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The Global Esports Federation turns two, and what an epic ride it has been

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The Global Esports Federation turns two, and what an epic ride it has been
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When the Global Esports Federation (GEF) was launched in 2019, one of its goals was to marry the fast-growing esports world with values often tied to traditional sport.

Esports was already the fastest growing sport in 2019, with revenue over US$1 billion and a worldwide reach of close to 500 million. With its massive reach and widespread appeal among the young, esports is seen as a gateway to connecting with the youth of the world.

What then, could a new esports organization bring? As it turns out, plenty.

For starters, the GEF celebrates its second anniversary just as the inaugural edition of the Global Esports Games (GEG), its flagship event, prepares for a highly-anticipated opening in Singapore.

The GEFā€™s journey over the past two years has also seen it expand the reach of esports globally while championing causes often overlooked by the larger esports world.

Promoting diversity

Female representation has long been an issue in esports. The lack of opportunities for women to play at major events and an overwhelmingly male-dominated executive workforce both at esports global companies and international bodies often meant that the interest of women in esports was often overlooked.

But the GEF made sure to address this.

For its inaugural edition of the GEG, the GEF set the tone of its flagship event by ensuring that it had a womenā€™s category. Teams Paraguay, Mongolia and Great Britain emerged through regional qualifiers to earn the right to battle it out for Dota 2 supremacy alongside hosts Singapore. GEG 2021 will also be the first major international tournament to feature an all-women Dota 2 category.

In the boardroom, the GEF has also led the way. In two years, it has increased women representation at the GEF, edging toward 40%.

Said Chris Chan, president of the GEF: ā€œThe GEF was founded on the principle that everyone in the gaming world should be considered equals and it is why we have always pushed for an inclusive esports and youth culture.

ā€œThe beauty of esports is that color, gender, race and how affluent someone is donā€™t factor in. When you interact virtually, it doesnā€™t matter what your background is.

ā€œAnd that is the culture we want to foster with our #worldconnected movement. Esports is universal, and it should be something everyone can experience and enjoy.ā€

Championing inclusivity

Central to fostering diversity is the need to be more inclusive. And that is where the GEF has also made significant inroads, especially with promoting esports and events in the Middle East.

While esports had made tremendous strides in the dominant markets of Europe, North America and Asia, elite-level, international events are still in its infancy in the Arab world.

The GEF brought two events to the Middle East in its inaugural Global Esports Tour, which opened in Los Angeles in September 2021, before moving to Riyadh in October and Dubai in November.

Aptly, the United Arab Emirates became the 100th Member Federation to join the GEF in August 2021. To date, the GEF has 105 Member Federations.

For the 18-19 December GEG world finals, which will feature over 100 esports athletes from over 40 countries, the GEF has taken the extra step of assembling a Team #worldconnected ā€” which brings athletes of different backgrounds, including those who represent the refugee community, people with disabilities, wounded servicemen and women, and other underserved communities.

Among the athletes in Team #worldconnected is Roby Hormis, a former refugee from Iraq who is now based in the Netherlands. He will compete in eFootball alongside Brazil-born Yuri ā€œYuri_FPOLISā€ Andrade, who now resides in the United States.

And for the pair, initiatives like Team #worldconnected are what makes the GEF a refreshing addition to the global esports ecosystem.

Said Yuri_FPOLIS: ā€œFor me, just inviting people from all around the world, from different backgrounds, is a big step to making esports something the whole world can enjoy. Itā€™s awesome and that is something amazing that the GEF is doing.ā€

Inclusivity is, however, not confined to the athletes.

As part of the Singapore 2021 GEG, GEFCon will bring together thought leaders in esports, sports, technology, and entertainment to explore topical issues facing the industry such as the role of fintech in esports, the future of entertainment, and how organizations are moving from sponsorship to partnership.

There is also the GEFestival, a two-week virtual celebration of esports in the build-up to GEG 2021. It features community gaming, music and entertainment for the gaming communities of the world.

As with any organization, the formative years are crucial. It is where one builds stability and strong roots to form a firm foundation for growth. With a strong base, already established in its first two years, the global esports community can look to many more initiatives that will excite and positively impact esports.

Among the initiatives on the horizon are the expanding of the GEFā€™s presence in the metaverse with its partnership with 888 The New World, and an exciting line-up of Global Esports Tour and GEG 2022 as the flagship event moves to Istanbul, Turkey.

Said GEF CEO Paul J. Foster: ā€œJust like the dynamic industry that is esports, the GEF also needs to constantly evolve and innovate to cater to an ever-changing target audience and market.

ā€œBut as we look to strengthen and add to the many initiatives and partnerships we had built in our first two years, our ethos of bringing inclusivity and celebrating diversity in esports will always remain central to what we do.ā€

eSports

BETER and BVGroup extend partnership on global Esports coverage

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BETER and BVGroup extend partnership on global Esports coverage
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BETER, the leading provider of next-gen betting content and data covering sports and Esports, has extended its partnership with BVGroup, the top-flight online betting operator and B2B technology solutions provider.

According to the deal, BVGroupā€™s brands, including BetVictor, Betano UK and others, will be provided with BETERā€™s Esports Odds Feed, an end-to-end trading solution which covers 450+ esports tournaments worldwide with the highest odds uptime in the industry of 90%+.

This means that their players will get access to odds for more than 40,000+ live and pre-match events per year, further enriching and improving their Esports wagering experience with the brand.

Odds are calculated using official data and compiled by BETERā€™s in-house team of expert Esports traders for in-demand disciplines such as CS2, Dota 2, League of Legends, Valorant and many more.

The extended partnership further establishes BETER as the go-to provider of Esports content and data for the biggest operators in the business. Indeed, the providerā€™s fast-betting experiences have proved to be a big hit with significant player groups such as Millennials and Gen Z.

BETER and BVGroup have a longstanding partnership in place with the operator offering the providerā€™s proprietary ESportsBattle tournaments, which cover eFootball, eBasketball, eHockey and CS2, as well as Setka Cup table tennis tournaments to its players. Combined, this gives players access to more than 45,000 monthly events.

Gal Ehrlich, CEO of BETER, said: ā€œWe are thrilled to have strengthened our partnership with our good friends at BVGroup and for its brands to provide players with an enhanced Esports betting experience.Ā 

ā€œEsports betting is a significant vertical in its own right with players demanding a great selection of markets and the best-priced odds. By combining official data with expert traders, we can provide our partners with highly accurate odds for Esports tournaments worldwide.Ā 

ā€œWe have already enjoyed a hugely successful partnership with BVGroup, but this enhanced agreement will really take it to the next level.ā€Ā 

Eoin Ryan, Director of Sportsbook at BVGroup,Ā added: ā€œBETER has proved to be one of our most important partners, allowing us to deliver fast betting content to players at our sportsbooks.Ā 

ā€œThe success of this made us want to deepen our collaboration by taking the providerā€™s global Esports data and odds, allowing us to offer bets on more than 40,000 events across major disciplines such as CS2, League of Legends, Valorant and others.Ā 

ā€œItā€™s partnerships like this that ensure our sportsbooks remain the go-to sports and Esports betting brands of choice for players in core markets across the world.ā€Ā 

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eSports

PandaScore boosts Amelcoā€™s esports offering with sportsbook integration

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PandaScore boosts Amelcoā€™s esports offering with sportsbook integration
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PandaScore, the award-winning provider of esports odds, stats and betting products, has signed a major deal with leading sportsbook and platform provider Amelco, as the supplier looks to enhance its esports betting offering.

Established as one of the worldā€™s leading sportsbook and platform providers, Amelco is the partner of choice for the likes of Fanatics, Hard Rock Bet, Entain, BET99, and Flutter Entertainment.

Under the deal, Amelco will integrate PandaScoreā€™s full suite of esports solutions into its offering. This will include its odds and stats, as well as its esports betting products such as its Bet Builder, Player Props and Micro Markets.

PandaScoreā€™s odds feed is powered by a sophisticated model that leverages AI and is backed by a team of experienced traders, with specialist traders for certain disciplines. This covers the likes of CS2, Dota 2, LoL and Call of Duty.

Amelco will also benefit from PandaScoreā€™s stats offering which provides real-time statistics for LoL, CS2, Dota 2 and all major esports titles. This includes extensive in-depth data points coverage, delivered in real-time with just 300ms latency from the original stream.

When combined with PandaScoreā€™s innovative Player Props, Bet Builder and Micro Markets, it makes for the complete esports offering, allowing Amelcoā€™s operator partners to offer an even wider selection of Esports than ever before.

Oliver Niner, Head of Sales at PandaScore, said: ā€œAmelco is a top-tier technology company and platform supplier and understands the need to provide its customers with a proven esports betting solution and thatā€™s exactly what PandaScore offers.

ā€œThe demand for esports betting is big ā€“ and only getting bigger ā€“ with more operators now wanting to make a play in the space. To do this, they need to be able to offer an authentic betting experience and Amelco can now provide this to its partners using PandaScoreā€™s award-winning solutions.ā€

Brandon Walker, Head of Business Development at Amelco, added: ā€œEsports betting is a huge business, and as one of the worldā€™s most comprehensive sportsbook and platform providers, we want to ensure we offer our operator partners the very best.

ā€œWeā€™re excited to be partnering with PandaScore to boost our esports offering even further, and we see this partnership as a fantastic way to bring even more value to our offering. We look forward to many successful years of working together.ā€

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eSports

BETER and GRID Bring Advanced Data Visualizations to Esports Betting

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BETER and GRID Bring Advanced Data Visualizations to Esports Betting
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BETER, the leading provider of betting content and data, and GRID, a first-party esports live data provider, extend their partnership to bring advanced data visualizations to BETERā€™s esports offering, enhancing the betting experience for allĀ  enthusiasts around the globe

GRID widgets include visualizations such as The Map Winner Prediction Tracker, Series Scoreboard, LiveLog, and Comparison Widgets. The integration will also see a recently released GRID Stats Widget integrated into the BETER betting solutions, displaying various customizable statistics such as win rate, damage per round, First 5 kills, headshots, and many more.

Designed to be game title-agnostic, the GRID Widgets display real-time stats. They can be powered by any data source for any game in any genre, making them an entirely universal tool for data visualization across all esports content.

This new integration of data visualization will help bettors make more informed betting decisions and significantly increase their understanding of the game and its progress before, during, and after the game is live.

The widgets are versatile and fully customizable to match any partner’s branding and ensure the best experience can be scaled across mobile and desktop platforms.

Chuck Robinson, Chief Revenue Officer at BETER: “We are excited to expand our partnership with GRID, bringing advanced data visualizations to our esports offering. This collaboration allows us to offer our partners’ customers a more immersive and engaging betting experience, helping them interact with esports on a whole new level. By leveraging GRID’s real-time data and customizable widgets with comprehensive statistics, we’re setting a new standard in the betting landscape, ensuring that BETER continues to lead the way in innovative esports betting solutions.”

Mikael Westerling, Chief Sales Officer at GRID: “Together with BETER, we share a common vision for how the esports betting experience should be designedā€”immersive, authentic, interactive, and powered by official data. Data is a powerful tool for storytelling, and the GRID widgets are designed to make esports content more accessible to new fans while deepening engagement with existing audiences. By providing real-time, actionable insights directly from the game server to BETER, we deliver a next-level experience that truly resonates with the esports community.”

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