When Parimatch looks for ambassadors, they favour the bold; Connor McGregor, Mike Tyson, and most recently, Daniil ‘Zeus’ Teslenko. However, while the former two are revered for their physicality, Teslenko is famous for equal shows of fighting spirit in esports – a market that Stepan Shulga, Head of Esports at Parimatch, believes will be in the top three for sports betting by 2021.

Parimatch has shown its ambition to remain at the forefront of the esports betting market with the appointment of Counter Strike 1.6 and CS:GO legend Daniil ‘Zeus’ Teslenko as brand ambassador.

Sticking to its philosophy of signing ambassadors who share the brand’s abundance of fighting spirit, Parimatch’s announcement of Teslenko signifies a continued belief that esports will continue to move up the charts as a sports betting market, and Stepan Shulga, Head of Esports, wants Parimatch to remain a leader of it.

“We have long been at the forefront of the burgeoning esports industry, recognising its growth potential early on and paying it the same amount of attention as traditional sports. A significant proportion of R&D at Parimatch is focused on developing esports features to dramatically enhance user experience, which is why the brand is considered to be one of the top esports bookmakers,” he explained. “Having ambassadors in different sports is a great practice, but we think it’s especially important to have ambassadors that exemplify our values of fighting spirit. Daniil is a unique sportsman, his career spanned two parts of the history of the legendary game Counter-Strike, he was the world champion in version 1.6 and reached the same heights in the current version of CS:GO. To do it twice, in different eras, shows more than just talent; it displays an elite mentality, and that’s why we brought Daniil on board.”

And it’s stars like Teslenko that have been pushing esports to new heights in 2020, with many analysts predicting that it is now on track to becoming the world’s most watched sport. It’s trajectory as a betting market has followed this upward trend, and Stepan expects to see esports overtake many of the more traditional markets by 2021.

“We are sure that esports is already in the top five sports worldwide if we talk about all sports betting globally,” he continued. “Our expectations are to see esports in the top three games in terms of turnover by 2021. The quarantine and global lockdown only strengthened our hypothesis that investing in esports is justified.”

Indeed, Parimatch invested in esports relatively early on in its journey to becoming a fully-fledged sports betting market, and it has found success by focussing on quality over quantity.

“More often, the average rate in esports is higher than in traditional markets, such as football, where naturally there is a much more significant volume,” said Stepan. “In football, it is also more obvious how to engage the audience of an event, and there are thousands of events with thousands of different audiences. In esports, there are much fewer events, and the audience, while large, can be harder to engage. Our challenge is to find the key to the audience, speak the same language with them, and give them the quality of service and product they expect.”

Another challenge for operators that separates esports from traditional sports is the lack of centralized regulation. Stepan explained that in sports, there is a governing force in the form of federations that have an established hierarchy and structure. In esports, there is no such authority yet, and that makes it more difficult for operators to establish a large supply of fixtures for customers to bet on. The events that Parimatch do offer, however, are always backed by reams of data and statistics to provide customers with a full view of the field.

“The most interesting aspect of esports is the accessibility of detailed data; about players, teams, and all sorts of various statistics,” concluded Stepan. “We always give our players the maximum amount of information relevant to them on all devices, as esports fans know how much fine margins can matter when it comes to winning or losing.”

With another natural born winner on its side in Teslenko, Parimatch has shown customers that it remains committed to leading the way in esports, while indicating to the industry that the market is well worth its attention and investment in 2020.

The growth of esports, especially its infrastructure development, could fuel a new wave of success in the video gaming industry.

Michael Rubinelli, the current CEO of the online esports platform Mogul and former executive at Electronic Arts, Disney and Midway, said about the growth:  “Video Gaming revenue has the very real potential to be a trillion dollar business over the next ten years.  One of those drivers of growth is esports. Interactive gaming is the largest entertainment revenue generating vertical in the world earning more than box office and music sales combined.”

It is not an isolated statement. Esports platforms are looking for additional revenue options, as they seek further growth. FansUnite Entertainment Inc has recently acquired Askott Entertainment Inc.

The award-winning Askott Chameleon Gaming Platform is a tool that allows the platform partners to launch their very own esports betting platforms.

Scott Burton, CEO of Askott Entertainment, said:  “As a leading provider of B2B betting solutions in the esports market, we are pleased to announce this integration with The Ear Platform which will serve as an additional revenue stream for our partners and a highly scalable channel partner for us. With the addition of 6,000 casino games, our partners are now in a position to provide additional betting options for their customers while providing a larger product offering to increase customer retention and the lifetime value of each unique user.”

RTSmunity, esports odds and trading provider, continue their expansion on european betting market with new partnership. The new cooperation with polish sportsbook operator forBET comes in a time where many major sports are facing problems, and esports are working as a stable stream of revenue. Customers of forBET will now be able to experience the top esports offer, improved in every measurable aspect – number of markets, uptime, odds.

The partnership between RTSmunity and forBET confirms the strategy that RTSmunity outlined earlier this year, which is continuous expansion on the european market, combined with new partnerships in the US and LatAm region. With many sportsbook operators looking to esports in a new new perspective, forBET demonstrated ability to be fast and agile company, by quickly enhancing their esports betting offer through RTSmunity odds feed.

Pavol Krasnovský, CEO of RTSmunity, said: We are very happy to start a new partnership with forBET. They have been able to succeed in very competitive betting market in Poland, and bringing their esports offer to the top level is the obvious step forward. We are very confident in our solution, and we have demonstrated that we are able to make esports a growing stream of revenue for sportsbook operators.

Petr Pacinek, General Director of forBET, said: The cooperation we have just started is a clear signal of the way we have chosen – continuous improvement of our offer, in order to support growth of our market share. Esports betting is still a developing industry, but already very competitive, and you can’t succeed without having the best offer. That’s why we have chosen RTSmunity to be our new partner, and we count on them to bring us to the top.