Eastern Europe
Esports & Competitive Gaming in Eastern Europe – a market not to be ignored
There has been a surge in the popularity of esports and competitive gaming worldwide in recent years, with Eastern Europe being a particular hotbed. We speak to Bartlomiej Michalek, Commercial Manager, UK & Europe at SIS, as he looks at how betting suppliers and operators can tap into this growing market.
In this ultra-competitive market for betting and gaming operators, there has never been a greater emphasis on providing a well-rounded and comprehensive, cross-vertical offering. The increased interest in gaming content and the engaged audience that it brings has presented an invaluable opportunity for suppliers to offer a new stream of compelling content.
In Eastern Europe, in particular, the potential around esports and competitive gaming betting is substantial. The statistics in the region are very impressive, with audience figures and revenues highlighting the popularity of gaming content. Estimations on the number of online gamers in Eastern Europe are roughly 3.5 million, with digital games revenue in the region growing by 7% year-on-year, generating over $2 billion each year. In addition, esports tournaments draw in impressive figures. Earlier this year, the Polish city of Katowice hosted the Intel Extreme Masters for the third time, recording just under 24million hours of watch time from start to finish.
With esports and competitive gaming disciplines having penetrated the mainstream in the region, we believe that sportsbooks should look to take advantage by drawing in casual bettors to events-based solutions. Our Competitive Gaming portfolio features two well-recognised sports simulations – esoccer and ebasketball – that are generating significant results for operators, with sportsbooks reporting that these products are contributing as much as 10% to total revenues.
Focus
While the primary focus of esports tournaments is to entertain viewers, with betting opportunities taking a back seat, our product is built from scratch purposely for betting. Tournaments can be lengthy affairs, thus not being an attractive betting proposition for an audience that wants short and sharp betting activity. Tournament streams can also be delayed for as long as five minutes, and for a proposition where in-play betting opportunities are a key aspect in its appeal, this lag in content doesn’t dovetail well. From a trading perspective, it becomes very difficult to offer a similar level of in-play betting opportunities within esports that you find in other sports.
Events-based content can deliver an unparalleled range of content and wagering opportunities. Since launching, we have progressed from delivering seven hours per day of live streamed content to eight daily 24-hour streams and 150,000 annual events, all because of strong customer demand.
The edge SIS Competitive Gaming has gone beyond the sheer volume of events. Our contests are stringently refereed and is the only esports product available on the market to have been awarded the Esports Integrity Commission’s (ESIC) Gold Standards, the highest possible accreditation created to set unmatched levels of integrity and safety in the esports betting industry. Every contest features live commentary from a highly knowledgeable caster and on-screen graphics, including unique betting prompts to provide a comprehensive experience.
The vast amount of in-play betting opportunities can be offered thanks to ultra-low latency live streaming, which is of high importance for in-play betting, given the demand from bettors to place bets within a matter of seconds as a match unfolds. As we all know, low latency is imperative because customers expect to interact with technology in real-time with no delays. Issues with high latency and time delays can cause users to quit engaging on a platform and move to another application permanently.
Popularity
It has proven very popular with bettors and has been rolled out to a wide range of operators internationally, including Polish operator Betfan and Maxbet in the Balkans. Putting SIS Competitive Gaming in context, it is an increasingly important part of our overall product mix. Given its explosion in popularity worldwide, competitive gaming betting is not something any operator can afford to ignore.
Comparisons can be made between our Competitive Gaming product and the offering we provide through our Live Racing content. The principles and elements that engage the different audiences are very much the same, with the key being the provision of constant, round-the-clock short-form betting opportunities.
Competitive Gaming and horse racing also have similarities where it can be daunting for beginners to get involved, thanks to the terminology that can seem like a different language to many. Our job as a supplier is to make content as easy to understand as possible. There is no benefit for us in providing what is deemed to be overly complex content because bettors won’t engage, and understandably so.
That’s why it is vital for operators to go to great lengths to simplify their offerings as much as possible, with no unnecessary jargon that will scare a potentially new and engaged audience.
Competitive Gaming betting doesn’t have to be complex or difficult to understand. To be successful, products need to appeal to the masses as well as dedicated devotees. There is an onus on providers to ensure they can deliver highly engaging experiences with the best possible standards of integrity and true in-play markets in order to maximise that widespread appeal.
Eastern Europe
EGT Digital and PublicWin: A Successful Combination in Romania
One more prominent betting site in the Romanian market enriched its gaming portfolio with the top-performing slots of EGT Digital. The titles of Bell Link and Clover Chance jackpots have won the hearts of the visitors to PublicWin’s site since the very beginning, currently being among their favourites.
Tsvetomira Drumeva, Head of Sales at EGT Digital, said: “We are happy that EGT Digital’s games are once again demonstrating excellent performance. We would like to thank Public Win for choosing us as one of their providers of high-quality casino games, and I believe that we will soon have the opportunity to expand our partnership with them.”
Alex Marin, COO at PublicWin, said: “EGT Digital’s titles fit perfectly into our concept of always offering to our customers fresh and attractive gaming content. The results so far show that we have made the right decision and in the near future players on our site will be able to enjoy more slot products of the Bulgarian provider.”
Compliance Updates
Romania Bans Gambling Venues in Small Towns and Villages
Romania has announced a ban on gambling venues in small towns and villages with populations of less than 15,000 residents.
What’s known as the “law of slot machines” was passed by deputies in the lower house of parliament. “It is the first law adopted in Parliament in 30 years against this mafia that has controlled the political world until now,” said Alfred Simonis, the leader of the Social Democrats.
“Right now we are fighting an industry that has a total turnover of €10-12 billion.”
Industry figures complain they were not consulted, and hope that the authorities will control the black market as they promised.
Despite the unanimous vote, there was some dissent within the chamber. Two opposition parties that want to ban the “scourge” of gambling outright accuse the government of collusion with the gaming sector for not taking a stronger position.
On another front Ionut Mosteanu, the leader of the opposition USR, questioned how lawmakers had set the threshold.
“They thought that slot machines only damage 15,000 people,” he said. “There was not even a debate to see how many townships qualify for this 15,000. Why not 16, 17, why not two million and you would ban them definitively?”
Gambling venues have become ubiquitous across Romania over the last few decades. The National Gaming Office, the state body that monitors and approves the sector, has registered 12,000 sports betting, bingo, casino, lottery rooms.
The state collects taxes from gambling venue licenses and online ticket sales as from the amount betting houses spend on advertising.
There are no recent data to indicate how many people in Romania are addicted to gambling. The last survey was conducted in 2016, and found that there could be around 100,000 addicted people across the country. The number today could be much higher.
Conferences in Europe
Altenar becomes General Sponsor of EEGS 2024
The acclaimed Eastern European Gaming Summit (EEGS) gladly welcomes Altenar, a leading sports betting software provider, as a General Sponsor for this year’s edition of the event. The conference will be held on 27th and 28th of November at the IEC, Sofia, Bulgaria. For another consecutive year Altenar joins the event as a major sponsor with total commitment for fostering innovation and growth in the gaming and entertainment industry, as a whole. This enduring long standing partnership has brought significant mutual benefits and opportunities for both parties and all event participants over the years.
Altenar is delivering best-in-class solutions for licensed operators around the world. Ranging from a standalone sportsbook product to the provision of a turnkey sportsbook solution, Altenar offers proven stability coupled with a flexible and personalised service.
Launched in 2011, Altenar powers hundreds of online sports betting sites, while their self-service betting terminals and mobile app help ensure they meet all operator needs, with an exponentially growing client base in more than 30 countries.
Altenar COO Dinos Stranomitis said: “In Altenar we consider EEGS and BEGE as a key event to establish connection with East and Southeast Europe. Considering that Bulgaria is playing a key role in that region, our presence is a must. See you in Sofia.”
Altenar is an invaluable partner, thus contributing to the success and vibrancy of EEGS itself. The continued support highlights a shared commitment to excellence and progress within the industry, making this year’s event an essential platform for associated industry luminaries and entrepreneurs to explore the latest trends and opportunities in gaming, entertainment and hospitality in general.
The Eastern European Gaming Summit (EEGS), the premier conference of the region, provides a dynamic platform for industry leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs to connect, collaborate, and explore the latest trends and opportunities shaping the gaming and entertainment landscape.
No doubt you wish to position your company alongside the Conference and exploit our expertise.
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