... FRONTIER ? How e-sport has grown big and why it could be the next big thing for the betting industry .... expanding
E-SPORT : THE NEW BETTING FRONTIER ? How e-sport has grown big and why it could be the next big thing for the betting industry
WHAT IS E-SPORT ?
• Organized video games competition, online • E-sport games doesn’t mean video games on sport !!
• Each game is its own discipline (with totally different scene and community) • Most video games now have competitive features • But only a handful of games (around 5 !) represent 90% of the e-sport scene !
WHY E-SPORT IS SO BIG ?
COMPETITIVE DIMENSION (vs people)
WEB TV : CAST FOR FREE WATCH FOR FREE SOCIAL DIMENSION (exchange with friends) AND E-SPORT GAMES ARE FREE TOO ! (F2P) GAMING SUBCULTURE (competition cast, digital natives, free access to media, big events)
E-SPORT = big show, thousands of people, huge competition, fans gathering and sharing
STAPLES CENTER, LA League of League World Championship, 2014
SOME BIG FIGURES TO SET-UP THE SCENE E-SPORT TURNOVERS
E-SPORT AUDIENCE
188M $748M
2015
2015 BETTING REAL MONEY : $55M PLAYERS VS AUDIENCE (France) : e-sport audience : 1,8M, e-sport fans 800K, e-sport players : 400K True strength of e-sport is in the online audience and players Big events are the showcase, big numbers are online
E-SPORT TEAMS ARE THE NEW STARS
Envi US - CSGO Team 450K followers
SK Telecom 1 China
Yellowstar, most famous French esport player 320K followers
Football teams and basket figures are investing massively into e-sport : Magic Johnson (Team Liquid) Schalke 04 (Element) Sixers (Dignitas)
MAIN E-SPORT GAMES
E-sport is in the hand of the publishers, not gaming federation or event organizers
5 vs 5 MOBA Team strategy Game last around 30 mn
100 millions players account activated each month Peak of 7,5 millions players simultaneously
LCS : biggest e-sport event in the world NBA like competition : two seasons split + one World Championship Professional teams, all under contract with Riot NO BETTING PARTNERSHIP (but betting on the game/LCS authorized)
• • • • •
DOTA 2 : main competitor for LoL Very popular in Asia / lesser audience in Europe 10M players worlwide Biggest cash prize ($18M in 2015) Ingame betting system (skins)
First person shooter 5x5 Team strategy Match last a few minutes
10 millions active accounts
Very active community: regular peak of more than 1 millions CCV on Twitch Extensive ingame and out game betting system
OTHER E-SPORT GAMES
BETTING ON E-SPORT
• ESTIMATED EARNING for betting on e-sport : 55M • On existing betting platform (with real money + virtual money / goods) • ESTIMATED CSGO SKIN WAGERS : between $5 to 7 billions !! Allow player to distinguish themselves from other players and/or support their e-sport team
THE BETTING GAME : VIRTUAL VS $$$$ 64%
OF E-SPORT GAMBLERS DO NOT WANT TO GAMBLE REAL MONEY
LOCAL GAMING CULTURE (AND LAWS ON GAMBLING) HAS AN INFLUENCE
eSports fans are gamers and not gamblers
eSports is currently unstable (no organized federation)
eSports is a unique ecosystem
E-sport betting platform offer virtual money (to offer in game) for legal reasons (ex. : France)
eSports betting landscape Company
Unikrn
Pinnacle
Gosugamer
Launch
2015
2015
2002
2016
Services
Free betting Real money betting 8 games
Real money betting 4 games
News site on eSports Skin betting on 2 games
Free betting Exotic bets 11 games
Forces
AAA website Raised 10M$
Established sportsbook
Community Integrated to Steam
AAA service Focused on free betting B2B offer
Faiblesse
Lottery based rewards Based on sports betting
Brand unkown to gamers
Depends on Steam One bet per match
No money raised Need mass audience
Very specialised community website
Only website offering 100% free betting on eSports and a B2B offer
Notes
Example of a sports Established brand betting website as eSports adding eSports to specialist its offer
The CSGO betting case
SKINS MECHANISM : ingame cosmetics goods, paid with real money (random loot) or virtual money earn from betting / playing Skins can be bought between players with real money, but only usable in the game… Some websites propose to bet or exchange skins for real money Valve, editor of CSGO, under attack from class-action in some US states Valve started issued cease and desist orders to skin gambling websites (that allow transforming skins into real money, like CSGOlounge)
Conclusion : why enter eSports ??
• E-sports is part of Sports’ future • E-sport is a fast growing business ($$$ + audience) • E-sports is a good way to attract a younger audience towards betting culture • E-sports attracts a digital native audience and helps expanding your brand in the digital universe E-sport platform have to be specialized, offer innovative betting concept and stray strongly linked to the gaming community
THANK YOU ! Théophile Monnier September 2016 www.eclypsia.com
