PandaScore whitepaper provides exhaustive look into esports betting
Sharpr is a weekly newsletter covering the intersection of esports and betting
Hi everyone, Cody here.
This week we highlight dig into a few core themes from PandaScore’s exhaustive esports betting whitepaper. I go over a couple key points and narratives from the report, but trust me that it’s one to dig into yourself when you’ve got the time.
A quick heads up to my readers here that I’ll be spending time with family next week, and you may not hear from me next Thursday. We’ll be coming back in full force in the latter half of April, though–really looking forward to sharing more of what this team has been cooking up the last few months, so be sure to keep an eye out.
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Let’s get into this week’s action.
In this week’s edition of Sharpr…
PandaScore whitepaper provides exhaustive look into esports betting
Ohio sportsbook offers wide range of esports betting
Latest news and data.
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PandaScore whitepaper provides exhaustive look into esports betting
Esports data supplier PandaScore on Thursday released an esports betting whitepaper entitled, How to build a successful esports betting product.
As insisted by the title, the whitepaper is designed to “give operators a central resource to build their esports betting offering.” The first several pages of the whitepaper achieve a baseline understanding of what esports is, delivering a quick and direct overview of the landscape provided by its author Thomas Lace, PandaScore’s content marketing manager and former esports business journalist.
The report consists of commentary and insights from a range of expert contributors, including UNLV Director of Research Brett Abarbanel, Sporting Solutions Business Development Director Julien Boinet, Pixel.bet CEO Eirik Kristiansen, and Rivalry CEO Steven Salz, among other PandaScore executives.
The report covers a wide range of topics, from esports product integrations to risk management, data, compliance, and virtually everything in between. I’d highly recommend giving it a read, but if you don’t have the time to go through all 68-pages, I’ll share a few key themes and some data to hang your hat on.
The aging sports bettor and esports
Esports betting has continued to take up significant air space in the larger gambling industry discourse over the last two years–partially in part due to the pandemic’s disruption of traditional sports. We’ve seen claims of all sorts being made during this period in the limelight–the risks, the benefits, the growth potential–some obvious and others not as much, so where is the value? PandaScore believes a significant portion of that is being unlocked today while the handle is still nascent, and operators should take note based on the audience.
In the UK, the dominant sports betting age bracket is between 30-40 years old, and that group is aging compared to the 18-35 demographic of the esports audience.
Price is said to drive this demographic (a theme touched on in last week’s issue), whereas the esports bettor is more focused on the entertainment experience.
Customer acquisition cost is driven down as a result. The average CPA for an esports bettor is said to be approximately half of a traditional sportsbook user.
The report states that esports betting is scaling at a CAGR of 52%, making it one of the fastest growing segments in the sports betting vertical.
The aging up of sports fans is by no means a new concept, and neither is the adoption of gaming as a means to grab hold of the next generation of consumers. Esports has proven to be a great customer acquisition tool, and while the betting opportunities may not meet the volume of traditional sports wagering (at least in the U.S.), its value can be realized in perpetuity based on its lower CPA and the handle’s fast-tracked growth.
Overcoming the data disconnect
Data is far-and-away the crux of the betting industry. In traditional sports, data is mostly collected manually to provide operators with the information required to shape and adjust markets. In esports, the digital nature of gaming offers an “abundance of data,” providing a unique opportunity for tournament operators and operators alike, but also brings a number of challenges.
“In manual sports data collection they might record how many passes a footballer makes, or how many to a specific person and that provides a certain layer of depth. In esports, we can reach a level of granularity that the equivalent would be recording which way the player is looking when they pass and the exact angle of their foot when they make the pass – and we can source it in real time,” PandaScore CEO & Co-founder Flavien Guillocheau shared.
The issue at the heart of the data conversation in esports is latency, and more specifically, what is known as stream delay.
In traditional sports broadcasts, what you see on TV is approximately 5-7 seconds behind what is happening in the stadium where via a streaming platform like Twitch, it can range between 30-60 seconds.
In esports, competitions are live-streamed to audiences with a time delay of anywhere from 1-10 minutes to prevent players from gaining an unfair advantage by viewing the broadcast.
Traditional sports betting has demonstrated the appetite for in-play betting, and the case is very much the same for esports. However, when the bookmaker’s odds aren’t reflecting the match, bettors notice they’re behind on the action, the report notes.
The result sees discouraged bettors and lower volumes of live bets, and the esports audience does not take kindly to wagering on odds they know are formed with knowledge that is “miles ahead” of what they know about the game. Together, it’s a notable risk to the overall customer experience.
Counter-Strike: the perfect betting title
While generally acknowledged by those familiar with the space, PandaScore’s data highlights Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) as the most popular esport to bet on with 68.75% of 2021 turnover stemming from the first-person shooter title. Dota 2 (14.75%), League of Legends (13.6%), Valorant (1.32%) and ‘other’ (1.58%) follow.
“Right now what football is to sports betting, Counter-Strike is to esports betting,” the report reads.
PandaScore chalks up CS:GO prominence in the betting sector to a few key points:
CS:GO has a passionate player base and fan following spanning 20 years.
Game literacy levels are lower, making it’s easier for newcomers to understand.
High frequency of tournaments throughout the year.
There is a strong betting culture specific to this game and gambling partners are widely accepted compared to other esports titles.
PandaScore data additionally shows that Counter-Strike courts the highest average bet size at €24.36 ($26.60), but is very interestingly followed by Valorant at €23.89 ($26.08). As outlined above, Valorant is wagered on astronomically less than Counter-Strike, and that signals a strong sign for the title as a betting item, especially considering it was released in 2020, compared to Counter-Strike debuting two decades ago.
🦈 Sharpr take: My review above is only scratching the surface of the incredible amount of information and data that this whitepaper provides to readers. I don’t say this very often, but I am thoroughly impressed by the caliber of this report, its topics, and the narratives extracted from PandaScore’s data.
The issue in esports betting from a media perspective (and one of the reasons I decided to launch this newsletter) is that there is a lack of content like this in the gambling industry. Esports is often used as a buzzword to perk up ears and a concerning amount of public discourse and reporting can be off-base or misleading. This is far from the case with PandaScore’s whitepaper, and it should prove to be a valuable resource for those looking for an entry point into this space as well as folks like you and I who are just trying to get a bit sharper on the sector.
Ohio free-to-play sports betting app offers extensive esports odds
JACK Entertainment, operator of the JACK Cleveland Casino and JACK Thistledown Racino, has launched a free-to-play sports wagering app ahead of Ohio’s official sports betting launch, offering customers a chance to test the waters without putting real money down.
The betJACK sportsbook, available on desktop and mobile devices, also offers odds on esports matches–and the markets are shockingly extensive for a traditional operator. The esports tab on betJACK allows users to wager tokens (a currency being utilized in place of cash until sports betting launches officially in the state) on a variety of titles in pre-match, moneyline wagers.
Esports titles include CS:GO, League of Legends, Rainbow Six, StarCraft, and Valorant.
The sportsbook offers wagers on a number of different tournaments and leagues for each title. In CS:GO for example, betJACK offers odds on the ESL Pro League, BLAST Premier, Elite Series, and several other tournaments.
Ohio passed sports betting legislation in December 2022, and is set to launch in the state before the end of the year. Under the amended HB29 bill, Ohio residents will be able to wager professional and college sports, as well as esports.
While many states have opted to include esports in sports betting legislation or massage it into existing regulations, very few operators have been seen taking advantage by offering markets on competitive gaming.
It’s unclear whether betJACK will continue to offer the extent of esports markets it currently features on its sportsbook once real money wagering is permitted on the platform. If it is, betJACK may have one of the most robust esports betting offerings in the nation.
🗞 In the news
Rohini Sardana has left Sports Information Services (where she developed esports betting content) to join Pinnacle Sports as its business development director.
Esports Entertainment Group has completed its “soft-play” phase, and is now unrestricted in accepting esports wagers in New Jersey.
GG.BET has been named the exclusive betting partner of PGL Major Antwerp 2022, the first CS:GO Major tournament of the 2022 season.
📈 By the numbers
Approxmiately 65% of March Madness bettors say they wagered more in 2022 than on any previous tournament, according to a study by National Research Group.
U.S. consumers spent $147 billion on gambling activities in 2021, per research from Eilers & Krejcik Gaming.