INSIGHT ESPORTS - ABIOS
Another way to establish brand awareness in the esports space is to sponsor a team, making it possible to do all sorts of activations to build a relationship with esports fans. GGbet did a collaboration with NAVI a while back and is doing lots of advertising in events, which showcases how to build a brand with esports fans.
What, if any, are the technical barriers that need to be overcome for esports betting to reach its potential?
Tere are some barriers, especially on the product side. One important hurdle to overcome is stream delay. Te most interesting betting products on the market from the business side seem to be bet builders and round-by-round betting (in CS: GO in particular). For these products to reach their full potential, there needs to be data directly from the server to power efficient odds models.
However, public streams from esports tournaments are almost always delayed by more or less 90 seconds. Tis means that if the sportsbook or odds supplier gets data directly from the server and serves odds on round-by- round betting (rounds being around three-five min max), they would know the outcome of the bet before the player has even placed it.
Tis means that many sportsbooks only hold markets open where a player can bet on what happens a few rounds ahead, something that hurts the user experience. Terefore, there needs to be some sort of equilibrium between the sportsbook and player to find a way to provide round-by-round betting without compromising on the user experience or fairness in the bet.
What innovations within the esports betting space have caught your attention?
Te talk of the town is definitely bet builders, especially on correlated bets. Uncorrelated bets are much easier to create because it’s essentially just about multiplying the probability of one team winning Match A and another winning Match B.
However, correlated bets or same-game parlay are a lot more complicated. If you want to combine two bet offers from the same game, for example, a player from team one getting over/under 25 kills but team two winning, it means that different events that happen during the game are dependent on each other and consequently are more difficult to produce.
Nonetheless, we believe creating something like this could be really interesting for esports players. Given the speed of server data in esports, it's possible.
Does esports merit its own tab on the sportsbook?
It does. It is different to regular sports to a large degree and as previously mentioned, its audience demands different things. With that
P98 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
“The most interesting betting products on the market from the business side seem to be bet builders and round-by- round betting (in CS: GO in particular). For these products to reach their full potential,
there needs to be data directly from the server to power efficient odds models.
However, public streams from esports tournaments are almost always delayed by
more or less 90 seconds. This means that if the sportsbook or odds supplier gets data
directly from the server and serves odds on round-by-
round betting (rounds being around three-five min max), they would know the outcome of the bet before the player has even placed it.”
said, as esports grows, the different games within the segment might merit their different tabs as well. While both “League of Legends” and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive” are esports games, they hold fewer similarities than soccer and basketball.
As they grow in the betting space, our belief is that single games will take over the popularity of single sports. Hence, it might be more reasonable for CS: GO or Dota 2 to have their own tabs alongside basketball or cricket.
Does esports need a single regulatory body?
A single regulatory body, either by game or for the industry as a whole would ensure a certain industry standard to be met by teams and tournament organisers.
While there might not be enough resources in place to create these sorts of structures for the entire industry yet, there has definitely been a lot of progress in the space. Not the least by ESIC, the Esports Integrity Commission.
What is the future of CS: GO?
Te pandemic-infused days seem to be over (for now), which has led to several high tier CS: GO in-person events relieving each other during spring. Te events have showcased solid viewership numbers, with PGL Major Antwerp 2022 breaking the two million peak viewership mark in the grand final.
Tere are several other high-tier events to look
forward to in the coming months as well, with IEM Season 17 Cologne in Summer, as well as BLAST PRO and ESL Pro League in fall.
Why hasn't Overwatch succeeded as well as other titles as a betting product?
Te Overwatch League is international, but was, since its beginning, centred around the United States. Many teams are named after US cities much like teams in baseball or American football, furthering this concept. Consequently, the game amassed a large following in the US, as well as China and South Korea.
During its heyday in the late 10s, betting was yet to be regulated by large states in the US. Hence, a large chunk of the Overwatch fanbase wasn’t legally allowed to bet. With its largest fan bases not allowed to bet, and regulated betting not being as prevalent in Asia, it can’t come as a large surprise that Overwatch didn’t make it into the top three in Western (e)sportsbooks.
How does Valorant catch up to the likes of DOTA 2, League of Legends and Counter-Strike?
VALORANT is still walking a step behind the big three when it comes to viewership. Notwithstanding, it was released in May 2020, making it a young game. Its esports scene went live shortly after, with promising viewership numbers.
While it hasn’t reached the same popularity as CS: GO Majors or League of Legends Worlds, the finale of VCT Masters Stage 1 in Reykyavik raked in over 1 million in peak viewership, with other stages coming up in Copenhagen and Istanbul during the year. From our eyes, it looks like an esports scene on the rise.
Where are the most lucrative esports markets and which holds the most potential?
Te most lucrative esports market outside of betting is Asia, specifically Southeast Asia and China. Te US and European markets are slightly behind (given the difference in market size) but are the core markets for sportsbooks.
Te markets with the most potential to grab market shares are Brazil and the United States, as both have regulated sports betting recently and have a sizable esports fan base.
What is the future for esports in Brazil as licences are handed out?
It’s hard to say. Brazil is becoming a player to be reckoned with in the esports space, with FURIA esports being a top-contester in CS: GO and Ninjas in Pyjamas playing with a Brazilian team in top-tier VALORANT.
However, the country has also seen incredible growth in the popularity of mobile esports titles, making it an interesting opportunity to pursue the newly regulated betting space. Who knows, it might be PUBG Mobile or Free Fire that dominates the charts in Brazil, in contrast to CS: GO, FIFA and League of Legends in Europe.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154
