It’s been more than a decade since I first started keeping a keen eye on the growth of Esports gaming. Across all forms of entertainment – social media, streaming and sports betting – it’s been quite fascinating to watch the Esports explosion.
Ten years on, and Esports is no longer an emerging betting market. It’s essential betting content in dozens of regions, and a real revenue driver, too. Remember the early weeks of the COVID pandemic, when Esports betting became the forefront of online sports betting? Bettors turned to FIFA, NBA2K and the likes of League of Legends, with traditional sports on hold. And this was no short-term spike. Esports betting has gone from strength-to-strength ever since.
After all, gaming is one of the biggest entertainment industries on the planet. Dentsu’s 2024 State of Gaming Report found that the global gaming industry is now worth $184 billion—more than music ($33.9 billion) and movies ($28.6 billion) combined.
Sportsbook operators, on average, cover nearly 100 Esports tournaments per year. 24/7 pre-match and in-play betting coverage is best complemented by live streaming and data-driven widgets and visualisations. 91% of Esports bettors also bet on traditional sports (Sharpr), and in markets like Brazil, Esports is already the second most popular betting sport.
But trading Esports doesn’t come without challenges. Specialist knowledge, agility, and high-quality data are paramount to a successful Esports trading desk. Here’s why.
The pace of change in Esports is fast
Esports traders are constantly navigating the unique mechanics of each game title, from game maps to individual player skills, and gameplay strategy. The latter is especially vital to odds pricing. The art for traders is in quantifying this.
For example, in Counter Strike 2, early rounds often unfold slowly because teams conserve in-game cash for better equipment at a later stage. For traders? Recognising this strategy is an important nuance to consider in order to price markets accurately, rather than just reacting to momentum swings.
Meanwhile, variance in the time of gameplay is an entirely different challenge in its own right. In Dota 2, games can last anywhere from 15 minutes to three hours, depending on team strategies and in-game events. A football trader knows that they’ve got 90 minutes plus stoppage time. It’s not even in question. Yet Esports trading requires the agility to dynamically adjust on the fly.
Staying ahead of patch updates
Arguably the biggest challenge? Patch updates.
Updates rolled out by game publishers can completely change gameplay in an instant. Let me give you two examples:
- In 2023, Dota 2 released a major patch just four days before The International, its biggest event of the year. It edited the power of 53 different heroes and changed item strengths.
- In the same year, Dota 2 increased the map size by 40%, fundamentally changing how teams moved and controlled objectives.
Some teams adapted quickly—Team Spirit adapted to the changes better than anyone, leading them to victory.
But just imagine if the rules of football changed overnight, twice per year? Suddenly allowing an extra player on the pitch would entirely change how teams approach games. Trading models would no longer be fit for purpose, and we’d be starting from scratch.
So, it goes without saying why rich Esports game knowledge is absolutely essential. Historical data can lose relevance with any major patch updates. Domain knowledge is the most effective way to stay ahead of how these updates will impact pricing and gameplay.
Inside the mind of today’s Esports bettor
How do Esports bettors differ from customers that bet on sports like football, basketball and American football? After all, many Esports bettors will be avid video gamers themselves, so how does this translate to their betting activity?
Predominantly Gen Z and Millennials, Esports bettors are accustomed to Call of Duty, League of Legends and Dota. Gaming is second nature to them. They often stream live gaming in their spare time, and they’re fully immersed into the inner workings of the game.
While football bettors might plan their wagers around the weekend fixtures, Esports bettors are deeply engaged in the moment. Whether they’re playing themselves or streaming on Twitch, their focus is on the now. This explains why in-play betting is so dominant, with up to 70% of all Esports turnover coming from in-play bets (according to Bayes).
The next question is what it takes to maximise in-play engagement.
Our clients see the best results when traders align with the product and marketing teams to display Esports as prominently and intuitively within the sportsbook app as possible. Too often, Esports is buried beneath lower-tier fixtures, making it difficult to find. Giving Esports a dedicated category in the top navigation menu is always effective. Meanwhile, high-profile tournaments can be highlighted through promotional elements like onsite banners to drive engagement.
From a product point of view, uptime is key. Low-latency game server data and good models, overseen by specialist Esports traders, is the safest route to a top-class in-play product.
Live data directly from the game server data is essential because it provides a complete real-time view of the game — something which TV feeds simply can’t. Many titles are shown from a first-person perspective, so streams often miss critical game information like player locations. Data from the server provides accurate datapoints from the whole map, to directly power trading models in real time. The result is sharp, responsive in-play pricing.
This multi-layered approach is how, for example, we ensure live betting remains available, with no suspension, during the ‘Pick and Ban’ phase of Dota events. It’s also what allows us to trade markets on outcomes like whether the next barracks in Dota 2 will fall, or which team will take down the next tower in League of Legends.
The popularity of Esports betting is only growing. Specialised trading knowledge is the fastest way to set your sportsbook up to maximise the opportunity. With the make-up of each title ever-evolving, the operators who rip up the rulebook and adapt will be the ones who earn the long-term rewards.
Recently, Genius Sports joined forces with GRID and Bayes Esports to launch a combined solution with full pre-match and in-play coverage across 14,000+ live events each year, plus live streaming and data visualisations. This spans top titles like League of Legends, Dota 2, Counter Strike 2, and more – all powered by official live game server data.
