Global energy brand extends relationship with one of the world’s largest gaming festivals

The Esports World Cup Foundation (“EWCF”) and Aramco, one of the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, announced a strategic partnership that will see Aramco extend its sponsorship of the Esports World Cup, set to take place this summer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

As the official title partner of the Aramco SIM Arena, Aramco will present a high-end simulator zone where racing enthusiasts can compete in community tournaments at the Esports World Cup Festival. The Aramco SIM Arena, offering hyper-realistic simulators that provide an experience akin to driving an F1 car, will be a premier destination for sim-racing fans. This partnership builds on Aramco’s previous successful sponsorships of Gamers Without Borders and Gamers8: The Land of Heroes festival.

Aramco’s involvement with the Esports World Cup is part of a broader ambition to promote economic development and diversification, provide new opportunities for young people in the country, deliver critical STEM skills, and help build a diverse and dynamic Saudi economy.

The partnership between Aramco and the Esports World Cup is set to create a lasting, positive impact on the world of esports. As the festival approaches, both parties look forward to showcasing Saudi talent on the global stage and inspiring today’s youth through the power of gaming and esports.

Starting July 3, 2024, the EWCF will transform Riyadh into the epicenter of esports fandom and gaming culture, with an eight-week festival. The event will feature gaming activations, community tournaments, pop culture celebrations, international experiences and more. Fans can watch their favorite athletes and clubs compete in 21-game championships for a share of more than $60 million in prize money, the largest in esports history.

UEFA Euro 2024 boasts the highest betting margins among major football events this year, surpassing the UEFA Champions League 2024 by nine percentage points. The SOFTSWISS Sportsbook, an award-winning sports betting software, shares insights from the tournament’s group stage.

According to the SOFTSWISS Sportsbook, the UEFA Euro 2024 has a betting margin of 17.3%. The most popular betting markets are the match winner and the total goals scored, with the latter having a margin of 15.5%. 

Alexander Kamenetskiy, Head of SOFTSWISS Sportsbook, explains: “This suggests that bettors are primarily interested in straightforward, outcome-based wagers and performance-based metrics. These markets are likely attractive to bettors because they are simple and easy to understand. However, despite their straightforward nature, the high margins indicate that predicting the outcomes can be challenging.”

Top Five Margin Matches:

1. Netherlands vs France
2. Belgium vs Slovakia
3. Austria vs France
4. Denmark vs England
5. Netherlands vs Austria

These matches should be analysed further to understand the factors contributing to their high profitability, such as unexpected outcomes, high margins on certain types of bets, or significant deviations from public expectations. Interestingly, three of these matches also ranked among the top five by the number of bets:

1. Austria vs France
2. Netherlands vs France
3. Germany vs Hungary
4. Spain vs Italy
5. Belgium vs Slovakia

This suggests these fixtures had high public interest, likely due to the popularity of the teams, star players, or historical rivalries.

Betting Trends

Most bets (77%) are placed via mobile devices, indicating a strong preference for mobile betting among users and confirming the trend toward smartphones and tablets.

Combo bets account for 40% of all bets but have a margin four times higher than single bets. Despite the average single bet being twice the amount of a combo bet, the higher margin on combo bets makes them crucial for profitability. Encouraging combo betting through promotions or better odds could be beneficial.

Alexander Kamenetskiy adds: “The difference between tournaments of this level and others is the high number of new players, who bet only on the Euro and then stop until the World Cup. That is why operators carefully design their intro bonus programs to show new players all the available features. Since combo bets have higher margins, encouraging them through special offers or loyalty rewards could be very profitable.”

The SOFTSWISS Sportsbook team has recently launched its mobile application on the Serbian Google Play and App Store. Additionally, SOFTSWISS has introduced a free resource for businesses planning to start a sports betting venture – the Sportsbook Budget Calculator.

About SOFTSWISS 

SOFTSWISS is an international tech company supplying software solutions for managing iGaming projects. The expert team, which counts over 2,000 employees, is based in Malta, Poland and Georgia. SOFTSWISS holds a number of gaming licences and provides one-stop-shop iGaming software solutions. The company has a vast product portfolio, including the Online Casino Platform, the Game Aggregator with thousands of casino games, the Affilka affiliate platform, the Sportsbook Platform, and the Jackpot Aggregator. In 2013, SOFTSWISS was the first in the world to introduce a Bitcoin-optimised online casino solution.

Golden Matrix Group (NASDAQ: GMGI), a developer and licensor of online gaming platforms, systems, and gaming content, today announced that it has been granted a sports betting and iGaming license in Peru.

This license has been issued to Meridian Gaming Peru S.A.C., a subsidiary of Meridianbet Group (“Meridianbet”), a B2B and B2C sports betting and iGaming provider licensed and operating in multiple international markets.
The license N° 3321-2024-MINCETUR/VMT/DGJCMT was granted by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Peru (MINCETUR).

“We are thrilled to enter the Peruvian market, a region poised for massive growth and unprecedented expansion in the coming years. This market entry presents an exciting opportunity to further grow our user base and deliver additional value to shareholders, underscoring our ongoing commitment to developing industry-leading brands globally,” said Zoran Milosevic, CEO of Meridianbet.

According to ENV Media, the total size of the online sports betting and iGaming market gaming industry in Peru is approximately USD $1.2 billion, and is expected to grow at a rate of 6.4% annually until at least 2028. Market penetration is projected to reach 750,000 players by 2028, or slightly above 20% of the total adult population, highlighting the substantial growth potential for iGaming in the region.