Fan of eSports? The rise of eSports gambling & MOBA gaming has seen investment from large iGaming and sport betting companies such as Entain (Photo by ELLA DON on Unsplash)
Competitive video gaming, otherwise known as eSports, has existed since the turn of the millennium and as technology brings the globe closer together, the trend is spreading rapidly across the world bringing with it the rise of eSports gambling.
Accomplished players are paid salaries, and players sign lucrative sponsorship deals. Now with mobile devices, everyone has the opportunity for gambling at their fingertips. With the ongoing COVID-19 situation bringing uncertainty to many of the globe’s sporting events, E-sports betting has been boosted. Now more than ever the opportunity to invest in E-sports shares could be too tempting according to an analysis from ‘This Money‘.
Huge Companies knocking on the front door of E-sports
The influx of traditional sports teams onto the scene will also help to further raise the profile of E-sports and open up new frontiers. Particularly, since many football teams are now establishing their own predominantly Fifa-focused E-sports teams, this presents exciting and new opportunities. By 2027 the E-sports gambling market is expected to reach $200 billion globally. Entain, a sports betting operator on the LSE, recently acquired Unikrn which is a Seattle-based E-sports betting platform. Entain’s CEO, Jette Nygaard-Andersen, a former gamer of the popular Counter-Strike, has paved the way for other betting operators to strike partnerships within the E-sports industry.
Entain had recently refused a $10 million acquisition deal from MGM. However, with the successful purchase of Unikrn, rumours have reignited that MGM may return to Entain’s door. Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, who are also trying to find a way into E-sports, has recently struck a deal with Ukrainian E-sports team Natus Vincere. All of these examples clearly show the opportunities in E-sports gambling at present and that some really big players would like to get in on the action.
So why not?: Being a new craze naturally brings reservations as the industry still does not have any concrete regulations in place, these will continue to change as gambling laws adapt with time. Powerhouse Nevada Gaming Board is still deciding on the parameters of E-sports guidelines. An E-sports advisory committee has been proposed by Senate Bill 165 yet above all odds, E-sports gambling and events are growing and major investments continue to be made. Despite the risks of investing in a new field and the controversial matter of gambling it is smart to be informed of the possibilities for investment within the rousing E-sports gambling industry.
Kambi in £22.6m acquisition of Abios
Chief executive and co-founder Kristian Nylén believes this could allow Kambi to increase its existence in the E-sports industry and that the opportunity to invest in this area had been under review with Kambi officials for quite some time. With Abios they will add that E-sports essence that Kambi had craved to add to their already growing reputation within sports betting.
It has been agreed that Oskar Froberg and Anton Janér, Abios’ chief executive and chief technology officer respectively, will keep their roles within the company and Nylén trusts that with the brilliant team that they have built at Abios and the experience they have gained in E-sports, the business can only advance. Abios chief executive Oskar Froberg believes combining each other’s experience along with Kambi’s brawn in the sports betting world, can only lead to big things for the two companies.
It seems Abios and Kambi have constructed a strong bond over many years of working in the same industry and that bond will only go from strength to strength now they have joined forces.
Leave A Comment