ESPORTS SPECIAL
“One of our biggest affiliates in terms of traffic is actually
an eSports-specific review site. They own their niche,
and dominate the search engine rankings for their
keywords.”
James Hampleton, Nitrogen Sports
embrace this opportunity are well ahead of
the game and have a dedicated set of users.
Adam Gaskell: We have seen significant
growth in both the number of eSports
affiliates as well as the contribution they
are making to our acquisition numbers.
However, given the size of the global
eSports market and its projected growth,
this really is very early days.
More affiliates are starting to contact
us regarding the opportunity to promote
eSports, which is really exciting, and
although the percentage of our current
eSports affiliates is currently low, the
affiliates we do have show promising
signs for the future. One eSports affiliate
in particular is now in our top bracket
of overall affiliates in terms of new
acquisitions and revenue.
We have also set up competitions with
our eSports affiliates to incentivise them.
Our design team have created bespoke
creative - for both website and social
channels - making specific efforts to ensure
the tone and style are suitable for the
eSports audience.
What advice would you give affiliates
looking to enter the eSports market?
Ali Atam: What we would suggest is
looking at creative affiliate marketing – this
could be sponsorship of players or teams.
You also need to understand your audience
– this is not the typical sports bettor of the
last 10 years but a young dynamic that
likely spent more time playing computer
games rather than on the sports fields!
It’s a very new generation – these kids are
growing up as eSports fans!
James Hampleton: Jump in with both feet!
The eSports market is specialized and has an
entire culture surrounding it; there are a lot
of resources that will help you get started.
The community is incredibly passionate, and
there are always people who will be excited
to share their experience.
Adam Gaskell: Fundamentally, eSports
betting is no different to any other two-way
betting market such as tennis. It is normally
offered in the form of match-ups (team/
player A vs. team/player B). However,
although the eSports audience will also
highly successful Dota2 team, also offering
their large user-base the opportunity to join
the growing number of fans who enjoy
betting on eSports matches.
Given eSports’ rapid growth, increased
competition is inevitable. How do you see
this impacting the eSports betting space,
particularly the established players?
“We have already observed the interest across offering
in-play betting on eSports, so operators will have to
quickly meet these demands and provide a betting
medium/platform that is dynamic and reflects the
nature of eSports.”
Ali Atam, Betclic
respond to similar marketing incentives,
they cannot be treated like any other type
of sports bettor, as eSports bettors are less
likely to come from a betting background.
Building trust is a key issue, along with
basic betting education. Cross-selling is also
a lot harder.
Affiliates should focus on the right
messaging and tone. Faced with this
challenge, we have created a dedicated
eSports hub, which offers a separate
destination and experience from the rest of
the website, with content to help explain
how betting works.
As for building trust, we have also
been building partnerships in the eSports
community, becoming the first major
bookmaker to sponsor an eSports event in
December 2013 with the Pinnacle Sports
Dota 2 Pro-Am, which gave our customers
a unique chance to play against the pros.
We also have a partnership with a huge
eSports brand, Team Empire, which sees
Pinnacle Sports sponsor Team Empire’s
Ali Atam: Like you say, a competitive
landscape will evolve but operators willing
to invest across an eSports product will
undoubtedly benefit from the increased
exposure of the sport. It will grow online
and could also soon make the cross-over
towards regular TV sports with dedicated
and mainstream channels broadcasting
events and competitions. We have already
observed the interest across offering inplay betting on eSports, so operators will
have to recognise quickly the demands of
customers and provide a betting medium/
platform that is dynamic and reflects the )