The eSports Beat - June 25, 2021: Betbazar Talks Turning eSports Growth Into Retention

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BetBazar

Alexandr Iaroshenko, Betbazar: Turning esports growth into retention

SBC sat down with Alex Iaroshenko, CEO at Betbazar, to discuss the positive impacts Covid had on eSports and Mr. Iaroshenko offered quite a revealing perspective.

"Last year marked a real chance to see a glimpse of esports’ ongoing potential. Sports simulators, in particular, had quite an impact, which hasn’t been fully appreciated in the sector just yet. Games like FIFA, PES, NBA 2K and NHL played a huge role in giving bettors a source of excitement during lockdown. 

"Games like Counter Strike, DOTA 2, League of Legends and Fortnite remain popular, but sport-based games definitely saw the lion’s share. 

"This wasn’t punters turning to esports because there was nothing else, rather it was them finding a new form of entertainment that many will stay loyal to. But they obviously need to be offered a good quality product to do so and that creates a huge opportunity for operators.   

"The numbers are certainly promising and show what kind of retention we’re dealing with here. Before last year, our clients had around 5% of bets placed on electronic football leagues.

"During the pandemic, it was close to 40%. Naturally, we expect that number to decrease as sports come back, but we are realistically expecting to retain 15-18% of the share."

Blockchain

Blockchain: The next step in esports and gambling

Esports organisations and tournament operators started partnering with crypto companies with some believing grassroots esports will live, to a large extent, on the blockchain.

From eSports Insider:

"We’re seeing a rise in real-money gaming platforms — many of which are operating on the blockchain. FYX Gaming, a blockchain platform whose flagship title is aptly named ‘CryptoFights’, operates on the Bitcoin SV blockchain; indeed, using blockchain technology has many benefits, including permanent data storage, detection and deterrence of cheaters, the potential for valuable in-game item drops in the form of NFTs, and much, much more. 

"FYX’s CEO Adam Kling told The Esports Journal in April that he envisions esports looking like 'online poker on steroids,' given the potential of real-money gaming at a grassroots level. Ultimately, blockchain could improve competitive integrity and security in esports and, as Kling sees it, 'democratise esports'."

Esports Entertainment Group

Esports Entertainment Group will be the exclusive provider of esports technology and services to the Indian Gaming Esports Association as it seeks to integrate a full suite of B2C and B2B esports services to tribes and tribal casinos, with Spectrum Gaming Capital.

- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com