ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS.
An investment in the Company's securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks described below and the other information in this registration statement before investing in its common shares. If any of the following risks occur, the Company's business, operating results and financial condition could be seriously harmed. The trading price of its common shares could decline due to any of these risks, and you may lose all or part of your investment.
You should consider each of the following risk factors and the other information in this registration statement, including the Company's financial statements and the related notes, in evaluating its business and prospects. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones that impact on the Company's business. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to the Company or that the Company currently consider immaterial may also impair its business operations. If any of the following risks do occur, its business and financial results could be harmed. In that case, the trading price of its common stock could decline.
Risks Associated with the Company's Gaming Business
Licensing. Currently, other than business and operations licenses applicable to most commercial ventures, the Company is not required to obtain any governmental approval for its business operations. There can be no assurance, however, that governmental institutions will not, in the future, impose licensing or other requirements on the Company. Additionally, as noted below, there are a variety of laws and regulations that may, directly or indirectly, have an impact on the Company's business.
Privacy Legislation and Regulations. While the Company is not currently subject to licensing requirements, entities engaged in operations over the Internet, particularly relating to the collection of user information, are subject to limitations on their ability to utilize such information under federal and state legislation and regulation. In 2000, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act required that the collection of identifiable information regarding users of financial services be subject to stringent disclosure and "opt-out" provisions. While this law and the regulations enacted by the Federal Trade Commission and others relates primarily to information relating to financial transactions and financial institutions, the broad definitions of those terms may make the businesses entered into by the Company and its strategic partners subject to the provisions of the Act. This, in turn, may increase the cost of doing business and make it unattractive to collect and transfer information regarding users of services. This, in turn, may reduce the revenues of the Company and its strategic partners, thus reducing potential revenues and profitability. Similarly, the Children On-line Privacy and Protection Act ("COPPA") imposes strict limitations on the ability of Internet ventures to collect information from minors. The impact of COPPA may be to increase the cost of doing business on the Internet and reducing potential revenue sources. The Company may also be impacted by the US Patriot Act, which requires certain companies to collect and provide information to United States governmental authorities. A number of state governments have also proposed or enacted privacy legislation that reflects or, in some cases, extends the limitations imposed by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and COPPA. These laws may further impact the cost of doing business on the Internet and the attractiveness of Live Current's inventory of domain names.
Advertising Regulations. In response to concerns regarding "spam" (unsolicited electronic messages), "pop-up" web pages and other Internet advertising, the federal government and a number of states have adopted or proposed laws and regulations which would limit the use of unsolicited Internet advertisements. While a number of factors may prevent the effectiveness of such laws and regulations, the cumulative effect may be to limit the attractiveness of effecting and promoting sales on the Internet, thus reducing the value of the Company's advertising driven revenue model.
There are currently few laws or regulations that specifically regulate communications or commerce on the Internet. However, laws and regulations may be adopted in the future that address issues such as user privacy, pricing and the characteristics and quality of products and services. For example, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 sought to prohibit transmitting various types of information and content over the Internet. Several telecommunications companies have petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to regulate Internet service providers and on-line service providers in a manner similar to long distance telephone carriers and to impose access fees on those companies. This could increase the cost of transmitting data over the Internet. Moreover, it may take years to determine the extent to which existing laws relating to issues such as intellectual property ownership, libel and personal privacy are applicable to the Internet. Any new laws or regulations relating to the Internet or any new interpretations of existing laws could have a negative impact on Live Current's business and add additional costs to doing business on the Internet.
Competition. The Company competes with many companies possessing greater financial resources and technical facilities than itself in the B2C (business-to-consumer) market as well as for the recruitment and retention of qualified personnel. In addition, some of these competitors have been in business for longer than Live Current and may have established more strategic partnerships and relationships than the Company.
Dependence on One or a Few Major Customers. The Company does not currently depend on any single customer for a significant proportion of its business. However, as the Company enters into strategic transactions, the Company may choose to grant exclusive rights to a small number of parties or otherwise limit its activities that could, in turn, create such dependence. The Company, however, has no current plans to do so.
Patents, Trademarks and Proprietary Rights. On November 16, 2007, The Company filed a trademark application with the US Patent & Trademark Office ("USPTO") for the mark "LIVE CURRENT". A certificate of registration was issued on October 14, 2008 and the mark was assigned registration number 3,517,876.
The Company will consider seeking further trademark protection for its online businesses, however, the Company may be unable to avail itself of trademark protection under United States laws. Consequently, the Company will seek trademark protection only where it has determined that the cost of obtaining protection, and the scope of protection provided, results in a meaningful benefit to the Company.
Market Acceptance. SPRT MTRX is a new product in a product abundant gaming market and there is no guarantee that it will be accepted by the market. In addition to acceptance, should it be accepted, there is no guarantee that it will maintain its popularity in a notoriously fickle gaming market.
Suspension of Live, Professional Sports. SPRT MTRX relies on live, professional sports to provide game content. Without live professional sports, SPRT MTRX will be forced to change its business model. This could possibly include developing artificial intelligence induced content. There could be significant costs associated with this change and there is no guarantee that it would meet with public acceptance.
Risks Related to the Company's Securities
Additional financing will be required. The Company anticipates that it will require significant additional financing to fund its proposed business development plans. The cost of developing the Company's platforms is anticipated to be substantially greater than the Company's existing financial resources, and the Company anticipates that it will require substantial financing to develop and operate its businesses over the next 12 months.
If the Company is unable to obtain additional financing when needed, the Company may not be able to complete its business development plans or its business could fail. The Company will scale back its development plans depending upon its existing financial resources.
The Company's ability to obtain future financing will be subject to a number of factors, including the variability of the global economy, investor interest in our planned business projects, and the performance of equity markets in general. These factors may make the timing, amount, terms or conditions of additional financing unavailable to the Company. If the Company is not able to obtain financing when needed or in an amount sufficient to enable us to complete our programs, the Company may be required to scale back its business development plans.
If additional financings equity financing will dilute existing stockholders. The most likely source of future financing presently available to the Company is through the sale of shares of its common stock. Issuing shares of common stock, for financing purposes or otherwise, will dilute the interests of existing stockholders.
The Company's stock price is volatile. The stock markets in general, and the stock prices of internet companies in particular, have experienced extreme volatility that often has been unrelated to the operating performance of any specific public company. The market price of the Company's Common Stock is likely to fluctuate in the future, especially if the Company's Common Stock is thinly traded. Factors that may have a significant impact on the market price of the Company's Common Stock include:
(a) actual or anticipated variations in the Company's results of operations;
(b) the Company's ability or inability to generate new revenues;
(c) increased competition;
(d) government regulations, including internet regulations;
(e) conditions and trends in the internet industry;
(f) proprietary rights; or
(g) rumors or allegations regarding the Company's financial disclosures or practices.
The Company's stock price may be impacted by factors that are unrelated or disproportionate to its operating performance. These market fluctuations, as well as general economic, political and market conditions, such as recessions, interest rates or international currency fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of the Company's Common Stock.
The Company does not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future. The Company has never paid cash dividends on its Common Stock and has no plans to do so in the foreseeable future. The Company intends to retain earnings, if any, to develop and expand its business.
"Penny Stock" rules may make buying or selling the Company's Common Stock difficult, and severely limit its market and liquidity. Trading in The Company's Common Stock is subject to certain regulations adopted by the SEC commonly known as the "penny stock" rules. The Company's Common Stock qualifies as penny stocks and are covered by Section 15(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which imposes additional sales practice requirements on broker/dealers who sell the Common Stock in the aftermarket. The "penny stock" rules govern how broker-dealers can deal with their clients and "penny stocks". For sales of The Company's Common Stock, the broker/dealer must make a special suitability determination and receive from you a written agreement prior to making a sale to you. The additional burdens imposed upon broker-dealers by the "penny stock" rules may discourage broker-dealers from effecting transactions in The Company's Common Stock, which could severely limit their market price and liquidity of its Common Stock. This could prevent you from reselling your shares and may cause the price of the Common Stock to decline.
Lack of operating revenues. The Company has limited operating revenues and is expected to continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Management has assessed the Company's ability to continue as a going concern and the financial statements included with this registration statement includes disclosure that there is a substantial doubt as to the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. The audit report of the Company's principal independent accountants for the years ended December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018 includes a statement regarding the uncertainty of the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. The Company's failure to achieve profitability and positive operating revenues could have a material adverse effect on its financial condition and results of operations, and could cause the Company's business to fail.
No assurance that forward-looking assessments will be realized. The Company's ability to accomplish their objectives and whether or not they are financially successful is dependent upon numerous factors, each of which could have a material effect on the results obtained. Some of these factors are in the discretion and control of management and others are beyond management's control. The assumptions and hypotheses used in preparing any forward-looking assessments contained herein are considered reasonable by management. There can be no assurance, however, that any projections or assessments contained herein or otherwise made by management will be realized or achieved at any level.
Uncertainty due to Global Outbreak of COVID-19. In March of 2020, the World Health Organization declared an outbreak of COVID-19 a global pandemic. The COVID-19 has impacted a vast array of businesses through the restrictions put in place by most governments internationally, including the USA federal government as well as state and municipal governments, regarding travel, business operations and isolation/quarantine orders. At this time, it is unknown to what extent the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak may have on the Company as this will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and that cannot be predicted with confidence. These uncertainties arise from the inability to predict the ultimate geographic spread of the disease, and the duration of the outbreak, including the duration of travel restrictions, business closures or disruptions, and quarantine/isolation measures that are currently, or may be put, in place world-wide to fight the virus. While the extent of the impact is unknown, the COVID-19 outbreak may hinder the Company's ability to raise financing for exploration or operating costs due to uncertain capital markets, supply chain disruptions, increased government regulations and other unanticipated factors, all of which may also negatively impact the Company's business and financial condition.