less attractive to video game publishers and developers which may have a material and adverse impact on our revenue, business, financial condition, and results of operations. Any number of factors could potentially negatively affect user retention, growth, and engagement, including if:

If we are unable to build and/or maintain relationships with publishers and developers, our revenue, financial results, and future growth potential may be adversely affected.

If we fail to keep up with industry trends or technological developments, our business, results of operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected.

The gaming industry is rapidly evolving and subject to continuous technological changes. Our success depends on our ability to continue to develop and implement services and solutions that anticipate and respond to rapid and continuing changes in technology and industry developments and offerings to serve the evolving needs of our customers. Our growth strategy is focused on responding to these types of developments by driving innovation that will enable us to expand our business into new growth areas. If we do not sufficiently invest in new technology and industry developments, or evolve and expand our business at sufficient speed and scale, or if we do not make the right strategic investments to respond to these developments and successfully drive innovation, our services and solutions, our results of operations, and our ability to develop and maintain a competitive advantage and continue to grow could be negatively affected. In addition, we operate in a quickly evolving environment in which there currently are, and we expect will continue to be, new technology entrants. New services or technologies offered by competitors or new entrants may make our offerings less differentiated or less competitive, when compared to other alternatives, which may adversely affect our results of operations. Technological innovations may also require substantial capital expenditures in product development as well as in modification of products, services or infrastructure. We cannot assure you that we can obtain financing to cover such expenditures. Failure to adapt our products and services to such changes in an effective and timely manner could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to cybersecurity risks.

Cybersecurity risks and attacks continue to increase. Cybersecurity attacks are evolving and not always predictable. Attacks include malicious software, threats to information technology infrastructure, denial-of-service attacks on websites, attempts to gain unauthorized access to data, and other breaches. Data breaches can originate with authorized or unauthorized persons. Authorized persons could inadvertently or intentionally release confidential or proprietary information, and recipients could misuse data. Such events could lead to interruption of our operations or business, unauthorized release or use of information, compromise of data, damage to our reputation, damage to our customers or vendors, and increased costs to prevent, respond to or mitigate any events.

We are a holding company and depend upon our subsidiaries for our cash flows.

We are a holding company. All of our operations are conducted, and almost all of our assets are owned, by our subsidiaries. Consequently, our cash flows and our ability to meet our obligations depend upon the cash flows of our subsidiaries and the payment of funds by these subsidiaries to us in the form of dividends, distributions or otherwise. The ability of our subsidiaries to make any payments to us depends on their earnings, the terms of their indebtedness, including the terms of any credit facilities, of which there are currently none, and legal restrictions. While there are no restrictions on the ability of our subsidiaries to make any payments to us, such restrictions may arise in the future. Any failure to receive dividends or distributions from our subsidiaries when needed could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.

Our insurance coverage may not adequately protect us against all future risks, which may adversely affect our business and prospects.

We maintain insurance coverage, including for fire, acts of god and perils, terrorism, burglary, money, fidelity guarantee, professional liability including errors and omissions and breach of contract, commercial property, commercial general liability, cyber events including incident response costs, legal, forensic and breach management costs, cyber-crimes, system damage, rectification costs, business interruption and reputational harm, as well as directors’ and officers’ liability insurance and employee health and medical insurance, with standard exclusions in each instance. While we maintain insurance in amounts that we consider reasonably sufficient for a business of our nature and scale, with insurers that we consider reliable and credit worthy, we may face losses and liabilities that are uninsurable by their nature, or that are not covered, fully or at all, under our existing insurance policies. Moreover, coverage under such insurance policies would generally be subject to certain standard or negotiated exclusions or qualifications and, therefore, any future insurance claims by us may not be honored by our insurers in full, or at all. In addition, our premium payments under our insurance policies may require a significant investment by us.

To the extent that we suffer loss or damage that is not covered by insurance or that exceeds our insurance coverage, the loss will have to be borne by us and our business, cash flow, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may be adversely affected.

Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, investments and results of operations.

We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we are required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their departure could adversely affect our ability to operate.

Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our executive officers and directors. We do not have key-man insurance on the life of any of our directors or executive officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers could have a detrimental effect on us.

Our executive officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.

We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, executive officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. We do not have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.

Public health epidemics or outbreaks, such as COVID-19, could materially and adversely impact our business.

In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) emerged in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. While initially the outbreak was largely concentrated in China and caused significant disruptions to its economy, it has now spread to several other countries and infections have been reported globally. Because COVID-19 infections have been reported throughout the United States, certain federal, state and local governmental authorities have issued stay-at-home orders, proclamations and/or directives aimed at minimizing the spread of COVID-19. Additional, more restrictive proclamations and/or directives may be issued in the future.

To protect the health and well-being of our employees and customers, we have implemented work-from-home requirements, made substantial modifications to employee travel policies, and cancelled or shifted marketing and other corporate events to virtual-only formats for the foreseeable future. While we continue to monitor our circumstances and may adjust our current policies as more information and public health guidance become available, these precautionary measures could negatively affect our sales and marketing efforts, delay and lengthen our sales cycles, or create operational or other challenges, any of which could harm our business and results of operations.

While we believe we have not been significantly adversely impacted by COVID-19 to date, we believe COVID-19 continues to present the potential for adverse risks to our company.

The potential impacts of COVID-19 on our business, financial condition, and results of operations include, but are not limited to, the following:

The ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations is unknown and will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, including the duration of the COVID-19 outbreak, new information which may emerge concerning the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, and any additional preventative and protective actions that governments, or we, may direct, which may result in an extended period of continued business disruption, reduced customer traffic and reduced operations. Any resulting financial impact cannot be reasonably estimated at this time but could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business may be harmed if our licensing partners, or other third parties with whom we do business, act in ways that put our brand at risk.

We offer a business-to-business software platform that allows video game publishers and developers, as well as other interactive media content creators, to offer in-game prizing and rewards, based on the completion of in-content challenges. We anticipate that our business partners shall be given access to sensitive and proprietary information or control over our intellectual property in order to provide services and support to our teams. These third parties may misappropriate our information or intellectual property and engage in unauthorized use of it or otherwise act in a way that places our brand at risk. The failure of these third parties to provide adequate services and technologies, the failure of third parties to adequately maintain or update their services and technologies or the misappropriation or misuse of this information or intellectual property could result in a disruption to our business operations or an adverse effect on our reputation, and may negatively impact our business.

If we fail to keep our existing users highly engaged, to acquire new users, to successfully implement an award-prizes model for our user community, our business, profitability and prospects may be adversely affected.

Our success depends on our ability to maintain and grow the number of users playing our partners’ games and other media and keeping our users highly engaged. Of particular importance is the successful deployment and expansion of our award-prizes model to our gaming community for purposes of creating predictable recurring revenues.

A decline in the number of our users may adversely affect the engagement level of our users, the vibrancy of our user community, or the popularity of our award-prizes model, which may in turn reduce our monetization opportunities, and have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. If we are unable to attract and retain users, our revenues may decline and our results of operations and financial condition may suffer.

Our failure to protect our intellectual property rights may undermine our competitive position.

We believe that our patents, copyrights, trademarks and other intellectual property are essential to our success. Please see “Business—Intellectual Property” for more details. We depend to a large extent on our ability to develop and maintain the intellectual property rights relating to our existing portfolio of prizing, promotion and financial technologies that enable brands to reach the rapidly growing competitive gaming audience of players, spectators and broadcasters. We have devoted considerable time and energy to the development and improvement of our portfolio of prizing, promotion and financial technologies intellectual property.

We rely primarily on a combination of patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets laws, and contractual restrictions for the protection of the intellectual property used in our business. Nevertheless, these provide only limited protection and the actions we take to protect our intellectual property rights may not be adequate. Our trade secrets may become known or be independently discovered by our competitors. We may have no or limited rights to stop the use of our information by others. Moreover, to the extent that our employees or third parties with whom we do business use intellectual property owned by others in their work for us, disputes may arise as to the rights to such intellectual property. Preventing any unauthorized use of our intellectual property is difficult and costly and the steps we take may be inadequate to prevent the misappropriation of our intellectual property. In the event that we resort to litigation to enforce our intellectual property rights, such litigation could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our managerial and financial resources. We can provide no assurance that we will prevail in such litigation. Any failure in protecting or enforcing our intellectual property rights could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our services or solutions could infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others or we might lose our ability to utilize the intellectual property of others.

We cannot be sure that our services and solutions do not infringe on the intellectual property rights of third parties, and these third parties could claim that we or our clients are infringing upon their intellectual property rights. These claims could harm our reputation, cause us to incur substantial costs or prevent us from offering some services or solutions in the future. Any related proceedings could require us to expend significant resources over an extended period of time. Any claims or litigation in this area could be time-consuming and costly, damage our reputation and/or require us to incur additional costs to obtain the right to continue to offer a service or solution to our clients. If we cannot secure this right at all or on reasonable terms, or we cannot substitute alternative technology, our results of operations could be materially adversely affected. The risk of infringement claims against us may increase as we expand our industry software solutions.

In recent years, individuals and firms have purchased intellectual property assets in order to assert claims of infringement against technology providers and customers that use such technology. Any such action naming us or our clients could be costly to defend or lead to an expensive settlement or judgment against us. Moreover, such an action could result in an injunction being ordered against our client or our own services or operations, causing further damages.

In addition, we rely on third-party software in providing some of our services and solutions. If we lose our ability to continue using such software for any reason, including in the event that the software is found to infringe the rights of others, we will need to obtain substitute software or seek alternative means of obtaining the technology necessary to continue to provide such services and solutions. Our inability to replace such software, or to replace such software in a timely or cost-effective manner, could materially adversely affect our results of operations.

Third parties may register trademarks or domain names or purchase internet search engine keywords that are similar to our trademarks, brands or websites, or misappropriate our data and copy our platform, all of which could cause confusion to our users, divert online customers away from our products and services or harm our reputation.

Competitors and other third parties may purchase trademarks that are similar to our trademarks and keywords that are confusingly similar to our brands or websites in internet search engine advertising programs and in the header and text of the resulting sponsored links or advertisements in order to divert potential customers from us to their websites. Preventing such unauthorized use is inherently difficult. If we are unable to prevent such unauthorized use, competitors and other third parties may continue to drive potential online customers away from our platform to competing, irrelevant or potentially offensive platform, which could harm our reputation and cause us to lose revenue.

Our business is highly dependent on the proper functioning and improvement of our information technology systems and infrastructure. Our business and operating results may be harmed by service disruptions, or by our failure to timely and effectively scale up and adjust our existing technology and infrastructure.

Our business depends on the continuous and reliable operation of our information technology, or IT, systems. Our IT systems are vulnerable to damage or interruption as a result of fires, floods, earthquakes, power losses, telecommunications failures, undetected errors in software, computer viruses, hacking and other attempts to harm our IT systems. Disruptions, failures, unscheduled service interruptions or a decrease in connection speeds could damage our reputation and cause our customers and end-users to migrate to our competitors’ platforms. If we experience frequent or constant service disruptions, whether caused by failures of our own IT systems or those of third-party service providers, our user experience may be negatively affected, which in turn may have a material and adverse effect on our reputation and business. We may not be successful in minimizing the frequency or duration of service interruptions. As the number of our end-users increases and more user data are generated on our platform, we may be required to expand and adjust our technology and infrastructure to continue to reliably store and process content.

We use third-party services and technologies in connection with our business, and any disruption to the provision of these services and technologies to us could result in adverse publicity and a slowdown in the growth of our users, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business partially depends on services provided by, and relationships with, various third parties. We exercise no control over the third parties with whom we have business arrangements. If such third parties increase their prices, fail to provide their services effectively, terminate their service or agreements or discontinue their relationships with us, we could suffer service interruptions, reduced revenues or increased costs, any of which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In most cases, we rely on third party consumer-brand partners to fulfil the prizes and rewards for our end users, players, viewers and participants. Disruption of this fulfilment could result in a poor user experience, adverse publicity, and a slowdown in growth of users, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business depends on rewards, earned by users, being fulfilled correctly by third party consumer-brands with whom we have business arrangements. While we have agreements with those consumer-brands, we do not exercise control over those companies. If, for any reason, our customers do not fulfil the prizes or rewards in a manner that our end users, players and/or viewers expect, we may suffer in the perception of those end users. This could result in loss of players, poor public relations, or lawsuits. Such event(s) would have a material adverse effect(s) on our business, financial condition and may results in a loss of operations.

Risks Related to International Operations

The risks related to international operations, in particular in countries outside of the United States, could negatively affect our results.

We expect to incur up to 20% of our total expenses from transactions denominated in currencies other than the United States dollar, such as the Canadian dollar, and the British pound. As such, our operations may be adversely affected by changes in foreign government policies and legislation or social instability and other factors which are not within our control, including, but not limited to, recessions in foreign economies, expropriation, nationalization and limitation or restriction on repatriation of funds, assets or earnings, longer receivables collection periods and greater difficulty in collecting accounts receivable, changes in consumer tastes and trends, renegotiation or nullification of existing contracts or licenses, changes in gaming policies, regulatory requirements or the personnel administering them, currency fluctuations and devaluations, exchange controls, economic sanctions and royalty and tax increases, risk of terrorist activities, revolution, border disputes, implementation of tariffs and other trade barriers and protectionist practices, taxation policies, including royalty and tax increases and retroactive tax claims, volatility of financial markets and fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, difficulties in the protection of intellectual property particularly in countries with fewer intellectual property protections, the effects that evolving regulations regarding data privacy may have on our online operations, adverse changes in the creditworthiness of parties with whom we have significant receivables or forward currency exchange contracts, labor disputes and other risks arising out of foreign governmental sovereignty over the areas in which our operations are conducted. Our operations may also be adversely affected by social, political and economic instability and by laws and policies of such foreign jurisdictions affecting foreign trade, taxation and investment. If our operations are disrupted and/or the economic integrity of our contracts is threatened for unexpected reasons, our business may be harmed.

Our international activities may require protracted negotiations with host governments, national companies and third parties. Foreign government regulations may favor or require the awarding of contracts to local contractors or require foreign contractors to employ citizens of, or purchase supplies from, a particular jurisdiction. In the event of a dispute arising in connection with our operations in a foreign jurisdiction where we conduct our business, we may be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of foreign courts or may not be successful in subjecting foreign persons to the jurisdictions of the courts of United States or enforcing United States judgments in such other jurisdictions. We may also be hindered or prevented from enforcing our rights with respect to a governmental instrumentality because of the doctrine of sovereign immunity. Accordingly, our activities in foreign jurisdictions could be substantially affected by factors beyond our control, any of which could have a material adverse effect on it. We believe that management’s experience to date in commercializing our products, services and solutions in China, Japan, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and other countries and regions around the world may be of assistance in helping to reduce these risks. Some countries in which we may operate may be considered politically and economically unstable.

Doing business in the industries in which we operate often requires compliance with numerous and extensive procedures and formalities. These procedures and formalities may result in unexpected or lengthy delays in commencing important business activities. In some cases, failure to follow such formalities or obtain relevant evidence may call into question the validity of the entity or the actions taken. Our management is unable to predict the effect of additional corporate and regulatory formalities which may be adopted in the future including whether any such laws or regulations would materially increase our cost of doing business or affect our operations in any area.

We may in the future enter into agreements and conduct activities outside of the jurisdictions where we currently carry on business, which expansion may present challenges and risks that we have not faced in the past, any of which could adversely affect our results of operations and/or our financial condition.

We are subject to foreign exchange and currency risks that could adversely affect our operations, and our ability to mitigate our foreign exchange risk through hedging transactions may be limited.

We expect to incur up to 20% of our expenses in currencies other than the United States dollar; however, a substantial portion of our operating expenses are incurred in United States dollars. Fluctuations in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and other currencies may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. Our consolidated financial results are affected by foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. Foreign currency exchange rate exposures arise from current transactions and anticipated transactions denominated in currencies other than United States dollars and from the translation of foreign-currency-denominated balance sheet accounts into United States dollar-denominated balance sheet accounts. We are exposed to currency exchange rate fluctuations because portions of our revenue and expenses are denominated in currencies other than the United States dollar, particularly the Canadian dollar. Exchange rate fluctuations could adversely affect our operating results and cash flows and the value of our assets outside of the United States. If a foreign currency is devalued in a jurisdiction in which we are paid in such currency, then our customers may be required to pay higher amounts for our products or services, which they may be unable or unwilling to pay. Changes in exchange rates and our limited ability or inability to successfully hedge exchange rate risk could have an adverse impact on our liquidity and results of operations.

We may be unable to operate in new jurisdictions where our customers operate because of new regulations.

We are subject to regulation in any jurisdiction where our customers access our systems. To expand into any such jurisdiction we may need to operate according to local regulations. In some cases, this may require us to be licensed, or obtain approvals for our products or services. If we do not receive or receive a revocation of a license in a particular jurisdiction for our products or services, we would not be able to sell or place our products or services in that jurisdiction. Any such outcome could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and any growth plans for our business.

Privacy concerns could result in regulatory changes and impose additional costs and liabilities on us, limit our use of information, and adversely affect our business.

Personal privacy has become a significant issue in the United States and many other countries in which we currently operate and may operate in the future. Many federal, state, and foreign legislatures and government agencies have imposed or are considering imposing restrictions and requirements about the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information obtained from individuals. Changes to laws or regulations affecting privacy could impose additional costs and liability on us and could limit our use of such information to add value for customers. If we were required to change our business activities or revise or eliminate services, or to implement burdensome compliance measures, our business and results of operations could be harmed. In addition, we may be subject to fines, penalties, and potential litigation if we fail to comply with applicable privacy regulations, any of which could adversely affect our business, liquidity and results of operation.

Our results of operations could be affected by natural events in the locations in which we operate or where our customers or suppliers operate.

We, our customers, and our suppliers have operations in locations subject to natural occurrences such as severe weather and other geological events, including hurricanes, earthquakes, or flood that could disrupt operations. Any serious disruption at any of our facilities or the facilities of our customers or suppliers due to a natural disaster could have a material adverse effect on our revenues and increase our costs and expenses. If there is a natural disaster or other serious disruption at any of our facilities, it could impair our ability to adequately supply our customers, cause a significant disruption to our operations, cause us to incur significant costs to relocate or re-establish these functions and negatively impact our operating results. While we intend to seek insurance against certain business interruption risks, such insurance may not adequately compensate us for any losses incurred as a result of natural or other disasters. In addition, any natural disaster that results in a prolonged disruption to the operations of our customers or suppliers may adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.

Risks Related to Regulation

We are subject to various laws relating to trade, export controls, and foreign corrupt practices, the violation of which could adversely affect our operations, reputation, business, prospects, operating results and financial condition.

We are subject to risks associated with doing business outside of the United States, including exposure to complex foreign and U.S. regulations such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or the FCPA, and other anti-corruption laws which generally prohibit U.S. companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to foreign officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. Violations of the FCPA and other anti-corruption laws may result in severe criminal and civil sanctions and other penalties. It may be difficult to oversee the conduct of any contractors, third-party partners, representatives or agents who are not our employees, potentially exposing us to greater risk from their actions. If our employees or agents fail to comply with applicable laws or company policies governing our international operations, we may face legal proceedings and actions which could result in civil penalties, administration actions and criminal sanctions. Any determination that we have violated any anti-corruption laws could have a material adverse impact on our business. Changes in trade sanctions laws may restrict our business practices, including cessation of business activities in sanctioned countries or with sanctioned entities.

Violations of these laws and regulations could result in significant fines, criminal sanctions against us, our officers or our employees, requirements to obtain export licenses, disgorgement of profits, cessation of business activities in sanctioned countries, prohibitions on the conduct of our business and our inability to market and sell our products or services in one or more countries. Additionally, any such violations could materially damage our reputation, brand, international expansion efforts, ability to attract and retain employees and our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition.

Regulations that may be adopted with respect to the internet and electronic commerce may decrease the growth in the use of the internet and lead to the decrease in the demand for our services.

We may become subject to any number of laws and regulations that may be adopted with respect to the internet and electronic commerce. New laws and regulations that address issues such as user privacy, pricing, online content regulation, taxation, advertising, intellectual property, information security, and the characteristics and quality of online products and services may be enacted. As well, current laws, which predate or are incompatible with the internet and electronic commerce, may be applied and enforced in a manner that restricts the electronic commerce market. The application of such pre-existing laws regulating communications or commerce in the context of the internet and electronic commerce is uncertain. Moreover, it may take years to determine the extent to which existing laws relating to issues such as intellectual property ownership and infringement, libel and personal privacy are applicable to the internet. The adoption of new laws or regulations relating to the internet, or particular applications or interpretations of existing laws, could decrease the growth in the use of the internet, decrease the demand for our services, increase our cost of doing business or could otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, revenues, operating results and financial condition.

Risks Related to Our Common Shares and Our Warrants

Our common shares and Unit A Warrants were only recently listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market and there can be no assurance that we will be able to comply with The Nasdaq Capital Market’s continued listing standards.

Our common shares and Unit A Warrants commenced trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market on January 22, 2021. However, there can be no assurance any broker will be interested in trading our common shares and/or Unit A Warrants. Therefore, it may be difficult to sell your common shares and/or Unit A Warrants if you desire or need to do so. We cannot provide any assurance that an active and liquid trading market in our securities will develop or, if developed, that such market will continue. In addition, there is no guarantee that we will be able to maintain such listings for any period of time by perpetually satisfying The Nasdaq Capital Market’s continued listing requirements. Our failure to continue to meet these requirements may result in our securities being delisted from The Nasdaq Capital Market.

The market prices of our common shares and Unit A Warrants are likely to be highly volatile because of several factors, including a limited public float.

The market prices of our common shares and Unit A Warrants have experienced significant price and volume fluctuations and the prices of such securities are likely to be highly volatile in the future. You may not be able to resell our common shares or Unit A Warrants following periods of volatility because of the market’s adverse reaction to volatility.

Other factors that could cause such volatility may include, among other things:

Any of these factors could have a significant and adverse impact on the market prices of our common shares and/or our Unit A Warrants. In addition, the stock market in general has at times experienced extreme volatility and rapid decline that has often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of particular companies. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the trading prices of our common shares and/or Unit A Warrants, regardless of our actual operating performance.

Our common shares have in the past been a “penny stock” under SEC rules, and our Unit A Warrants may be subject to the “penny stock” rules in the future. It may be more difficult to resell securities classified as “penny stock.”

In the past, our common shares were a “penny stock” under applicable SEC rules (generally defined as non-exchange traded stock with a per-share price below US$5.00). While our common shares and Unit A Warrants are not considered “penny stock” since they will be listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market, if we are unable to maintain that listing and our common shares and/or our Unit A Warrants are no longer listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market, unless we maintain a per-share price above US$5.00, our common shares and/or Unit A Warrants will be considered “penny stock.” These rules impose additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers that recommend the purchase or sale of penny stocks to persons other than those who qualify as “established customers” or “accredited investors.” For example, brokerdealers must determine the appropriateness for non-qualifying persons of investments in penny stocks. Brokerdealers must also provide, prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from the rules, a standardized risk disclosure document that provides information about penny stocks and the risks in the penny stock market. The broker-dealer also must provide the customer with current bid and offer quotations for the penny stock, disclose the compensation of the broker-dealer and its salesperson in the transaction, furnish monthly account statements showing the market value of each penny stock held in the customer’s account, provide a special written determination that the penny stock is a suitable investment for the purchaser, and receive the purchaser’s written agreement to the transaction.

Legal remedies available to an investor in “penny stocks” may include the following:

These requirements may have the effect of reducing the level of trading activity, if any, in the secondary market for a security that becomes subject to the penny stock rules. The additional burdens imposed upon broker dealers by such requirements may discourage broker-dealers from effecting transactions in our securities, which could severely limit the market price and liquidity of our securities. These requirements may restrict the ability of broker-dealers to sell our common shares or our warrants and may affect your ability to resell our common shares and our Unit A Warrants.

Many brokerage firms will discourage or refrain from recommending investments in penny stocks. Most institutional investors will not invest in penny stocks. In addition, many individual investors will not invest in penny stocks due, among other reasons, to the increased financial risk generally associated with these investments.

For these reasons, penny stocks may have a limited market and, consequently, limited liquidity. We can give no assurance at what time, if ever, our common shares or our Unit A Warrants will not be classified as a “penny stock” in the future.

We are subject to the continued listing criteria of Nasdaq, and our failure to satisfy these criteria may result in delisting of our common shares or Unit A Warrants from The Nasdaq Capital Market and could also jeopardize our continued ability to trade in the United States on The Nasdaq Capital Market.

Our common shares and Unit A Warrants are currently listed for trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market. In order to maintain the listing on Nasdaq or any other securities exchange we may trade on, we must maintain certain financial and share distribution targets, including maintaining a minimum number of public shareholders. In addition to objective standards, Nasdaq may delist our securities if, in the exchange’s opinion, our financial condition and/or operating results appear unsatisfactory; if it appears that the extent of public distribution or the aggregate market value of the security has become so reduced as to make continued listing inadvisable; if we sell or dispose of our principal operating assets or cease to be an operating company; if we fail to comply with the listing requirements; or if any other event occurs or any condition exists which, in their opinion, makes continued listing on the exchange inadvisable.

If the Nasdaq were to delist our common shares, investors may face material adverse consequences, including, but not limited to, a lack of trading market for our common shares, reduced liquidity, decreased analyst coverage, and/or an inability for us to obtain additional financing to fund our operations.

If the benefits of any proposed acquisition do not meet the expectations of investors, shareholders or financial analysts, the market price of our common shares and/or Unit A Warrants may decline.

If the benefits of any proposed acquisition do not meet the expectations of investors or securities analysts, the market price of our common shares and/or Unit A Warrants prior to the closing of the proposed acquisition may decline. The market values of our common shares and/or Unit A Warrants at the time of the proposed acquisition may vary significantly from their prices on the date the acquisition target was identified.

In addition, broad market and industry factors may materially harm the market price of our common shares and/or Unit A Warrants irrespective of our operating performance. The stock market in general has experienced price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of the particular companies affected. The trading prices and valuations of these stocks, and of our securities, may not be predictable. A loss of investor confidence in the market for retail stocks or the stocks of other companies which investors perceive to be similar to us could depress the price of our common shares and/or Unit A Warrants regardless of our business, prospects, financial conditions or results of operations. A decline in the market price of our securities also could adversely affect our ability to issue additional securities and our ability to obtain additional financing in the future.

Shares eligible for future sale may adversely affect the market.

From time to time, certain of our shareholders may be eligible to sell all or some of their common shares by means of ordinary brokerage transactions in the open market pursuant to Rule 144 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, subject to certain limitations. In general, pursuant to Rule 144, non-affiliate shareholders may sell freely after six months, subject only to the current public information requirement. Affiliates may sell after six months, subject to the Rule 144 volume, manner of sale (for equity securities), current public information, and notice requirements. Of the approximately 13,319,983 common shares outstanding as of April 15, 2021, approximately 12,969,285 shares are tradable without restriction. Given the limited trading of our common shares, resale of even a small number of our common shares pursuant to Rule 144 or an effective registration statement may adversely affect the market price of our common shares.

We have never paid dividends on our common shares and may not do so in the future.

Holders of our common shares are entitled to receive such dividends as may be declared by our board of directors. To date, we have paid no cash dividends on our common shares and we do not expect to pay cash dividends on our common shares in the foreseeable future. We intend to retain future earnings, if any, to provide funds for operations of our business. Therefore, any return investors in our common shares may have will be in the form of appreciation, if any, in the market value of their common shares. See “Dividend Policy.”

If an active, liquid trading market for our Unit A Warrants does not develop, you may not be able to sell your Unit A Warrants quickly or at a desirable price.

Our Unit A Warrants are currently exercisable and expire on the fifth anniversary of the date of issuance. The Unit A Warrants had an initial exercise price per share equal to US$7.50. In the event that the stock price of our common shares does not exceed the exercise price of the Unit A Warrants during the period when the Unit A Warrants are exercisable, the Unit A Warrants may not have any value.

There is no established trading market for our Unit A Warrants, and to the extent a market develops, such market for the Unit A Warrants may be highly volatile or may decline regardless of our operating performance. An active public market for our Unit A Warrants may not develop or be sustained. We cannot predict the extent to which investor interest in our company will lead to the development of an active trading market in our Unit A Warrants or how liquid that market might become. If a market does not develop or is not sustained, it may be difficult for you to sell your Unit A Warrants at the time you wish to sell them, at a price that is attractive to you, or at all.

Holders of our warrants will have no rights as a common shareholder until they acquire our common shares.

Until you acquire our common shares upon exercise of your warrants, you will have no rights as a shareholder in respect of the common shares underlying such warrants. Upon exercise of your warrants, you will be entitled to exercise the rights of a common shareholder only as to matters for which the record date occurs after the exercise date.

Our articles and certain Canadian legislation contain provisions that may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control.

Certain provisions of our articles could discourage potential acquisition proposals, delay or prevent a change in control and limit the price that certain investors may be willing to pay for our common shares. The material differences between the British Columbia Business Corporations Act, or BCBCA, and Delaware General Corporation Law, or DGCL, that may have the greatest such effect include, but are not limited to, the following: (i) for certain corporate transactions (such as mergers and amalgamations or amendments to our articles) the BCBCA generally requires the voting threshold to be a special resolution approved by 66 2/3% of shareholders, whereas DGCL generally only requires a majority vote; and (ii) under the BCBCA a holder of 5% or more of our common shares can requisition a special meeting of shareholders, whereas such right does not exist under the DGCL.

In addition, a non-Canadian must file an application for review with the Minister responsible for the Investment Canada Act and obtain approval of the Minister prior to acquiring control of a “Canadian Business” within the meaning of the Investment Canada Act, where prescribed financial thresholds are exceeded. Finally, limitations on the ability to acquire and hold our common shares may be imposed by the Competition Act (Canada). The Competition Act (Canada) establishes a pre-merger notification regime for certain types of merger transactions that exceed certain statutory shareholding and financial thresholds. Transactions that are subject to notification cannot be closed until the required materials are filed and the applicable statutory waiting period has expired or been waived by the Commissioner. However, the Competition Act (Canada) permits the Commissioner of Competition to review any acquisition or establishment, directly or indirectly, including through the acquisition of shares, of control over or of a significant interest in us, whether or not it is subject to mandatory notification. Otherwise, there are no limitations either under the laws of Canada or British Columbia, or in our articles on the rights of non-Canadians to hold or vote our common shares. Any of these provisions may discourage a potential acquirer from proposing or completing a transaction that may have otherwise presented a premium to our shareholders. We cannot predict whether investors will find our company and our common shares less attractive because we are governed by foreign laws.

Because we are a corporation incorporated under the laws of British Columbia and some of our directors and officers are residents of Canada, it may be difficult for investors in the United States to enforce civil liabilities against us based solely upon the U.S. federal securities laws. Similarly, it may be difficult for Canadian investors to enforce civil liabilities against our directors and officers residing outside of Canada.

We are a corporation incorporated under the laws of British Columbia. Some of our directors and officers and the auditors or other experts named herein are residents of Canada and all or a substantial portion of our assets and those of such persons are located outside the United States. Consequently, it may be difficult for U.S. investors to effect service of process within the United States upon us or our directors or officers or such auditors who are not residents of the United States, or to realize in the United States upon judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon civil liabilities under the U.S. federal securities laws. Investors should not assume that Canadian courts: (1) would enforce judgments of U.S. courts obtained in actions against us or such persons predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws or the securities or blue sky laws of any state within the United States or (2) would enforce, in original actions, liabilities against us or such persons predicated upon the U.S. federal securities laws or any such state securities or blue sky laws.

As a result of our recently becoming a reporting company under the Exchange Act, we will be obligated to develop and maintain proper and effective internal controls over financial reporting and any failure to maintain the adequacy of these internal controls may adversely affect investor confidence in our company and, as a result, the value of our common shares.

We are required, pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or Section 404, to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting for the first fiscal year beginning after March 3, 2021. This assessment includes disclosure of any material weaknesses identified by our management in our internal control over financial reporting. Our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting until our first annual report required to be filed with the SEC following the date we are no longer an emerging growth company, as defined in the JOBS Act. We will be required to disclose significant changes made in our internal control procedures on a quarterly basis.

We are beginning the costly and challenging process of compiling the system and processing documentation necessary to perform the evaluation needed to comply with Section 404, and we may not be able to complete our evaluation, testing and any required remediation in a timely fashion. Our compliance with Section 404 requires that we incur substantial accounting expense and expend significant management efforts. While we currently have an internal audit group, we may need to hire additional accounting and financial staff with appropriate public company experience and technical accounting knowledge and compile the system and process documentation necessary to perform the evaluation needed to comply with Section 404.

During the evaluation and testing process of our internal controls, if we identify one or more material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, we will be unable to assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective. We cannot assure you that there will not be material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting in the future. Any failure to maintain internal control over financial reporting could severely inhibit our ability to accurately report our financial condition or results of operations. If we are unable to conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, we could lose investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, the market price of our common shares could decline, and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by Nasdaq, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. Failure to remedy any material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, or to implement or maintain other effective control systems required of public companies, could also restrict our future access to the capital markets.

We are an emerging growth company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.

We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor internal controls attestation requirements of Section 404, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our common shares held by non-affiliates exceeds US$700 million as of any November 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following May 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.

Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

We will continue to incur increased costs as a result of operating as a reporting company under the Exchange Act, and our management will continue to be required to devote substantial time to compliance with our reporting company responsibilities and corporate governance practices.

As a reporting company under the Exchange Act, and particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” we will continue to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the listing requirements of The Nasdaq Capital Market and other applicable securities rules and regulations impose various requirements on public companies. We are also obligated to file with the Canadian securities regulators similar reports pursuant to securities laws and regulations applicable in all the provinces and territories of Canada in which we will be a reporting issuer. Compliance with these laws and regulations has increased and will continue to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly. Our management and other personnel must devote a substantial amount of time to compliance with these requirements. Moreover, these rules and regulations increase our legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities more time-consuming and costly. For example, these rules and regulations make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, which could make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our board of directors. We cannot predict or estimate the amount of additional future costs we will incur as a public company or the timing of such costs.

We are a foreign private issuer under the rules and regulations of the SEC and, thus, are exempt from a number of rules under the Exchange Act and are permitted to file less information with the SEC than a company incorporated in the U.S.

As a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we are exempt from certain rules under the Exchange Act, including the proxy rules, which impose certain disclosure and procedural requirements for proxy solicitations. Moreover, we are not required to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as U.S. companies with securities registered under the Exchange Act; we are not required to file financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles; and we are not required to comply with SEC Regulation FD, which imposes certain restrictions on the selective disclosure of material information. In addition, our officers, directors and principal shareholders are not subject to the reporting or short-swing profit recovery provisions of Section 16 of the Exchange Act or the rules under the Exchange Act with respect to their purchases and sales of our common shares. Accordingly, you may receive less information about us than you would receive about a company incorporated in the United States and may be afforded less protection under the U.S. federal securities laws than you would be afforded with respect to a company incorporated in the United States. If we lose our status as a foreign private issuer at some future time, we will no longer be exempt from such rules and, among other things, will be required to file periodic reports and financial statements as if we were a company incorporated in the United States. The costs incurred in fulfilling these additional regulatory requirements could be substantial.

Additionally, pursuant to the Nasdaq Listing Rules, as a foreign private issuer, we may elect to follow our home country practice in lieu of the corporate governance requirements of the Nasdaq Listing Rules, with the exception of those rules that are required to be followed pursuant to the provisions of the Nasdaq Listing Rules. We have elected to follow Canadian practices in lieu of the requirements of the Nasdaq Listing Rules to the extent permitted under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5615(a)(3).

U.S. Holders of our common shares may suffer adverse tax consequences if we are treated as a passive foreign investment company.

A non-U.S. corporation generally will be treated as a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, in any taxable year if either (1) at least 75% of its gross income for such year is passive income (such as interest income) or (2) at least 50% of the value of its assets (based on an average of the quarterly values of the assets) during such year is attributable to assets that produce or are held for the production of passive income. Based on the current and anticipated composition of the income, assets and operations of the Company and its subsidiaries, we do not believe that we will be a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes for the current taxable year or for future taxable years. However, the application of the PFIC rules is subject to uncertainty in several respects, and a separate determination must be made after the close of each taxable year as to whether we are a PFIC for that year. Changes in the composition of our income or assets may cause us to become a PFIC. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that we will not be a PFIC for any taxable year. If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder (as that term is defined below in “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations for U.S. Holders”) holds our common shares, such U.S. Holder may be subject to adverse tax consequences. In particular, absent certain elections, a U.S. Holder would generally be subject to U.S. federal income tax at ordinary income tax rates, plus a possible interest charge, in respect of a gain derived from a disposition of our common shares, as well as certain distributions by us. The PFIC rules are complex, and each prospective investor is strongly urged to consult its tax advisors regarding the application of these rules to such investor’s particular circumstances. See “Material United States Federal Income Tax Considerations for U.S. Holders”.

Changes to tax laws may have an adverse impact on us and holders of our common shares.

Changes in tax laws, including amendments to tax laws, changes in the interpretation of tax laws, or changes in the administrative pronouncements or positions by the Canada Revenue Agency, or CRA, may have a material adverse effect on us. In addition, tax authorities could disagree with us on tax filing positions taken by us and any reassessment of our tax filings could result in material adjustments of tax expense, income taxes payable and deferred income taxes.

Changes in tax laws, including amendments to tax laws, changes in the interpretation of tax laws or changes in the administrative pronouncements or positions by the CRA, may also have a material adverse effect on our shareholders and their investment in our common shares. Purchasers of our common shares should consult their tax advisors regarding the potential tax consequences associated with the acquisition, holding and disposition of our common shares in their particular circumstances.

ITEM 4. INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY

A. History and Development of the Company

Our Corporate Information

Versus Systems Inc., a corporation formed under the laws of British Columbia, was formed by way of an amalgamation under the name McAdam Resources, Inc. in the Province of Ontario on December 1, 1988 and subsequently extra provincially registered in British Columbia on February 2, 1989. We changed our name to Boulder Mining Corporation on May 9, 1995 in Ontario and on September 25, 1996 in British Columbia. We continued into British Columbia on January 2, 2007 and concurrently changed our name to Opal Energy Corp. We changed our name to Versus Systems Inc. on June 30, 2016, and concurrently ceased or divested our mining related business and began operating our current software platform business. We operate through our majority-owned subsidiary, Versus LLC, a Nevada limited liability company that was organized on August 21, 2013. Our principal executive offices in Canada are located at 1558 Hastings Street, Vancouver, British Columbia V6G 3J4 Canada, and our telephone number is (604) 639-4457. Our principal executive offices in the United States are located at 6701 Center Drive West, Suite 480, Los Angeles, CA 90045, and our telephone number at that address is (424) 226-8588. Our website address is www.versussystems.com. The information on or accessed through our website is not incorporated in this Annual Report. The SEC maintains an Internet site (www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issues that file electronically with the SEC.

Over 2018, 2019, and 2020, we principally developed and operated a business-to-business software platform that allows video game publishers and developers, as well as other interactive media content creators, to offer in-game prizing and rewards based on the completion of in-content challenges. We spent approximately $5.2M during those years to develop the system, and $15.8M to operate it along, including the general company operations. We are continuing to develop and operate this system and have similar-to-previous-years expenditures in progress. We operate principally in the United States of America where we develop and operate our software platform. We operate our corporate finance and treasury functions in Canada. We maintain these operations through the issuance of securities to raise capital.

B. Business Overview

We offer a proprietary business-to-business software platform that allows video game publishers and developers, as well as other interactive media content creators, to offer in-game prizing and rewards based on the completion of in-content challenges. The prizes or rewards offered are specific to each player or viewer based on a variety of user- and content-based characteristics, including age, location, game played and challenge undertaken. Our platform facilitates several types of single player prize challenges that includes a wide range of prize types, including coupons, sweepstakes-style prizes, consumer packaged goods (“CPG”) and downloadable content (“DLC”).

We believe our platform is mutually-beneficial across three target groups. By providing in-content prizes or rewards, content providers gain increased and longer interaction by users or viewers with the media experience they offer. Consumer brands offering in-content prizes or rewards see a prolonged and increased interest from players and consumers who view their goods as a positive “win” within their viewing experience rather than as a distraction from the content they are watching as is typically the case with traditional in-content advertising. Players and consumers who are offered prizes or rewards have an increased desire to interact with such content, which increases the value of the content as a supplier of prizing opportunities, of the brands that offer the prizes, and of the experience itself as an interactive and desirable challenge.

We market our platform and its benefits to two industry segments: the owners or developers of consumer brands and their marketing and advertising professionals and for media content creators, owners and platforms. To the owners or marketers of consumer brands, we sell the opportunity to place their products as prizes or rewards in selected on-line games, media or content and we share a certain percentage of the gross receipts we receive from such customers with the owners of the media in which the prizes or rewards are offered. Our current agreements with the owners or marketers of consumer brands provide that we are paid a fee to place their ads in content, the amount of which is based either on the number of ads placed or upon the performance of those ads relative to the brand’s goals.

To content creators, owners and platforms, which currently include primarily video game developers and computer hardware manufacturers, we sell the opportunity to include our proprietary platform in their content or hardware and to use such platform as a basis for selling advertising to popular consumer brands. We also sell any engineering and consulting services to support the integration of our platform, including any custom development efforts that might be required. To date, our revenues have principally come from these customization and integration services. Our current agreements with content or game owners, including HP, Kast and Animoca Brands, provide that from 50% to 60% of advertising revenue will be kept by, or shared with, the publisher or developer, with the remaining 50% to 40% of gross receipts belonging to us. HP, our largest customer during the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019, and 2018 installs our platform in its OMEN and Pavilion brands of personal computers that are manufactured primarily for gamers and general use as a means of increasing usage and desirability of those computers by consumers.

Our platform allows consumers to become active advertising participants by seeking to claim the brand’s prizes or rewards as victories won through interactions with a variety of media experiences. Users are no longer “just” winning a game or streaming their favorite film. These interactions now bestow bragging rights on the consumers that extend past the media’s original purpose, resulting in winning real world goods and gaining access to experiences.

According to a 2018 study by the University of California, Los Angeles Center for Management of Enterprise in Media, Entertainment and Sports, the introduction of rewards benefits content providers, brands and players in the following perspectives, leading to:

Our technology facilitates advertising as a narrative, not as a distraction. By creating an environment that makes brands part of a desired experience - winning prizes or rewards - we empower content providers and brands to engage consumers more effectively and for more extended periods of time.

Our Strengths

While we believe our overall value is generated from our ability to directly increase player and viewer engagement, we see the following as our core strengths:

Our Growth Strategy

While other forms of advertising technology focus mostly upon increasing monetization only for the advertiser, we believe we change the universe of beneficiaries significantly. Our approach creates simultaneous wins for content providers, brands and consumers. We believe today’s audiences not only seek engagement, but are also consummate purveyors of media, with no shortage of content choice. We recognize that keeping engagement high is the key to changing the negative association of traditional media advertising. By creating a prizing opportunity, brand introductions mean a chance to win rather than switching to another tab, source or device while waiting for selected content to return.

Our growth strategy can really be summarized into three areas: grow the audience, grow the prize provider pool, and then constantly iterate and improve.

The key elements of our long-term growth strategy include:

Our Services

In addition to licensing our prizing and rewards platform, we provide the following services to our partners and customers:

Recent Business Developments and Milestones

Within the past two years, we have had the following milestones occur in support of our company’s growth strategy:

Strategic Partnership with Frias Agency

On March 5, 2021, we entered into a Strategic Cooperation Agreement with Frias Agency pursuant to which our technology platform may be offered to clients of Frias, such as Corona, Cerveza Modelo, Cerveza Pacifico, Crush, Kim Crawford, Meiomi, Blue Chair Bay, and Casa Noble. Frias also works with major athletes like Canelo Alvarez and sports promoters like Matchroom Boxing and Premier Boxing Champions. The Versus partnership with Frias expects to extend prizing into live sporting events starting Summer 2021 for soccer, boxing, wrestling and MMA, as well as live music festivals and tours.

Master Services Agreement with Xcite Interactive.

On February 17, 2021, we entered into a Master Services Agreement with Xcite Interactive pursuant to which our prizing platform will be added to the Xeo Platform, a second-screen engagement tool used by producers of live events such as the NFL, NBA, NHL, ML, and NCAA, as well as the Olympics, the World Cup, X-Games, Formula1 and corporate events around the world, to incentivize audiences to play live predictive, polling and trivia games, either at-home, in-stadium or in-venue, before or during the live event. We estimate that the products we co-develop with Xcite Interactive will be available in the second quarter of 2021.

BTC Studios Integration Agreement for European Games Developer

On October 14, 2020, we entered into an agreement with BTC Studios, a European games developer and publisher focused on family-friendly mobile games, to bring our proprietary in-app rewards technology to BTC’s free-to-play and family-friendly puzzle game, “Taffy: Feed The Kitty.”

China Launch with HP OMEN and Pavilion

On August 24, 2020, we launched our platform in China. It is available as OMEN Rewards on HP’s OMEN and Pavilion computers.

ePlay Digital Health and Wellness Application

On August 10, 2020, we announced an agreement with ePlay Digital to bring our proprietary in-app rewards technology to ePlay’s health and wellness applications and platforms. With ePlay, we expand into the global wellness market, valued at over $4 trillion according to the Global Wellness Institute. ePlay’s catalog of health, wellness and personal improvement applications further diversifies our content offerings for reward partners in video content platforms and lifestyle mobile applications.

Animoca Brands

On April 9, 2020, we announced an agreement with Animoca Brands to bring our proprietary in-game rewards technology to mobile games developed by Animoca Brands. We are currently working with Animoca Brands to integrate real-world rewards into its mobile properties. We have already negotiated a share swap and investment program, announced in August 2019, and have continued to expand upon that relationship in 2020. Animoca Brands leverages gamification, blockchain and artificial intelligence technologies to develop and publish a broad portfolio of mobile products. Animoca Brands has operations in Hong Kong, Canada, Finland and Argentina.

iClick Interactive Agreement

On December 9, 2019, we entered into a commission sales agreement with iClick Interactive to collaborate and bring our technology to iClick’s customer base in China. iClick is an independent online marketing and enterprise data solution provider in China that expertly connects brands to consumers in China with omnichannel, integrated, cross-platform and cross-screen advertising, leveraging its over 800 million Chinese consumers’ datasets.

As discussed above, we first launched our platform in China in August 2020 and are currently testing that platform for technical, business and user interface and design issues. We anticipate a larger and more comprehensive launch of our platform in China during the first half of 2021, following which we expect to begin generating revenues from our iClick relationship as brands introduced by iClick begin using our platform to reach consumers by offering in-game prizing and rewards.

HP Omen Rewards Launch

In March 2019, Versus LLC entered into a Software License, Marketing and Linking Agreement with HP (the “HP Agreement”) to provide for, among other matters, the agreement of HP to include a customized HP-branded version of our in-game prizing and rewards platform as a pre-installed software program in all of HP’s OMEN and Pavilion brand personal computers that are sold throughout the world. Please see our discussion of the HP Agreement under Item 10.C Material Contracts.

Sales and Marketing

Our sales and marketing organizations work together closely to drive market awareness, build a strong sales pipeline and cultivate customer relationships to drive revenue growth.

Sales. We primarily sell access to our platform and service offerings through our direct sales organization, which is comprised of inside sales and field sales professionals who are segmented by industry. Our direct sales organization also leverages our network of channel partners to expand our reach to additional sectors and industries, especially internationally. Our resellers market and sell our offerings throughout the U.S. and provide a go-to-market channel in regions in which we do not have a direct presence.

Once a sale is made, our sales team leverages our land-and-expand model to generate incremental revenues through increased levels of adoption of our platform by our customers. To drive such expansion in our existing customers, our direct sales team works closely with our accounts team, sales engineers and creative services team to ensure customer success.

Marketing. We focus our marketing efforts on building our brand reputation, increasing the awareness of our platform, and driving customer demand through campaigns that leverage our innovation, thought leadership, technical resources and customer success stories. We use various marketing strategies to engage with prospective customers, including email marketing, digital advertising, public relations, search engine optimization, social media, and thought leadership in the industry. Our technical leaders also frequently speak as subject matter experts at market-leading developer events, such as ElixirConf.

Research and Development

Our research and development team consists of technical engineering, product management, and user experience, and is responsible for the design, architecture, creation, and quality of our platform. We invest substantial resources in research and development to enhance our platform features and functionalities and expand the services we offer. We believe the timely development of new, and the enhancement of our existing, services and platform features is essential to maintaining our competitive position, and we continually incorporate suggestions, feedback and new use cases from our community and customers into our platform. Our research and development team works closely with our technical operations team to ensure the successful deployment and monitoring of our platform to provide a platform that is available, reliable and stable, as well as with our customer success team to collect user feedback to enhance our development process. We utilize an agile development process to deliver numerous software releases each year and hundreds of minor releases, fixes and updates.

Competition

Advertising in interactive media is a highly competitive business, characterized by increasing product introductions and rapidly-emerging new platforms and technologies. With respect to competing for customers for our platform, we will compete primarily on the basis of functionality, quality, brand and customer reviews. We will compete for platform placement based on these factors, as well as our relationship with the content owner, historical performance, perception of sales potential and relationships with owners and licensors of brands, properties and other content.

We believe that our small size will provide us a competitive edge in the near term and allow us to make quick decisions as to product development to take advantage of customer preferences at a particular point in time.

With respect to our prizing and rewards platform, we compete with a continually increasing number of companies, including industry leaders such as TapJoy and Otello. We could also face increased competition if large companies with significant online presences, such as Apple, Google, Amazon, Facebook or Yahoo, choose to enter or expand into the prizing or rewards space or develop competing platforms.

In addition, given the open nature of the development and distribution for smartphones and tablets, we also compete or will compete with a vast number of small companies and individuals in all of our segments who are able to create and launch software programs and platforms for these devices using relatively limited resources and with relatively limited start-up time or expertise.

Most of our competitors and our potential competitors have one or more advantages over us, including:

Government Regulation

We are involved in a variety of areas that are subject to governmental oversight. While we have developed a flexible platform designed to adjust to a changing legal and regulatory landscape, there are a number of areas where federal, state and international law could force us to make significant adjustments to our strategies and deployment efforts. As such, as with many companies in both the software and advertising spaces, there are risks associated with the potential impacts of government regulation.

As a company that facilitates the distribution of real-world prizes for in-game and online activities, we are, in some cases and for some campaigns, subject to laws that surround sweepstakes, contests, and games of skill. While we use best efforts to ensure that all contests are compliant with federal, state, and local laws pertaining to the game type, contest type, prize type, and the eligibility of individual players, among other concerns, we are subject to those regulations and those regulations may change. We have filed patents, and have been granted certain patent claims, protecting our ability to use player characteristics like player location, player age, and contest type to adjust eligibility in specific contests with the intent of providing dynamic regulatory compliance. We also have also designed the platform to make it possible to expeditiously cease providing prizes in certain jurisdictions, or cease offering certain types of contests, such as sweepstakes or other contest types, if that becomes necessary. If necessary, we can make these changes without interruption to our campaigns and contests in other jurisdictions.

Certain of our campaigns and contests may be subject to laws and regulations applicable to companies engaged in skill-based contests. As we partner with our brand and content partners to offer prizes that players may earn as a result of their in-game activities, we may be subject in some cases to the federal Deceptive Mail Prevention and Enforcement Act as well as certain state prize, gift, or sweepstakes statutes that may apply to certain experiences that we or our customers and partners may run from time to time. Our system does allow us to adjust terms of service to account for this and other acts. We may also choose not to offer certain campaigns, contests or prizes in certain areas because of these regulations.

In addition, certain states prohibit, restrict, or regulate contests in a number of ways, particularly with respect to payment of entry fees, and the size, value, and/or source of prizes to participants in such contests. Certain other states require companies to register and/or insure certain types of contests. While we do not typically require entry fees or consideration of any type from our players, and thus based on legal research conducted, are not subject to these regulations in most cases, we do remain conscious of these regulations. We may choose to not offer certain prizes or certain contests in certain areas due to these regulations. We can do so without interruption to other services and other jurisdictions. While at this time, our operations are not subject to certain regulations, for example the pay-to-play regulations, given that our platform is free-to-play, we are conscious that because the nature of our services is relatively new and is rapidly evolving, we may not be able to accurately predict which regulations will be applied to our business. We may also at some point become subject to new or amended regulations.

Further, our online in-game prizing and rewards platform, which may be integrated into games whose player bases include individuals ranging from elementary school age children to adults, is subject to laws and regulations relating to privacy and child protection. Through our applications and online platform, we, and the content creators, owners and platform owners that incorporate our proprietary platform into their media or hardware, may monitor and collect certain information about child users of these games and forums. A variety of laws and regulations have been adopted in recent years aimed at protecting children using the internet, such as the Federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA). COPPA sets forth, among other things, a number of restrictions related to what information may be collected with respect to children under the age of 13, as the kinds of content that website operators may present to children under such age. There are also a variety of laws and regulations governing individual privacy and the protection and use of information collected from individuals, particularly in relation to an individual’s personally identifiable information (e.g., credit card numbers). We currently employ multiple measures to ensure that we are COPPA-compliant. We screen for age at registration, we address the issue in our terms of service, and we employ a kick-out procedure during member registration whereby anyone identifying themselves as being under the age of 13 during the process may not register for a player account on our website or participate in any of our online experiences or tournaments without linking their account to that of a parent or guardian.

In the area of information security and data protection, many states have passed laws requiring notification to users when there is a security breach for personal data, such as the 2002 amendment to California’s Information Practices Act, or requiring the adoption of minimum information security standards that are often vaguely defined and difficult to implement. And while we believe that we are currently in compliance with these and other data protection regulations, including the privacy regulations set out below, the costs of compliance with these laws may increase in the future as a result of changes in interpretation. Furthermore, any failure on our part to comply with these laws may subject us to significant liabilities.

We are also subject to federal, state and foreign laws regarding privacy and protection of our users’ personal information and related data, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which took effect in January 2020, providing California residents increased privacy rights and protections, including the ability to opt out of sales of their personal information; and we are subject to the European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which took effect in May 2018 and established requirements applicable to the handling of personal information of EU residents. The CCPA may increase our compliance costs and exposure to liability. Other U.S. states are considering adopting similar laws.

We post our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy on our website where we set forth our practices concerning the use, transmission and disclosure of player data. We also require players to agree to these terms when they register for our service. Our failure to comply with our posted privacy policy or privacy related laws and regulations could result in proceedings against us by governmental authorities or others, which could damage our reputation and business. In addition, the interpretation of data protection laws, and their application to the Internet is evolving and not settled. There is a risk that these laws may be interpreted and applied in an inconsistent manner by various states, countries and areas of the world where our users are located, and in a manner that is not consistent with our current data protection practices. Complying with these varying national and international requirements could cause us to incur additional costs and change our business practices. Further, any failure by us to adequately protect our users’ privacy and data could result in a loss of player confidence in our services and ultimately in a loss of players, which could adversely impact our business.

Based on legal research conducted, we believe we are currently in compliance with all applicable state and federal laws and regulations related to our business. We continually monitor our activity and changes in such laws in order to ensure, to the best extent possible, that we remain in compliance with such laws. State and federal regulation of internet-based activity, including online prizing and rewards, is evolving and there can be no assurance that future legislation, regulation, judicial decisions, US Attorney, or state attorney general actions will not restrict or prohibit activities such as those made possible by our platform. Such regulation would have a material adverse effect on our business and operations.

C. Organizational Structure

The following chart reflects our organizational structure (including the jurisdiction of formation or incorporation of the various entities):

D. Property, Plants and Equipment

Our principal executive offices are located at 1620 West 8th Avenue, Suite 302, Vancouver, BC V6J 1V4 Canada and our principal offices in the United States are located at 6701 Center Drive West, Suite 480, Los Angeles, CA 90045. All of the facilities are leased. We believe our facilities are adequate for our current needs and we do not believe we will encounter any difficulty in extending the terms of the leases by which we occupy our respective premises. A summary description of our material, tangible fixed assets, including facilities leases follows:

ITEM 4A. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 5. OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTS

A. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results and the timing of selected events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth under “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report.

Overview

We offer a business-to-business software platform that allows video game publishers and developers, as well as other interactive media content creators, to offer in-game prizing and rewards, based on the completion of in-content challenges. The prizes available are specific to each player based on a variety of characteristics, including age, location, game played, and challenged played. Our platform facilitates several types of single player prize challenges that includes a wide range of prize types including, coupons, sweepstakes-style prizes, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), and Downloadable Content (DLC). We sell the opportunity to place in-game prizes to advertisers who wish to place product in-game, sharing a certain portion of the gross receipts with the content and game owners. Our current agreements range from 50% to 60% of revenue being shared with the publisher/developers, with the remaining 50% to 40% of gross receipts belonging to us.

We believe our platform is mutually-beneficial across three targets. Content providers gain increased interaction with their media experience. Brands see a prolonged increase of interests from players and consumers viewing their goods as a positive win rather than a distraction from content. Players and consumers want to interact with content that provides access to these wins, increasing the value of the content as a supplier of opportunities, of the brands as prizes, and of the experience itself as an interactive and desirable challenge.

Our platform allows consumers to become active ad participants seeking a claim to placed brands as victories won through interactions with a variety of media experiences. Users are no longer “just” winning a game or streaming their favorite film. These interactions now bestow bragging rights that extend past the media’s original purpose, resulting in winning real world goods and gaining access to experiences.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with the IFRS as issued by the IASB, and Interpretations issued by the IFRIC. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. We continually evaluate our estimates, including those related to the allowance for doubtful accounts, the useful life of property and equipment, assumptions used in assessing impairment of long-term assets, and valuation of deferred tax assets.

We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Any future changes to these estimates and assumptions could cause a material change to our reported amounts of revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB. Some of the accounting methods and policies used in preparing the financial statements under IFRS are based on complex and subjective assessments by our management or on estimates based on past experience and assumptions deemed realistic and reasonable based on the circumstances concerned. The actual value of our assets, liabilities and shareholders’ equity and of our earnings could differ from the value derived from these estimates if conditions changed and these changes had an impact on the assumptions adopted.

Our significant accounting policies that we believe to be critical to the judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our financial statements are included in “note 2 — Basis of Presentation” and “note 3 — Significant Accounting Policies” to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.

Significant Components of Our Results of Operations

Revenue. In general, we recognize revenue when the amount of revenue can be reliably measured, it is probable that future economic benefits will flow to us, where there is evidence of an arrangement, when the selling price is fixed or determinable, and when specific criteria have been met or there are no significant remaining performance obligations for each of our activities as described below. Foreseeable losses, if any, are recognized in the year or period in which the loss is determined.

We earn revenue in two primary ways: 1) development and maintenance of custom-built software or other professional services, or 2) the sale of advertising.

We recognize revenues received from the development and maintenance of custom-built software and other professional services provided upon the satisfaction of our performance obligation in an amount that reflects the consideration to which we expect to be entitled in exchange for those services. Performance obligations can be satisfied either at a single point in time or over time. For those performance obligations that are satisfied at a single point in time, the revenue is recognized at that time. For each performance obligation satisfied over time, we recognize revenue by measuring the progress toward complete satisfaction of that performance obligation.

For revenues received from the sales of advertising, we are deemed the agent in our revenue agreements. We do not own or obtain control of the digital advertising inventory. We recognize revenues upon the achievement of agreed-upon performance criteria for the advertising inventory, such as a number of views, or clicks. As we are acting as an agent in the transaction, we recognize revenue from sales of advertising on a net basis, which excludes amounts payable to partners under our revenue sharing agreements.

Our contracts with customers may include multiple performance obligations. For these contracts, we account for individual performance obligations separately if they are capable of being distinct within the context of the contract. Determining which performance obligations are considered distinct may require significant judgment. Judgment is also required to determine the amount of revenue associated with each distinct performance obligation.

Operating Expenses. We classify our operating expense as sales and marketing, and general and administrative. Personnel costs are the primary component of each of these operating expense categories, which consist of cash-based personnel costs, such as salaries, benefits and bonuses. Additionally, we separate intangible amortization, amortization expense, interest expense, professional fees and share-based compensation into its own category. 

Office and Miscellaneous Expenses. Our office and miscellaneous expenses primarily consist of non-labor overhead expenses, which include health benefits, utilities and other cost to run the back office operations of our company.

Salaries and Wages Expenses. Our salaries and wages are primarily made up of salaries paid directly to our engineers, which comprise most of the employee base within our company. This amount also includes the related payroll taxes and accrued bonuses.

Sales and Marketing Expenses. Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of the costs of the advertisements and promotions we run in order to expand awareness of our product offerings.

Software and Delivery Costs. Software and delivery costs consist primarily of license fees we pay to access cloud based software or cloud computing power.

A. Operating Results

Comparison of Results of Operations for the Year Ended December 31, 2020 and 2019

The following table summarizes our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019:

Revenue

Our revenues are derived from two primary sources: advertising and services related to integration. Revenue was $1,864,709 for the year ended December 31, 2020, representing an increase of $1,199,787, or 180%, from $664,922 for the year ended December 31, 2019. The increase was primarily due to an increase in services provided to HP during 2020 as compared to services provided to HP during 2019.

Amortization of intangible assets

Our intangible assets are comprised of a business-to-business software platform that allows video game publishers and developers to offer prize-based matches of their games to their players. Amortization expense was $1,706,972 for the year ended December 31, 2020, representing a decrease of $823,618, or 33%, from $2,530,590 for the year ended December 31, 2019. The decrease was primarily due to prior-year projects becoming fully amortized in 2020.

Foreign exchange

We have operated to date primarily in the United States and Canada. Foreign exchange loss was $33,160 for the year ended December 31, 2020, representing a decrease of $5,637, or 15%, from a loss of $38,797 for the year ended December 31, 2019. The decrease in the loss was due to changes in the foreign exchange translation between the U.S. and Canadian dollar.

Office and miscellaneous expenses

Office and miscellaneous expenses were $343,240 for the year ended December 31, 2020, representing an decrease of $81,752, or 19%, from $424,992 for the year ended December 31, 2019. The decrease was primarily due to a decrease in non-labor expenses related to COVID-19 as all of our employees worked remotely for the majority of the year ended December 31, 2020.

Professional Fees

Professional fee expense was $1,047,086 for the year ended December 31, 2020, representing an increase of $601,483, or 135%, from $445,603 for the year ended December 30, 2019. The increase was primarily due to additional expenses incurred to support expansion of the business and the costs and expenses related to offering of common shares.

Salaries and wages

Salaries and wages was $3,440,720 for the year ended December 31, 2020, representing an increase of $187,931, or 6%, from $3,252,789 for the year ended December 31, 2019. The increase was primarily due to an increase in wages and payroll cost.

Sales and marketing

Sales and marketing expense was $652,303 for the year ended December 31, 2020, representing a decrease of $135,095, or 17%, from $787,398 for the year ended December 31, 2018. The decrease was primarily due to reduced spending on market awareness advertising campaigns.

Software and delivery costs

Software and delivery costs expense was $346,005 for the year ended December 31, 2020, representing an increase of $101,411, or 41%, from $244,594 for the year ended December 31, 2019. The increase was primarily due to an increased number of players and rewards provided on our software as well as an increase in the number of software tools and licenses used.

Share-based compensation

Share-based compensation expense was $1,407,414 for the year ended December 31, 2020, representing an increase of $568,165, or 68%, from $839,249 for the year ended December 31, 2019. The increase is primarily was due to the timing of options vesting and the increase in the fair value of options issued.

Loss from Operations

Loss from operations was $8,373,415 for the year ended December 31, 2020, representing a decrease of $996,742, or 11%, from $9,370,157 for the year ended December 31, 2019. The decrease was primarily due to an increase in revenue earned and a decrease in payroll-related expenses and the amortization of intangible assets.

Loss on Disposal of Marketable Securities

Loss on disposal of marketable securities was $508,050 for the year ended December 31, 2020, representing an increase of $508,050, or 100%, from none for the year ended December 31, 2019. The increase was due to our purchase and sale of shares of capital stock of Animoca Brands Corporation Ltd. (“Animoca Brands”) during the year ended December 31, 2020.

On July 25, 2019, we entered into a Mutual Investment Agreement with Animoca Brands, a Hong Kong-based leader in the field of digital entertainment, specializing in blockchain, gamification, and artificial intelligence technologies to develop and publish a broad portfolio of mobile gaming products such as The Sandbox, Crazy Kings, and Crazy Defense Heroes, as a step toward partnering with Animoca Brands to allow us to reach into a key growth market on a large scale.

The terms of the mutual investment agreement provided for a stock swap between Animoca Brands and our company in the amount of US$500,000 based upon, in the case of our common shares, the higher of (i) $ 0.23 per share, or (ii) the 21-day volume weighted average price per share of our common shares on the date the agreement was approved by our Board of Directors, and, in the case of the Animoca Brands shares, the higher of (i) AU$0.18 per share, or (ii) the 21-day volume weighted average price per share of the Animoca Brands shares as of the date the agreement was approved by the Animoca Brands shareholders. The transaction was consummated on April 6, 2020.

On April 28, 2020, we sold our acquired block of Animoca Brands stock to a buyer for the price of $0.05AU per share in order to provide immediate liquidity during the COVID-19 pandemic in advance of being approved for, or receiving, any funds from the Paycheck Protection Program for which we had applied. For financial accounting purposes, we had recorded the value of our Animoca Brands shares at $0.1614 per share, based on the closing price of our common shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange on the April 6, 2020 closing date. As a result, we recorded a loss of approximately $500,000 in connection with that transaction.

Comparison of Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2019 and 2018

The following table summarizes our results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2019 and 2018:

Revenue

Revenue was $664,922 for the year ended December 31, 2019, representing an increase of $663,302, or 100%, from $1,620 for the year ended December 31, 2018. The increase was primarily due to an increase in services related to integration being completed in 2019.

Amortization of intangible assets

Amortization expense was $2,530,590 for the year ended December 31, 2019, representing a decrease of $434,445, or 15%, from $2,965,035 for the year ended December 31, 2018. The decrease was primarily due to prior year projects becoming fully amortized in 2019.

Consulting fees

Consulting fees expense was $814,128 for the year ended December 31, 2019, representing a decrease of $363,277, or 31%, from $1,177,405 for the year ended December 31, 2018. The decrease was primarily due to a reduction in the amount of consulting services related to media and advertising.

Office and miscellaneous expenses

Office and miscellaneous expenses was $424,992 for the year ended December 31, 2019, representing a decrease of $429,250 or 50%, from $854,242 for the year ended December 31, 2018. The decrease was primarily due to less non-labor overhead needed in order to support our operations.

Professional fees

Professional fee expense was $445,603 for the year ended December 31, 2019, representing a decrease of $176,376, or 28%, from $621,979 for the year ended December 31, 2018. The decrease was primarily due to a reduction in outside service providers assisting with recruiting additional technical staff.

Salaries and wages

Salaries and wages was $3,252,789 for the year ended December 31, 2019, representing an increase of $1,178,235, or 57%, from $2,074,554 for the year ended December 31, 2018. The increase was primarily due to additional employees being hired in order to support our operations along with higher wages being earned.

Sales and marketing

Sales and marketing expense was $787,398 for the year ended December 31, 2019, representing an increase of $587,986, or 295%, from $199,412 for the year ended December 31, 2018. The increase was primarily due to increased spending on market awareness advertising campaigns.

Software and delivery costs

Software and delivery costs expense was $244,594 for the year ended December 31, 2019, representing a decrease of $206,816, or 45%, from $451,410 for the year ended December 31, 2018. The decrease was primarily due to a reduced expense for cloud computer power because of an improved scalability of the software platform which resulted in a reduced computing load per user.

Share-based compensation

Share-based compensation expense was $839,249 for the year ended December 31, 2019, representing an increase of $187,933, or 29%, from $651,316 for the year ended December 31, 2018. The increase was primarily due to timing of options vesting and the increase in the fair value of options issued.

Loss from Operations

Loss from operations was $9,370,157 for the year ended December 31, 2019, representing an increase of $121,670, or 1%, from $9,248,487 for the year ended December 31, 2018. The increase was due to an increase in payroll related expenses and sales and marketing expenses that were offset by a decrease of intangible assets and general and administrative expenses.

Finance expense

Finance expense was $257,448 for the year ended December 31, 2019, representing an increase of $131,545, or 104%, from $125,903 for the year ended December 31, 2018. The increase was due to additional debt we incurred at below market interest rates.

Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk

Our primary operations are in the United States. Thus, our revenues and operating results may be impacted by exchange rate fluctuations between Canadian dollars and U.S. dollars. For the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, the foreign currency translation gain/loss was not material to our financial statements.

Inflation

The effect of inflation on our revenue and operating results was not significant.

Our financial condition and liquidity is and will continue to be influenced by a variety of factors, including:

Overview

Since inception, we have incurred significant operating losses. For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, we incurred net losses of $9.3 million and $9.6 million, respectively. During such periods, we have financed our operations primarily through private placements of equity securities and the issuance of debt securities. Our cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2020 was $2.9 million. In January 2021, we completed an initial public offering of our common shares in which we received gross proceeds of approximately $11.0 million USD and net proceeds of approximately $9.6 million USD (the “Public Offering”). Our primary cash needs are for working capital requirements, capital expenditures and to fund our operations.

We are subject to the risks and uncertainties associated with a new business. We believe that our current resources, including the approximately $9.6 million of net proceeds from the Public Offering, and the expected proceeds from forecasted billings will be sufficient to fund our planned operations for the next 12 months. However, the report of our independent registered public accountants on our financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2020 states that the material uncertainties resulting from our failure to achieve positive cash flows from operations, our inability to finance our day-to-day activities from operations and our expectation that we will incur further losses in the development of our business raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.

We plan to increase our cash flow from our operations to address some of our liquidity concerns. However, to execute our business plan, service our existing indebtedness and implement our business strategy, we anticipate that we will need to obtain additional financing from time to time and may choose to raise additional funds through public or private equity or debt financings, a bank line of credit, borrowings from affiliates or other arrangements. We cannot be sure that any additional funding, if needed, will be available on terms favorable to us or at all. Furthermore, any additional capital raised through the sale of equity or equity-linked securities may dilute our current shareholders’ ownership in us and could also result in a decrease in the market price of our common shares. The terms of those securities issued by us in future capital transactions may be more favorable to new investors and may include the issuance of warrants or other derivative securities, which may have a further dilutive effect. Furthermore, any debt financing, if available, may subject us to restrictive covenants and significant interest costs. There can be no assurance that we will be able to raise additional capital, when needed, to continue operations in their current form. If we cannot raise needed funds, we might be forced to make substantial reductions in our operating expenses, including reductions in our research and development expenses or headcount reductions, which could adversely affect our ability to implement our business plan and ultimately our viability as a company.

Cash Flows

The following summarizes the key components of our cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018:

Operating Activities

Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $5,093,562 as compared to $5,467,875 for the year ended December 31, 2019. The decrease in cash used in operating activities was primarily attributable to the decrease in the loss of $356,445 which was offset by an increase in non-cash working capital activity of $44,649 and a decrease in working capital items of $77,087.

Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $5,467,875 as compared to $5,075,945 for the year ended December 31, 2018. The increase in net cash used in operating activities was primarily attributable to timing of non-cash working capital and the increase of the loss. 

Investing Activities

Net cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $1,221,401 as compared to $1,939,958 for the year ended December 31, 2019. The change in cash flow used in investing activities was primarily attributable to the timing of payments related to payroll capitalized for the development of intangible assets, which was partially offset by proceeds from the sale of investments.

Net cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $1,939,858 as compared to $1,842,690 for the year ended December 31, 2018. The change in cash flow used in investing activities was primarily attributable to the timing of payments related to payroll capitalized for the development of intangible assets.

Financing Activities

Net cash provided by financing activities was $9,181,711 for the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to $7,472,942 for the year ended December 31, 2019. The change in cash flow provided by financing activities was mainly attributable to the proceeds we received from the issuance of shares of capital stock, exercise of warrants and the proceeds from notes payable which was offset in part by payments on notes payable.

Net cash provided by financing activities was $7,472,942 for the year ended December 31, 2019 as compared to $6,721,893 for the year ended December 31, 2018. The change in cash flow provided by financing activities was mainly attributable to proceeds from the issuance of share capital, exercise of warrants and proceeds from notes payable, which was offset by payments on notes payable. 

Indebtedness

Government Note

In May 2020, we received loan proceeds in the aggregate amount of $829,937 under the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). The PPP, established as part of the CARES Act within the United States in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, provides for loans to qualifying businesses. A portion of the loans and accrued interest are forgivable as long as the borrower uses the loan proceeds for eligible purposes, including payroll, benefits, rent and utilities, and maintains its payroll levels. The amount of loan forgiveness will be reduced if the borrower terminates employees or reduces salaries. No collateral or guarantees were provided in connection with the PPP loans.

The unforgiven portion of the PPP loans is payable over two years at an interest rate of 1%, with a deferral of payments for the first six months. We intend to use the proceeds for purposes consistent with the PPP. For the year ended December 31, 2020, we had incurred eligible payroll cost of $829,937 that were offset against the loan balance.

Notes Payable

From 2017 to December 31, 2020, we issued $7,706,000 aggregate principal amount of promissory notes primarily to Brain Tingle, one of our directors. The notes bear interest at the prime rate of the Bank of Canada, which has ranged from 2.45% to 3.95% per annum, compounded annually, that is payable quarterly, and had a maturity date of three years from the date of issuance. The interest rates of the notes were considered below our estimated market borrowing rate of 10% and as such, a contribution benefit was recorded in reserves at the time of issuance for each note. As of December 31, 2020, we had recorded $472,107 in accrued interest that was included in accounts payable and accrued liabilities.

At the closing of the Public Offering, outstanding notes in the principal amount of US$1,500,000, plus US$128,750 of accrued interest thereon, was exchanged for units that are comprised of the same securities as the initial public offering, namely a share of common stock, a unit “A” warrant and a unit “B” warrant, and are valued at an amount equal to the purchase price of, the units offered by us in the Public Offering, which was US$7.50 per unit.

Our success and ability to compete depend substantially upon our core technology and intellectual property rights. We generally rely on patent, trademark and copyright laws, trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect our intellectual property rights. In addition, we generally require employees and consultants to execute appropriate nondisclosure and proprietary rights agreements. These agreements acknowledge our exclusive ownership of intellectual property developed for us and require that all proprietary information remain confidential.

We maintain a program designed to identify technology that is appropriate for patent and trade secret protection, and we file patent applications in the United States and, when appropriate, certain other countries for inventions that we consider significant. Our patent claims, extending and expanding on claims filed in the United States in 2014 and internationally through the patent co-operation treaty in 2015, describe a system that seeks to match competitive game players and spectators with prizing from their favorite brands through a unique conditional prize matching system.

As of December 31, 2020, we had over 30 granted patent claims with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to expand upon our existing portfolio of prizing, promotion and financial technologies that enable brands to reach the rapidly growing competitive gaming audience of players, spectators and broadcasters. As of December 31, 2020, we had been granted two patents.

We also continue to engage in licensing transactions to secure the right to use third-parties’ patents. Although our business is not materially dependent upon any one patent, our patent rights and the products made and sold under our patents, taken as a whole, are a significant element of our business.

In March 2019, we were issued U.S. Patent No. 10,242,538, titled “Systems and Methods for Creating and Maintaining Real Money Tournaments for Video Games.” This issued patent protects a number of proprietary systems and methods for awarding real money, physical goods, digital currencies, and downloadable content to players inside video games and other interactive media. We use these patented technologies within our prizing platform, which allows players to play for real-world prizes inside their favorite games. This granted patent:

In addition to patents, we also possess other intellectual property, including trademarks, know-how, trade secrets, design rights and copyrights. We control access to and use of our software, technology and other proprietary information through internal and external controls, including contractual protections with employees, contractors, customers and partners. Our software is protected by U.S. and international copyright, patent and trade secret laws. Despite our efforts to protect our software, technology and other proprietary information, unauthorized parties may still copy or otherwise obtain and use our software, technology and other proprietary information. In addition, we have expanded our international operations, and effective patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret protection may not be available or may be limited in foreign countries.

Companies in the industry in which we operate frequently are sued or receive informal claims of patent infringement or infringement of other intellectual property rights. We may receive such claims from companies, including from competitors and customers, some of which have substantially more resources and have been developing relevant technology similar to ours. As and if we become more successful, we believe that competitors will be more likely to try to develop products that are similar to ours and that may infringe on our proprietary rights. It may also be more likely that competitors or other third parties will claim that our products infringe their proprietary rights. Successful claims of infringement by a third party, if any, could result in significant penalties or injunctions that could prevent us from selling some of our products in certain markets, result in settlements or judgments that require payment of significant royalties or damages or require us to expend time and money to develop non-infringing products. We cannot assure you that we do not currently infringe, or that we will not in the future infringe, upon any third-party patents or other proprietary rights, but will not and have never done so intentionally.

Our Industry

According to a Newzoo 2020 Global Games Report, the video game industry is over a $159.3 billion-dollar market, and has seen enormous change in the last ten years.

The way games are run has changed significantly in only ten years, from both an organizational and a business perspective, regardless of platform. When added to the ongoing global alignment of distribution channels, franchises and business models, it becomes clear that this is more than several individual trends happening simultaneously. Ultimately, the consumer has determined the pace of change. No other form of entertainment or media gives as much power to the consumer as games. Today, not only do games empower people to actively participate, but they also allow them to enjoy their passion for gaming in ways that suit any mood, interest, lifestyle, location and budget. Almost any new game includes competitive modes that could lead to a professional e-sports scene, including live events, pro-gamer heroes, and teams with millions of fans.

There are multiple games that have over one million daily active users, including several competitive multiplayer games that have developed their own professional electronic sports (“e-sports”) communities. These e-sports competitions regularly draw spectators, both in-person and online, in the millions. The 2015 world championships of Defense of the Ancients (“DOTA”), a multiplayer online battle arena modification for the video game “Warcraft III” and its expansions, were held at Madison Square Garden in New York, and more people watched the 2015 League of Legends world championship online than watched all of the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals combined. ESPN Inc. and its affiliates now carry news of major e-sports events.

On the other hand, since the introduction of ad-funded television in the middle of the 20th century and continuing through the present day, most advertising inventory has been transacted based on a rate card. Publishers, content owners and their agents set a price for their inventory, and buyers place an order to purchase that inventory. Similar to how the equities and commodities markets have transitioned from paper transactions on trading floors to electronic trading, media advertising is transitioning from manual to programmatic.

Several trends happening in parallel are revolutionizing the way that media advertising is bought and sold. The rise of the Internet has led to wholesale changes in the way media is consumed and monetized, as ads can be digitally delivered on a one-to-one basis. In traditional methods of advertising, such as broadcast TV, ads can target a specific network, program or geography, but not a single household or individual as digital ads can.

We believe some of the key industry trends that are relevant to our business and that may cause our reported financial information to not necessarily be indicative of future operating results or financial conditions are as follows:

Media is Becoming Digital. Media is increasingly becoming digital as a result of advances in technology and changes in consumer behavior. This shift has enabled unprecedented options for advertisers to target and measure their advertising campaigns across nearly every media channel and device. The digital advertising market is a significant and growing part of the total advertising market. According to Magna, a leading global provider of market intelligence, global advertising spend was approximately $569 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow to $730 billion in 2025, a compound annual growth rate of 5.1%. Also, according to Magna, the compound annual growth rates between the years 2022 and 2025 for digital-out-of-home (DOOH) will be 14%, mobile advertising will be 12% and video 11%. We believe the market is evolving and that advertisers will shift more spend to digital media. Since media is becoming increasingly digital, decisions based on consumer and behavioral data are more prevalent.

Fragmentation of Audience. As digital media grows, audience fragmentation is accelerating. A growing “long tail” of websites and content presents a challenge for advertisers trying to reach a large audience. Mirroring the fragmentation occurring in content, the number of devices used by individual consumers has increased. Both of these fragmentation trends are opportunities for technology companies that can consolidate and simplify media buying options for advertisers and their agencies.

Shift to Programmatic Advertising. We believe the advertising industry is in the early stages of a shift to programmatic advertising, which is the ability to buy and sell advertising inventory electronically. Initially available for digital display advertising and transacted through real-time bidding platforms, programmatic advertising has evolved and is increasingly being used to transact across a wide range of advertising inventory, including display, mobile, video and audio among other inventory types.

Increased Use of Data. Advances in software and hardware and the growing use of the Internet have made it possible to collect and rapidly process massive amounts of user data. Data vendors are able to collect user information across a wide range of Internet properties and connected devices, aggregate it and combine it with other data sources. This data is then made non-identifiable and available within seconds based on specific parameters and attributes. Advertisers can integrate this targeting data with their own or an agency’s proprietary data relating to client attributes, the advertisers’ own store locations and other related characteristics. Through the use of these data sources, together with real-time feedback on consumer reactions to the ads, programmatic advertising increases the value of impressions for advertisers, inventory owners and viewers who receive more relevant ads.

Driven by these industry trends, programmatic advertising is expected to grow from $44 billion during 2019 to $75 billion by 2023, according to Magna Global. We believe that programmatic advertising will continue to grow as more content providers, content distributors and advertisers are able to realize its benefits. In addition, we expect that programmatic advertising will help grow the overall advertising market by enabling more advertisers to deploy more spend across a broader range of inventory channels. We believe the enormous game industry and the industry trends in adversity present us excellent opportunities to further expand our platform, which smartly combines advertising into video games and other media sources.

We did not have during the periods presented, and we do not currently have, any off-balance sheet arrangements that have or are reasonably likely to have a current or future effect on our financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources.

The following table summarizes our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2020 and the effects, including estimated interest payments, that such obligations are expected to have on our liquidity and cash flows in future periods:

ITEM 6. DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEES

A. Directors and Senior Management

The following table sets forth the names and ages of the members of our board of directors and our executive officers and the positions held by each. Our board of directors elects our executive officers annually by majority vote. Each director’s term continues until his or her successor is elected or qualified at the next annual meeting, unless such director earlier resigns or is removed.

The following is information about the experience and attributes of the members of our board of directors and senior executive officers as of the date of this Annual Report. The experience and attributes of our directors discussed below provide the reasons that these individuals were selected for board membership, as well as why they continue to serve in such positions.

Matthew Pierce, 43, was the Founder of Versus LLC and joined our company as Chief Executive Officer and a director in 2016. Mr. Pierce has over 20 years of experience working in entertainment and technology. Prior to founding Versus Systems, Mr. Pierce founded in June 2014 and was until June 2016 the chief executive officer of OLabs, LLC, a technology incubator that founded Versus. From April 2011 to June 2014, Mr. Pierce was Vice President of Strategy at Originate Inc., a business incubator where he worked with early-stage technology companies. Since 2014, Mr. Pierce has been a Lecturer at the University of California, Los Angeles, or UCLA, Anderson School of Management and in the Economics department at UCLA, where he teaches entrepreneurship. Mr. Pierce is a graduate of Stanford University and earned his MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Craig Finster, 44, joined our company as Chief Financial Officer in 2016 and additionally as President in 2019. Mr. Finster has over 20 years of experience in finance, accounting, and corporate development for technology companies. Between April 2010 and March 2019, Mr. Finster worked at Originate, Inc. in a variety of roles, including Sr. Vice President of Corporate Partnerships and Managing Director of Originate’s Strategic Advisory Group, which focused on capital advisory for early and growth stage companies. He received his bachelor’s degrees in economics and finance from the University of Arizona and his MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Alex Peachey, 46, joined our company as Chief Technology Officer in May 2016. Mr. Peachey leads the architecture efforts for our Elixir-based Winfinite challenge platform. Prior to joining us, Mr. Peachey founded Threadbias LLC in January 2011, an online community for people who love to sew and wish to exchange ideas, share projects and join or create groups. He continues to serve as their CEO. From February 2012 to May 2016, Mr. Peachey served the Director of Engineering at Originate, Inc., where he managed a team of software engineers. He holds a BS in Computer Science from Western Washington University and an MBA from the University of Washington.

Keyvan Peymani, 44, joined our company as a director in 2016. Mr. Peymani is a veteran senior executive and leader working at the intersection of technology, media, and venture capital. From March 2017 to January 2019, Mr. Peymani served as the Head of Startup Marketing for Amazon Web Services where he was responsible for the global marketing strategy. Since January 2016, he has been serving as a Venture Partner and Senior Advisor to Touchdown Ventures, a venture capital firm pairing with several leading corporations to establish and manage their platforms. From June 2012 to February 2016, Mr. Peymani served as the Managing Director, Digital Strategy Division at ICM Partners, one of the world’s largest talent and literary agencies, and was the firm’s chief digital executive, reporting to the Executive Board. Mr. Peymani has a BA in Religious Studies and a BA in Neurobiology with concentrations in Neuroscience from Northwestern University. He holds an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Brian Tingle, 48, joined our company as a director in 2016. Mr. Tingle began his career in the Canadian banking sector, and has been involved in the capital markets for the past 20 years as an advisor. In April 1996, Mr. Tingle founded and has since been serving as the President of Tingle Resource Management, a consulting firm which specializes in advising board members in capital markets and finance. Since January 2017, Mr. Tingle has been serving as a director at Cellstop Systems, a Canadian cell company involved in mining. From 2011 to December 2018, he also served as a director at Torch River Farms, a private company that owned and operated farmland in Canada. Mr. Tingle graduated from University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Commerce with a major in Finance and a minor in Accounting.

Michelle Gahagan, 62, joined our company as a director in 2016. Since May 2006, Ms. Gahagan has been serving as the Managing Director of Intrepid Financial, a privately-held merchant bank based in Vancouver, British Columbia and London, England. In August 2014, Ms. Gahagan founded and has since been serving as a director of France Bike Rentals, a large bike rental business with over 500 rental bikes and over 2,500 annual reservations. Since January 2018, Ms. Gahagan has been serving as the Board Chair of Canadian Palladium Resources, an exploration company specializing in palladium and cobalt projects. From February 2016 to June 2018, she also served as a director at US Cobalt Inc., a Canadian-based company focused on the exploration of cobalt assets in the Idaho cobalt belt. Ms. Gahagan graduated from Queens University Law School and practiced corporate law for 20 years. Ms. Gahagan has extensive experience advising companies with respect to international tax-driven structures, mergers and acquisitions.

Paul Vlasic, 50, joined our company as a director in 2016. Mr. Vlasic currently serves as Chairman at the Vlasic Group, a family office with diversified holdings. He has been involved there since August 1986 and participates in all asset allocation, investment decisions and long-term strategic planning. He is a Founding Partner at RSVP Ventures and has been working there since March 2008. RSVP Ventures specializes in investing in early stage businesses supporting entrepreneurs and their ideas, turning them into market-leading companies. He also founded Amplifinity, LLC in February 2009 and served as the CEO and Chairman of the board of directors until its sale in August 2019. Amplifinity provided its clients a software-as-a-service solution that permitted them to efficiently launch and manage marketing campaigns to generate referrals, reviews, and testimonials at scale, capturing leads and tracking the performance of those leads within CRM platforms. Mr. Vlasic serves as Chairman of four craft spirit brands, Papa’s Pilar Rum, Suerte Tequila, Treaty Oak Whiskey, and Waterloo Gin. Mr. Vlasic also serves on multiple boards within the Henry Ford Health System and is the past Chairman of the University of Michigan College of Engineering’s Center for Entrepreneurship. He is a graduate of Rollins College and earned his MBA with Distinction from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

B. Compensation

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Summary Compensation Table

The following table provides certain summary information concerning compensation awarded to, earned by or paid to the individuals who served as our principal executive officer at any time during fiscal 2020 and 2019, and our two other most highly compensated officers in fiscal 2020 and 2019. These individuals are referred to in this Annual Report as the “named executive officers.” The salaries and bonuses paid or earned by our executives were denominated in U.S. dollars and converted to Canadian dollars using the exchange rate as of December 31, 2020 which was 1.28 Canadian dollars per U.S. dollar.

Summary Compensation Table

Employment Contracts and Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control

On June 30, 2016, we entered into employment agreement with Matthew Pierce, our Chief Executive Officer, on May 1, 2019, we entered into an employment agreement with Craig Finster, our President and Chief Financial Officer, and on April 20, 2020, we entered into an employment agreement with Keyvan Peymani, our Executive Chairman of the Board. The original terms of the employment agreements are two years, which shall be automatically renewed for one year upon expiration of the prior term unless either party provides at least six-month notice to the other party that it does not wish to renew the agreement.

The following is a summary of the compensation arrangements set forth in each employment agreement described above:

If the employment agreement is terminated for “good reason” as defined therein and we receive proper notice or if the employment agreement is involuntarily terminated other than for “just cause” as defined therein, then we shall pay the executive officer (i) any accrued benefits and (ii) a severance amount equal to the sum of (w) 12 months of his then-current base salary; (x) his maximum discretionary bonus for the then-current fiscal year; (y) his annual bonus for the prior fiscal year; and (z) his maximum performance cash bonus provided in the employment agreement for the then-current fiscal year. In addition, in this circumstance, the executive’s equity compensation shall be fully and immediately vested and exercisable, as applicable. If the employment agreement is terminated without good cause, then the executive officer shall receive his accrued benefits, the prorate bonus and the performance cash bonus, if any, as of the termination date. Upon termination of this agreement, we will pay the executive officer any lump sum payment due to him under his agreement within ten business days of the date of termination.

Equity Incentive Plans

On May 17, 2017, our board of directors adopted our 2017 Stock Option Plan, or the 2017 Plan, to provide an additional means to attract, motivate, retain and reward selected employees and other eligible persons. Our stockholders approved the 2017 Plan on or about June 29, 2017. Employees, officers, directors, advisors and consultants that provided services to us or one of our subsidiaries are eligible to receive awards under the 2017 Plan. The total number of common shares that are at any time reserved for issuance under the 2017 Plan and under all other management option plans and employee stock purchase plans, if any, cannot exceed in the aggregate a number of common shares equal to 15% of the number of common shares issued and outstanding at that time. Options have a maximum term of ten years and vesting is determined by our board of directors.

As of March 31, 2021, stock option grants for the purchase of an aggregate of 1,578,152 common shares had been made under the 2017 Plan, and 284,321 of those stock options had been cancelled or exercised. As of that date, there remained 669,603 common shares authorized under the 2017 Plan remained available for award purposes.

Our board of directors may amend or terminate the 2017 Plan at any time, but no such action will affect any outstanding award in any manner materially adverse to a participant without the consent of the participant.

The following information is a brief description of the 2017 Plan, which is filed as an exhibit to this Annual Report:

Any stock options granted under the 2017 Plan that are cancelled, terminated or expire will remain available for granting under the 2017 Plan at the current Market Price

Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End

The following table sets forth outstanding equity awards to our named executive officers as of December 31, 2020:

Equity Compensation Plan Information

The following table provides information as of December 31, 2020, regarding our compensation plans under which equity securities are authorized for issuance:

DIRECTOR COMPENSATION

All directors hold office until the next annual meeting of shareholders at which their respective class of directors is re-elected and until their successors have been duly elected and qualified. There are no family relationships among our directors or executive officers. Officers are elected by and serve at the discretion of the Board of Directors. Directors do not receive any compensation for their services other than the grant of stock options to purchase common stock.

The following table shows option grants to our Directors as of March 31, 2021:

C. Board Practices

Board Composition and Structure; Director Independence

Our business and affairs are managed under the direction of our board of directors. Our board of directors currently consists of five members. The term of office for each director will be until his or her successor is elected at our annual meeting or his or her death, resignation or removal, whichever is earliest to occur.

While we do not have a stand-alone diversity policy, in considering whether to recommend any director nominee, including candidates recommended by shareholders, we believe that the backgrounds and qualifications of the directors, considered as a group, should provide a significant mix of experience, knowledge and abilities that will allow our board of directors to fulfill its responsibilities. As set forth in our corporate governance guidelines, when considering whether directors and nominees have the experience, qualifications, attributes or skills, taken as a whole, to enable our board of directors to satisfy its oversight responsibilities effectively in light of our business and structure, the board of directors focuses primarily on each person’s background and experience as reflected in the information discussed in each of the directors’ individual biographies set forth above. We believe that our directors and director nominees will provide an appropriate mix of experience and skills relevant to the size and nature of our business.

Our board of directors expects a culture of ethical business conduct. Our board of directors encourages each member to conduct a self-review to determine if he or she is providing effective service with respect to both our company and our shareholders. Should it be determined that a member of our board of directors is unable to effectively act in the best interests of our shareholders, such member would be encouraged to resign.

Board Leadership Structure

Our articles and our corporate governance guidelines provide our board of directors with flexibility to combine or separate the positions of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer in accordance with its determination that utilizing one or the other structure is in the best interests of our company. Matthew Pierce currently serves as our Chief Executive Officer and Keyvan Peymani serves as Chairman of the Board.

As Chairman of the Board, Mr. Peymani’s key responsibilities will include facilitating communication between our board of directors and management, assessing management’s performance, managing board members, preparation of the agenda for each board meeting, acting as chair of board meetings and meetings of our company’s shareholders and managing relations with shareholders, other stakeholders and the public.

We will take steps to ensure that adequate structures and processes are in place to permit our board of directors to function independently of management. The directors will be able to request at any time a meeting restricted to independent directors for the purposes of discussing matters independently of management and are encouraged to do so should they feel that such a meeting is required.

Foreign Private Issuer Status

Under the Nasdaq Listing Rules, as a foreign private issuer, we may elect to follow our home country practice in lieu of the corporate governance requirements of the Nasdaq Listing Rules, with the exception of those rules that are required to be followed pursuant to the provisions of the Nasdaq Listing Rules. We have elected to follow Canadian practices in lieu of the requirements of the Nasdaq Listing Rules to the extent permitted under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5615(a)(3). We follow Canadian corporate governance practices in lieu of the corporate governance requirements of The Nasdaq Capital Market in respect of the quorum requirement for meetings of our common shareholders as described below.

Committees of our Board of Directors

The standing committees of our board of directors consist of an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee. Each of the committees reports to our board of directors as they deem appropriate and as our board may request. Each committee of our board of directors has a committee charter that will set out the mandate of such committee, including the responsibilities of the chair of such committee.

The composition, duties and responsibilities of these committees are set forth below.

Audit Committee

The audit committee is responsible for, among other matters: