eSports
ASX and Esports Technologies (EBET) join forces in strategic esports alliance
The American SportZ Exchange (ASX), the world’s first virtual sports-trading exchange, has announced its latest strategic alliance with Esports Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: EBET), a leading provider of esports wagering products and associated technologies.
The alliance considers both entities joining forces in a tactical alliance that commits to bringing ASX players higher liquidity and bridging the cross-vertical divide between the esports markets and the exchange betting model. The intended result is to increase margins and improve retention opportunities in one of the gaming and entertainment industry’s fastest-growing verticals.
In the wake of the pandemic and an uncertain timetable of international sport, esports has been one of the few verticals able to maintain a robust and regular schedule of events, delivering an opportunity for millions of fans to enjoy a deeper engagement in esports, wherever they are in the world.
This fragmented global calendar for live sports has also accelerated the rise of esports as a popular betting medium, as more and more players pivoted their attention and enthusiasm to relatable esports content which fosters a familiar environment and comparable excitement. And despite the return of traditional sports from the sidelines in 2021, esports audiences have largely remained intact with fan engagement continuing growth momentum.
Through this complementary association, best-in-breed esports data from Esports Technologies (both pre-game and in-play) is intended to create a new level in authentic live engagement and peer-to-peer predictions for customers and data consumers on the ASX platform.
ASX is a hybrid next-generation fantasy sports betting company, fronted by gaming sector pioneer Paddy Power, where virtual shares in players and teams can be “traded”. This flagship startup, which allows its users to buy or sell “shares” premised on individual “player” and collective “team” performance, offers “share prices” around individual players and teams based on anticipated performance across a number of key criteria, unique to every underlying sports game.
The ASX platform is presently capitalizing on the soaring demand for esports player and team markets, whose worldwide appeal is premised on the granular statistics and player data which already drive the latest video games and fantasy football leagues across mature global markets.
Working in close collaboration with Esports Technologies, ASX seeks to promote and refine esports’ escalating popularity across worldwide regulated markets, familiarizing and educating fans via dynamic data and premium content.
Bart Barden, COO at Esports Technologies, said: “It’s great to be working with former Paddy Power leadership, aligning on an exciting shared vision for the future of esports through this strategic alliance with Paddy’s bold startup venture, ASX. I’m eager to bring our collective experience to bear, unlocking the strategic synergies of these companies via this strategic alliance.
“Esports Technologies’ deep and diverse range of pre-play and in-play data can quickly attract and educate new and existing esports audiences, particularly for a US fanbase raised on DFS and consequently primed for markets that run on individual player or team statistics.”
Paddy Power, President and Co-founder at ASX, added: “Esports Technologies are trailblazers in this rapidly emerging esports domain, while Bart’s previous sterling work at a leading International betting exchange, when we overlapped at Paddy Power Betfair, earmarked him as our go-to guy for esports once this ASX opportunity presented itself. Together, we now stand at the intersection of some of the most progressive technology and untapped verticals in the industry. It’s a thrilling time to see how we might again collaborate to mutually-beneficial effect over the coming months and years.
“ASX is the next logical step in the DFS evolution, fusing the excitement of an active trading marketplace with the most immersive retention aspects of fantasy management. By combining intuitive and recognizable stock-exchange transaction mechanics with the dynamics of live sporting events and record low-latency data distribution, we are now paving the way for the next generation in esports betting and fan-engagement ecosystems.”
eSports
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eSports
R&D rethink needed for sportsbooks to harness esports’ power
Esports betting is still grappling with a perception problem amongst operators. Despite the leaps and bounds in product development made by suppliers – particularly in the last two years – esports hasn’t shaken off the image built in the late 2010s.
Our good friend, Oliver Niner, Head of Sales at PandaScore, has been kind to share the below article with us.
There’s scepticism around esports betting’s value, how well it can actually perform and what’s needed to make it appeal to bettors. A big part of that comes down to perception, which shapes the research and development (R&D) choices made by each operator.
Self-fulfilling prophecy?
Operators who have put the research and development (R&D) resources into esports are seeing excellent growth, while others are still treating it like part of a long tail. The lack of a uniform approach to esports often translates into hesitancy to be bullish and invest in esports.
Whereas in the United States, post-PASPA sports betting has exploded and operators are seeking to capture as much territory and market share as possible because in most cases, you switch the lights on and the money comes in. It’s, of course, good business sense to take opportunities like this – you can apply the same templates used elsewhere on an incredibly lucrative market.
This kind of approach has been attempted for esports and hasn’t found the same success. Granted, the legislation for betting on esports has been somewhat slower than that of sports betting and iGaming.
However, bullish operators have acknowledged the fact that esports hasn’t found the same success in regulated states and asked what can be done differently, while for others, esports has been thrown into the too-hard basket or relegated to the bargain bucket.
For the latter, the fate of the esports vertical becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy – especially if an operator already using a budget esports product that throttles its very growth.
It takes two to tango
When esports is discussed in broader betting circles, you’ll often hear different versions of the same talking point: the problem with esports is no one is doing it well, it doesn’t innovate.
This argument is a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Esports is a driver of innovation, and it is sportsbook R&D that is holding it back.
Multiple suppliers on the market are investing significant resources into R&D, and bullish operators are leveraging these product innovations to acquire new customers and create engagements made for the internet age.
There are understandable reasons why sports betting doesn’t innovate. It’s largely because operators focus on acquisition, entering new territories and spending money on data rights. But the actual R&D on sportsbook products is left lacking, with ever-increasing cost-per-acquisition (CPA) numbers a clear symptom of this.
It means that if an operator does decide to use or acquire an esports specialist supplier but does little to cater its product and attempts to just lay the sports betting template over the top, of course performance will be throttled.
It’s like putting a Ferrari engine in a Prius – no offence to Toyota or Prius owners.
The same problem exists on the platform supplier front. Platforms are understandably focused on compliance and getting customers live, not necessarily improving models or their products.
Even the idea that if you just acquire an innovative company the problem is solved or you have found the solution, doesn’t hold water. In many cases, the company is acquired and plenty of noise is made about it, but there’s little organisational investment in R&D afterwards.
It’s not just in esports
These problems extend to customer acquisition and marketing for most emerging markets, not just esports. There’s a rush to use the same old playbook in newer sectors because it’s easy.
The fantasy vs. house sector in the US is already experiencing an acquisition arms race. As analyst Dustin Gouker points out, deposit match bonuses for new users on fantasy vs house products have jumped from $100 to as high as $500 in some places.
This is the same race that played out in sports betting and despite the costs, there’s little effort from most operators to try something different. There’s less work when you just put the same acquisition template on an emerging sector and call it a day. This seems to be an accepted practice in the industry, for better or for worse.
Esports betting success requires ongoing dialogue
Rather than attempting to wedge esports into hegemonic sportsbook approaches, sportsbooks need to take a completely unique approach.
The fact is the betting sector has barely scratched the surface – communities of esports fans are still dormant. Canadian operator Rivalry has built a successful, esports-first business by embracing the ever-changing internet culture that esports inhabits. French esports organisation Karmine Corp recently sold out a 30,000-person stadium for an event with no prize money up for grabs.
Innovative products developed on the supplier side like microbetting and betbuilders are only half of the equation.
Maximising esports revenues requires institutional investment, ongoing R&D and collaboration between suppliers and operators to create products and experiences. This includes having staff on the operator side that can drive and push the product further, and crucially, rethinking current sportsbook strategies and practices.
Building experiences for betting’s greatest emerging market – one that caters to your future core audience – takes investment, innovation and a willingness to experiment. If the industry wants to make the most of the Millennial and Gen Z audience that will become its primary customers, investment into R&D and close collaboration between suppliers and operators is needed. Many hands makes light work.
eSports
North Star Network Acquires Um Dois Esportes
North Star Network has acquired Um Dois Esportes, a sports coverage and analysis site created from the merger of Gazeta Do Povo and Tribuna do Paraná in 2020.
Julien Josset, co-founder of North Star Network, said: “Thank you to the team at GRPCOM for their faith in us to take the brand forward. Um Dois Esportes is an established and renowned site in Paraná State, and we’re excited about the challenge of developing this asset.
“We’re happy to maintain the collaboration with the existing editorial team, and look forward to working with them, bringing our unique NSN approach, to take UDE forward.”
NSN’s signing of Um Dois Esportes is the media house’s fourth acquisition of 2024, following the recent deals to purchase UK-based SportsMole and MrFixitsTips, as well as Chilean site AlAireLibre, which was announced in March.
The latest addition to the North Star media portfolio joins existing assets including Top Mercato, Afrik-Foot, and Vringe. The Paris-based company already oversees a significant Brazilian operation, delivering over 6 million sessions per month, from the likes of Trivela, Premier League Brasil and Lakers Brasil.
NSN will retain Curitiba-based journalists from the Um Dois Esportes legacy team to maintain the asset’s unique tone and popular coverage of the Paraná sports scene across site and social.
Rafael Mello, Director of GRPCOM, said: “We were surprised by the interest, and initially had no intention of selling Um Dois, but as the conversations evolved, we realised this was a serious group with good intentions. We were very happy to see our project being valued by a large international group and going global, demonstrating the quality of the content we produced.
“We’re also proud that North Star inherited our journalists, who are truly responsible for the success of the product we offer readers every day.”
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