iGB Intelligence reports | Page 32

Chapter 1 – Introduction “Part of that suite is our Fraud Detection System which means that the tournaments and competitions we are offering have been monitored by our award-winning Security Services, giving our clients peerless peace of mind. “Virtual sports betting has also continued to be a highly competitive space. We pride ourselves on generating games that are the best in the industry when it comes to mimicking the traditional sports bet journey and perhaps more importantly, our in-house developed products have remained the best in the sector for generating revenues for our clients. We stay ahead by continuously updating the products to match what punters are looking for. From new features to new channels to new sports.” David Chang, founder and chief executive, Betcade: “There have been several important trends that not only affected Betcade, but actually led to our founding. First, the shift from PC to mobile is very apparent particularly when it comes to user acquisition. The industry as a whole is reporting that a majority of new users are being acquired through mobile and in our opinion that trend is likely to continue for a few more years. “Secondly, increased competition has really driven digital sportsbooks to think creati vely about where their growth will come from. For some this will come from new markets, others may offer more coverage in terms of sports they cover - the emergence of eSports as a category is an example of this. “Lastly, Google Play remains closed to digital sportsbooks – cutting off a vital avenue for app discovery. This has resulted in a stifled Android ecosystem, which has led to Android underperforming relative to iOS.” Borislav Borisov, chief operating officer, UltraPlay: “The ascend of eSports to the top flight of sports betting has been by far the biggest trend which affected UltraPlay in 2015. Over the last 12 months we have established and grown an in-house eSport trading team and added to our portfolio several clients who have eSports as a main focus (vitalbet. com/ebettle.com) Furthermore, we are about to launch eSport-centric white-labels for several of our other partners. “The interest from operators towards eSports has surpassed the bravest of expectations. And this interest is well-grounded in research and data. At the beginning of 2015, the gaming market research and analytics firm, Newzoo, published a report on the global eSports market in which, it revealed that eSports is already Pinnacle’s 7th biggest sport by betting volume, surpassing traditional ones like rugby and golf. In the same report, the authors predict consistent double-digit growth of the eSports market over the years to come. “The fundamental fact is that it is ingrained in our human DNA to play. The games change, but the playing never stops. I would go as far as labelling eSports as the football of the millennial generation.” Digital Sports Betting 25