Beter
BETER Esports BETER Sports BETER Live BETER Gaming Watch Demo Menu
Language Language 2 en
  • zh
  • es
BETER Esports Global Esports Trading ESportsBattle Virtual eComp
BETER Sports Setka Cup Asian Basketball League
BETER Live
BETER Gaming BETER Turbo Games Watch Demo
Services iFrame solution BETER Integrity Client Console Marketing assistance Support
Company About us Clients and partners Team Career
Events ICE London 2023
News Contact

Charting esports’ rise to mainstream

Evgeniy Bekker, Chief Trading Officer at BETER, believes that esports market entry is quite challenging due to competition, requiring companies to invest significantly in the trading department and access to non-delay game data.

Read more about the insights that Evgeniy shared with EGR.

Esports

Evgenly Bekker, chief trading officer for BETER, explains how esports recently catapulted into the mainstream and why he had no doubt the vertical would come out on top

Evgeniy Bekker, chief trading officer at BETER 

Evgeniy Bekker is a seasoned trading professional with over 10 years of experience in the iGaming industry.

Evgeniy worked with both traditional sports and esports, and his core expertise lies in all aspects of sportsbook management, such as pre-game and live trading, development and improvement of online customer experience, risk management and product growth.

Despite the groundwork for this category harking back to the 1970s, the term ‘esports’ was officially coined in 2000 and wagering in some form has always existed on the outcome of these events and competitions.

Modern esports enjoyed organic growth over the whole of the last decade, especially when the live streaming service Twitch accelerated its popularity. The big turning point for the vertical was around 2017-2018, when some major operators focused on esports and experienced significant volumes of events, resulting in estimates for wagers coming in at eight figures.

From there, 2019 was the year that saw esports’ stock peak yet again, with the market expected to pass the $1bn mark for the very first time. However, it was the unforeseen Covid-19 pandemic and resulting enforced lockdowns in 2020 that became the surprise driver for the esports boom.

Revenue and growth

While many touted virtuals and other verticals as being a solid alternative, I always believed esports would be the key winner during this time as it ideally suited demographic demand. It has the biggest potential by far and has opened a wealth of new opportunities[JHJ3]  for the betting industry.

The surge in revenue of the esports industry has allowed companies to reinvest in B2C marketing strategies, something that is definitely working for the market leaders in terms of growth. Additionally, the number of sponsorship deals is growing exponentially as have average esports player earnings – quadrupling in the last two years – which plays a key role in building trust in brands, which again, fuels further growth but also helps mainstream the vertical.

So, what we have now is an exceedingly competitive environment. I believe no one has the monopoly on esports provision quite yet but there are strong brands in the mix, and there is still growth in the space with the number of providers rapidly increasing. That said, we at BETER are confident we have the know-how to retain and grow our market share.

The level of competition makes market entry quite high, requiring companies to invest significantly, not only in the trading department but also in the access to non-delay game data obtained alongside the right trading tools. Specialists in this space have much more potential than big names which have established themselves elsewhere, as this is their niche, rather than ‘add-on’ content.

Top three

So, the future’s certainly bright, and I foresee esports occupying its own firmly established vertical within the industry in the next five years or so. It’s set to reside in the top three sports on the sportsbooks for a lot of major operators.

In actual fact, this is actually already happening for some tier 1 operators, with esports taking the position of the second-best sport in terms of volume and revenue.

The speed of that growth and ability to unlock the full potential of esports crucially depends on who is willing to invest in quality esports odds providers with access to non-delay data that makes this growth possible. As that’s what it’s all about – data is vital to esports’ ability to scale, as well as a team of experienced traders and sophisticated trading tools.

Aug 02, 2022
Share:
beter BETER ESports
Popular
BETER Esports GM, Evgeniy Bekker, about CS:GO, interview for Esports Insider
How CS:GO maintains momentum as an esport and game

Esports Insider: Evgeniy Bekker, Esports GM at BETER, discusses why CS:GO has continued to show signs of growth and development as a game, esport and betting offering.

Jan 27, 2023
BETER and ESportsBattle add new Dota 2 tournaments
BETER rolls out Dota 2 tournaments

BETER has extended its esports portfolio by adding the Dota 2 tournaments. These tournaments will be conducted by ESportsBattle.

Jan 19, 2023
The 2022 year results of BETER Live
BETER Live looks back at its key priorities and greatest achievements in 2022

Having officially launched in November last year, 2022 was the first full year for live casino provider BETER live. During this time, the company has achieved some impressive results, signing agreements with 25 new partners and increasing its presence in numerous regions.

Jan 17, 2023
BETER_adds_badminton_events
BETER’s Setka Cup launches badminton tournaments

BETER is expanding its sports portfolio by adding the sport of badminton to its offering.

Jan 12, 2023
Interview with Gal Ehrlich, CasinoBeats
CB100 pathways through gaming and beyond, with Gal Ehrlich

Next in to the hot seat is Gal Ehrlich, CEO of BETER, who looks back on 13 years in the industry by welcoming a positive change in putting the player first, addresses the only way of staying ahead of the competition and asks if there’s a way to create a more unified industry-wide ESG effort.

Jan 11, 2023
BETER Esports BETER Sports BETER Live BETER Gaming Watch Demo
Services iFrame solution BETER Integrity Client Console Marketing assistance Support
Company About us Partners Careers Our team Legal
News Events
Contact us
Follow us