eSports has as a concept has made big strides in the betting industry. While the activity was almost unknown four years ago, it has become rapidly popular. Not least through the efforts of dedicated fans who started betting on sports for fun at sites such as GosuGamers and JoinDota. These early eSports bettors weren’t necessarily looking for a huge monetary gain. However, what started as an interesting diversion became a serious demand to bet on eSports. Simple economics took over and many sportsbooks started providing supply in the form of betting on eSports. Since then, there have been numerous advancements in eSports betting technology. Most of the innovation improves the experience to create a really enjoyable time for those involved. Today, we take a look at all the great improvements that have been brought to the eSports betting industry.
Custom and Tailored Solutions for Bookmakers
The first big change for bookmakers is the integration of a great tool that allows them to immediately list eSports betting options. You see, not all bookmakers started out with the idea of hosting eSports betting markets. In fact, many decided to only add eSports as an attempt to convert video gamers into sports bettors.
This backfired and over the years, operators realized that the only way to cater to some 500 million eSports fans, is to make sure that you completely satisfy their needs. Pinnacle, a leader in the eSports betting space, introduced its Plug-and-Play eSports Hub. This software is a bid to make it easy for partners’ bookmakers to integrate a fully functioning and scalable eSports solution. Instead of having to build their own eSports betting offerings, many bookmakers are now simply able to pick a solution and integrate it directly. This marks one of the biggest technological advancements for eSports tech.
An eSports First Approach on Mobile
The top online eSports betting has made it to the top of the food chain not necessarily because they were offering eSports part-time. Many successful eSports bookmakers made a conscious decision to focus entirely on this experience and provide players with satisfying and comprehensive options. Pinnacle, as mentioned previously, decided to focus on eSports not just as a B2C unit, but also in a B2B capacity. Delivering software to power many different eSports betting platforms. Brands such as Rivalry and Luckbox have started focusing exclusively on eSports. Players have been rapidly building up trust with mobile eSports books and this will continue to cause more companies to join this part of the industry.
Live Streaming and Big Data
Some of the most significant technological advancements that eSports books have made recently include live streaming and big data. By leveraging such solutions, they have been able to significantly improve the eSports betting experience for all. Some improvements that have been particularly popular include:
- Live wagering on eSports events
- Micro-markets for various tournaments
- Real-time proposition bets
Involving eSports fans into the betting scene is a highly rewarding process and one that will stick for you. Sportsbooks that are eager to deliver on the best possible experience will always feature these technologies in a bid to bring eSports bettors closer. After all, eSports betting is a community-driven activity and that means that players will want to be part of the action in real-time.
The addition of great and powerful live streams paired with great odds is a fantastic way to make this happen. Players are very welcome to engage in real-time and have a blast as they play along. There are many reasons why you should try to place a bet on eSports in real-time and the simplest answer is that eSports fans are very savvy. They are aware of how a game of Dota 2 or Overwatch is going to change and they can adjust their eSports bets accordingly. It’s up to the bookies to make sure that they have created a healthy environment where this type of betting is possible.
More Technological Changes Coming
There are many other technological changes that we can expect to see from bookmakers over the coming years. eSports players and spectators are very keen on placing eSports wagers. This is not least thanks to the efforts of dedicated companies that this has been made possible. Today you can bet on virtually every popular game or even on yourself thanks to platforms such as Unikrn’s UMode which allows you to make an eSports wager on your own performance.
