ESPORTS SPECIAL
ROUND TABLE:
THE RISE OF ESPORTS
Betting on competitive video gaming, or eSports, is the most hyped new vertical for iGaming. We spoke
to representatives from three early movers into the eSports betting space, Ali Atam of Betclic, James
Hampleton of Nitrogen Sports and Adam Gaskell from Pinnacle Sports, about its potential to break into
the betting mainstream and the accompanying opportunities for affiliates.
Roughly what volume and share of your
bets are now taken on eSports and how
has this grown over the last 12 months?
Ali Atam: We have been offering betting
across eSports for over a year now and have
observed strong interest from the customer
and growth trends in terms of turnover, stake
sizing and customer numbers. Whilst the
sport is still maturing, so does our fixed-odds
offer in terms of coverage and markets offered
pre-event and in-play. Today eSports accounts
for a small comparative share of our overall
turnover (dominated by the traditional sports
of football, tennis, basketball and ice hockey)
but we have observed turnover volumes
increase month-by-month consistently and at
activity this looks set to continue. We took
our one millionth bet in December 2014,
and expect to get to two million much,
much faster.
Are there specific eSports which are
proving particularly popular among
bettors, and if so, what are these?
Ali Atam: Certainly Counter Strike, Dota 2
and League of Legends collectively form the
‘Big 3’ for us when it comes to interest at a
competition level across eSports.
James Hampleton: We provide lines
on League of Legends, Dota 2, StarCraft 2,
Counter Strike, and Hearthstone. We’ve had
lines on other eSports as well, but these are
“eSports has become our fastest growing market judged
by volume and player numbers. Overall, it was our
seventh biggest sport in terms of volume in 2014.”
Adam Gaskell, Pinnacle Sports
exponential levels.
James Hampleton: Unfortunately we
don’t share numbers like the ones you’re
requesting, but we’re very proud to be a
destination for eSports betting. We’re the
only established bitcoin book providing
lines on eSports.
Adam Gaskell: eSports has become our
fastest growing market judged by volume
and player numbers. Overall, it was our
seventh biggest sport in terms of volume in
2014. The level of volume traded has pretty
much doubled every year since we began
dealing in 2010, and based on current
36
iGB Affiliate Issue 51 JUNE/JULY 2015
by far the most popular. We tend to see the
most volume on StarCraft 2 and Dota 2, but
the League of Legends community seems
to be growing every day! Counter Strike is
a relatively new addition for us, but it was
an instant hit!
Adam Gaskell: In order of current
popularity of b ] [