Does Your Pay Per Head Offer Dota 2?

With so many of today's savvy bookmakers (and would be bookmakers) aged 20 to 40, their player base seeks more than just NFL, College Basketball, NBA and Major League Baseball (some old school bookies actually close shop this time of year).

The demand is now high in the betting space for eSports and some of the biggest titles include League of Legends, Counter-Strike and Dota 2.

Our friends at PayPerHead.com recently expanded their Pay Per Head platform eSports offerings to include Dota 2.

It's a no-brainer, so says Nate Johnson, Product Manager of PayPerHead.com.

“For the past number of years, PayPerHead has been looking at getting involved in sports that goes beyond the traditional scope of sports betting.” Explained Johnson. “While we’re still supporting traditional games like NFL, NBA, and NCAA, we’re looking to expand into an audience that we haven’t seen before.”

He adds: “Esports events is eclipsing – and at sometimes – towering over traditional sporting events.” Johnson explained. “From own records, we can see a minor portion of the audience placing wagers on large esports events. However, there’s a significant potential for an increase of betting activity.”

There has also been a dramatic increase in college age bookies utilizing Pay Per Head services.  Their sport of choice is often eSports.

Dota 2 is currently one of the most popular multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games today and a heavily played title on Steam, Valve Corporation’s digital game distribution platform.

From FirstBlood.com:

According to data aggregator site Steam Charts, Dota 2 started off in closed beta in July 2012, with around 50,000 concurrent players on average every month. Just five months later, that number jumped to just below 120,000, with the playerbase peaking at 213,000. The game was officially released and taken out of beta status in July 2013, just one month before the third iteration of The International.

Then there's Leage of Legends, another game Johnson knew his clients looking for eSports betting options would most certainly request.

“League of Legends is one of the most popular games in the video game industry. Their last Spring Split gathered a total viewership of over 75 million people worldwide. This year’s ‘Split’ has been quite the rollercoaster ride of excitement and upset. During their Spring Finals this April, we’re expecting a 75% increase of wagers.”

Johnson admits that PayPerHead.com's eSports offerings are limited at the moment, but points out the majority of revenue stems from the titles his company now features.

eSports betting will be a learning curve for many.

“People who are not quite versed in eSports, many compare the industry to a league like the NBA or NFL, however, this relation is completely wrong.” Explained Johnson. “Each video game can be seen as a league of their own. League of Legends can be related to the NFL, and Fortnite to the NBA.”

- Alistair Prescott, Gambling911.com