Pulse
Esports betting is a significant and growing trend across Asia. South Korea was behind the growing popularity of esports nationally and globally as early as the 1990s, as Internet cafes called 'PC bangs' promoted competition and spectatorship. From there, the trend expanded to other countries, including the Philippines and India, where younger, tech-savvy populations are increasingly engaging with esports titles like League of Legends, Dota 2, and Counterstrike.
What will GR8 Tech be showcasing at this year's SiGMA Asia? What conversations will the company be looking to have with new and existing partners?
Yevhen Krazhan CBDO GR8 Tech
At this year's SiGMA Asia, GR8 Tech is excited to showcase our flagship GR8 Sportsbook platform, renowned for its superior adaptability and performance across diverse markets. It’s packed with a rich array of features aimed at boosting operational efficiency and enriching the user experience, including advanced margin management tools that help ensure profitability. In addition to the sportsbook, we’re bringing our GR8 Casino platform, Sportsbook iFrame, Feed, CRM, and other standalone products.
We are also eager to connect with local operators, learn about their challenges, and consider how our solutions can help tackle them. As our first big exhibition in the region, SiGMA Asia is instrumental in tuning in to the local industry’s pulse and enhancing our expertise.
What are the key pitfalls potential investors in the Asian gambling market with successful experience in Europe or North America should consider?
technological foundations. Operators in this region face the challenge of managing high user volumes while providing a seamless experience and ensuring robust security measures to protect user data and combat fraud. Moreover, the cultural diversity, varying languages, and distinct consumer preferences across Asia make localising content and gaming options essential.
GR8 Tech rises to these challenges with our high-performance Sportsbook and iGaming platform, built to handle large user volumes effortlessly, particularly on mobile devices. Tanks to our proprietary Feed, we offer a rich selection of customisable content, and the widget-based front end makes the platform very adjustable for various cultural preferences, all of which enhance user engagement and brand loyalty. Most importantly, we provide operators with predictable performance and profitability, helping them achieve sustainable success in the long term.
In Asia, due to the habit of working on exchanges and the lack of side markets, operators are accustomed to price dumping, offering very low margins: rarely reaching eight per cent in top matches, about five per cent on average, and about three per cent and often close to two per cent in top matches on the most popular markets like handicap and total. Terefore, for a ‘young’ operator to survive and scale, it must consider high-quality and operationally efficient risk management and platform capabilities that drive the average margin well above the baseline level. Te product must be localised for the region's mindset, offering popular Asian signature double total and handicap, quick bet acceptance, the ability to handle large amounts inherent in the region, and so on.
How do Asian sports bettors and online casino punters tend to bet? What are the most popular betting markets and player trends?
It’s not very correct to say “Asian” in this particular context. Te region is far from
homogeneous, and each country is known for their specific needs and popular features. For example, in India, cricket is the dominant sport in betting, mirroring its status as a national pride, whereas in the Philippines, basketball and, recently, esports take precedence, aligning with local fan bases and media coverage. Malaysia shows a unique contrast with its strict regulatory environment limiting local online gambling, yet there's a significant flow to international betting sites, underscoring a still- active interest among Malaysians in broader sports betting. Even the differences within one country are normal, like in Taiwan, where football is the most popular sport overall but is only in third place for betting behind basketball and baseball.
So, a comprehensive answer to this question would take a while. However, there are some overarching trends in the region, such as a pronounced shift towards mobile betting and games, the growing popularity of esports, and stable demand for international sports and leagues, which complement local preferences. In addition to that, Asian bettors value a well- designed interface and ease of use of the sportsbook; quick access to the most popular markets (handicaps, totals, and, depending on the sport, other markets - for example, current period/quarter/set/game markets, etc.) with event overviews; availability of odds in the format familiar to Asian bettors (Indonesian, Malay, Hong Kong).
How critical is the burgeoning esports market relative to other regions where GR8 Tech operates? Could Asia be the global epicentre of esports betting, or is it already?
Esports betting is a significant and growing trend across Asia. South Korea was behind the growing popularity of esports nationally and globally as early as the 1990s, as Internet cafes called 'PC bangs' promoted competition and spectatorship. From there, the trend expanded to other countries, including the Philippines and India, where younger, tech-savvy populations are increasingly engaging with esports titles like League of Legends, Dota 2, and Counterstrike.
In South Korea today, esports is not just a form of entertainment but a part of the cultural fabric. Tis deep integration can be seen spreading to other regions, where local esports
NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / MARKET DATA P141
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