iGB Live! Spotlight
iGB Live! Spotlight
Do you foresee a significant global impact( and presumably for Pinnacle) from the US rolling out esports betting regulation, and if so, how will this realise itself? Europe is already playing catch up to Asia and North America in the esports industry and when betting is made available to millions of esports fans in a regulated US market, it’ s bound to pique the interest of operators.
Beyond another period of rapid growth( or an extension of the current one), it’ s too early to say exactly how US esports betting regulation will impact the industry. As far as Pinnacle is concerned, we are always looking to make our market-leading odds available to bettors everywhere, either directly or through partnerships, and this includes a regulated US market.
Leading on from this, there was a significant increase in suspicious betting alerts in DOTA2 and Warcraft 3 in the early part of 2018. Is the industry sufficiently prepared for the integrity challenges a rapid expansion of betting on esports will inevitably bring? As with betting on any sport, potential match-fixing is a big focus for Pinnacle. It’ s perhaps more pronounced in esports given how quickly the industry has grown and while there has been an increase in suspicious betting activity over the years, that’ s also due to the fact that we’ re offering more markets and lower level leagues than before.
From Pinnacle’ s perspective, we certainly feel like we are prepared. There is constant communication and reporting between all of our licensors and collaborators in the integrity industry and I would hope that other operators are doing the same.
If not, what should it be doing better or differently, in your view? I’ d like to think that the wider industry has taken the same approach as Pinnacle and is prepared for integrity challenges, but no matter how prepared you are things can quickly change, especially in esports, so you have to be ready to adapt.
Communication is the key. There needs to be consistent dialogue between everyone involved; this includes operators, licensors, games developers, tournament organisers, teams, sponsors and the various esports associations. We all want a fair and honest sport and we have to work together to achieve that.
Stream: iGB Live! HQ Area: Counsel Panel: Esports will exceed football in fan base, it’ s time to take it seriously
When: 18 July @ 12:00
iGamingBusiness | Issue 111 | July / August 2018 95