eSports

A Portrait of the Typical Esports Bettor, by LOOT.BET

Published

4 years ago

April 2, 2020

A Portrait of the Typical Esports Bettor, by LOOT.BET

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Who exactly is the typical esports bettor? Do they also bet on traditional sports or gamble at online casinos? What kind of work do they do and what interests do they have? How much and how often do they bet? To succeed in the esports betting industry, it’s crucial to understand esports bettors, so specialist esports bookmaker LOOT.BET has put together a portrait of the typical esports bettor, based on extensive research.

Esports bettors are young, career driven, and single

Like the esports audience in general, esports bettors tend to be young. The vast majority, some 78% of LOOT.BET’s users, are aged 18-25, while 16% are 26-30, just 5% are 31-40, and a mere 1% are 41 or older. Curiously, bettors from Western countries tend to be a little older, at an average age of 24, than the CIS where the average is just 21.

In terms of occupation, the typical esports bettor from the West tends to be a novice specialist or a junior manager, while the average esports bettor in the CIS region is a university student. In both cases, they are unmarried and have no children.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the vast majority of esports bettors are male – making up some 95% in 2018. However, it is possible that things are starting to change, with females growing from 5% in 2018 to 6% in 2019.

Esports bettors have little interest in traditional gambling

According to LOOT.BET’s research, 64% of esports punters bet exclusively on esports, and 67% are open to betting on more than one esports discipline. However, only 24% of esports bettors occasionally wagered on major sporting events, and just 12% bet on traditional sports systematically.

Also, esports bettors, being younger, are far less likely to gamble at online casinos than traditional sports punters – who tend to be significantly older. Illustrating this, as little as 3% of esports bettors regularly try their luck at online casinos, and only 20% even enjoy an occasional gamble. The vast majority, some 77%, say they are not interested in such kind of gambling at all.

Esports bettors are clued up, engaged, and passionate

Esports bettors are very clued up, with almost all of them following industry news. 54% use dedicated news sites and forums, 42% prefer social media, but just 4% don’t feel the urge to keep abreast of esports events and updates.

In terms of lifestyle and interests, typical esports punters are very engaged with non-esports video games, regularly follow various streams, and love cosplay. They are also very switched on to video and music content, tend to follow sports (especially football), and are often techno-geeks with a passion for travel and social media.

Discussing the findings, Paul Brel, Head of Communications at Livestream, LOOT.BET’s operating company, explained:

“The difference between esports bettors and traditional bookmakers’ clients is huge, and the matter is not just – and not even so much – in the age gap which in itself implies certain distinctions.

“Esports fans breathe cutting-edge technologies; they are very mobile, yet so involved with the community; they are more likely to rely on their knowledge and skills rather than on luck; for them, esports is not just a hobby but a lifestyle – which you wouldn’t say about a regular classic sports bettor. We believe that only those operators who understand this and try to find an approach to this specific audience, which is very new to the betting industry, have a chance to succeed in the esports betting market.”

Esports bettors love live and love mobile

In terms of esports betting trends, LOOT.BET is seeing the rapid growth of live betting and the continued migration from desktop to mobile devices. To give a sense of the shift, over the course of 2019 the share of live bets jumped from 52% to 75%, while mobile traffic rocketed from 50% to nearly 70%.

Esports bettors are spending more money, more often

Another clear trend is esports punters betting more money, and betting more frequently. In 2019 the average number of bets per user, per month, across all disciplines increased by 11%. The title seeing the biggest increase, at 15%, was Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, while the other games from the “big three”, League of Legends and Dota 2, registered increases of 10% and 6% respectively. Bet size over the year increased even more dramatically – 20% across all disciplines, breaking down to 24% for League of Legends, 22% for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and 15% for Dota 2.

“We associate the simultaneous rise in the frequency and size of bets with several factors. Firstly, esports betting is becoming a key hobby, on which one is ready to spend significant money, for more and more people. Secondly, the esports audience’s trust in betting is increasing, and so is their willingness to risk larger sums.

“And naturally, the rise is determined by the extension of the noteworthy matches pool and development of betting lines – which refers to the whole esports betting industry. There is a bold assumption that in 10-20 years, esports will catch-up with classic sports by volumes of bets, and, considering the foregoing as well as the fast esports audience expansion, we treat this forecast as an eligible one”, commented Paul Brel.

The research is based on LOOT.BET’s internal statistics and an email poll of customers.

Related Topics:LOOT.BET Paul Brel Head of Communications at Livestream Portrait of the Typical Esports Bettor

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eSports

North Star Network acquires Um Dois Esportes

Published

2 days ago

April 24, 2024

Peter Tolan

Reading Time: 2 minutes

North Star Network are delighted to announce the acquisition of umdoisesportes.com.br, which becomes the latest addition to NSN’s global sports media portfolio.

Born from the GRPCOM merger of the editorial teams of Gazeta Do Povo and Tribuna do Paraná in 2020, Um Dois Esportes provides in-depth sports coverage and analysis for the Brazilian state of Paraná and beyond.

North Star Network co-founder Julien Josset said: “Thank you to the team at GRPCOM for their faith in us to take the brand forward. Um Dois Esportes is an established and renowned site in Paraná State, and we’re excited about the challenge of developing this asset.”

“We’re happy to maintain the collaboration with the existing editorial team, and look forward to working with them, bringing our unique NSN approach, to take UDE forward.” NSN’s signing of Um Dois Esportes is the media house’s fourth acquisition of 2024, following the recent deals to purchase UK-based SportsMole and MrFixitsTips, as well as Chilean site AlAireLibre, which was announced in March.

The latest addition to the North Star media portfolio joins existing assets including Top Mercato, Afrik-Foot, and Vringe. The Paris-based company already oversees a significant Brazilian operation, delivering over 6 million sessions per month, from the likes of Trivela, Premier League Brasil and Lakers Brasil.

NSN will retain Curitiba-based journalists from the Um Dois Esportes legacy team to maintain the asset’s unique tone and popular coverage of the Paraná sports scene across site and social.

“We were surprised by the interest, and initially had no intention of selling Um Dois, but as the conversations evolved, we realised this was a serious group with good intentions,” said GRPCOM Director Rafael Mello. “We were very happy to see our project being valued by a large international group and going global, demonstrating the quality of the content we produced.”

“We’re also proud that North Star inherited our journalists, who are truly responsible for the success of the product we offer readers every day.”

eSports

GIANTX Promotes LVP Superliga Toplaner Th3Antonio to the League of Legends EMEA Championship Roster

Published

2 days ago

April 24, 2024

Adrienn Sarkany

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Today, GIANTX is excited to announce an update to its LEC competitive roster. Antonio”Th3Antonio” Espinosa Bejarano is recognised as one of the most successful LVP Superliga players in the history of GIANTX, and he has now reached a pivotal moment in his career to compete in the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC).

The LEC is the most important League of Legends competition in Europe and one of the most relevant in the international esports scene. The Barcelona-born ‘toplaner’ will be part of the lineup kicking off the LEC Summer split season in Berlin, which starts in June. As the community quotes; ‘Th3LEC’ is finally a reality.

Commenting on his new role, Th3Antonio said:

“This is the dream I’ve been working towards since I entered esports. I always wanted to compete at the highest level to face the best, and finally, I have this opportunity. I never stopped striving, and thanks to that and the work we’ve done together with all my teammates, we’ve achieved great things in Spain, but the LEC has always been my ultimate goal. Going to the LEC with my lifelong club, GIANTX, is a double dream. Everyone knows what GIANTX means to me”.

Sports Director at GIANTX, David Alonso, added:

“Th3Antonio deserves this opportunity, both in recognition of the level he’s at and all the work he has put in over the past few years. We are convinced of this decision and that he will give everything to succeed in the LEC. He has always been characterised by sacrificing himself for others, and lately, he has taken a step forward by leading in crucial moments, a clear sign of his maturity as a player”.

Having joined at a young age in 2017, Antonio ‘Th3Antonio’ Espinosa has become one of the most decorated players of the LVP Superliga and of GIANTX history. During his time with the team, he has won four Superliga titles, two Iberian Cups, one Copa, and has reached an EMEA Masters final, as well as other national competitions.

The decision to promote Th3Antonio reflects GIANTX’s need to implement changes following the results of the LEC Winter and Spring split seasons. In both splits, the team fell short in the first round of playoffs. The Summer split season is the main shot at Worlds for all teams, and the aim of the club was to make the necessary changes to achieve this goal. After a period of reflection and numerous trials, Th3Antonio has been chosen for the toplaner position.

eSports

L&G esports team founded by Alona Shevtsova won the national Dragon EC Cup tournament

Published

3 days ago

April 24, 2024

Zoltan Tundik

Four teams competed in the tournament's final: Lazer Cats, L&G, which received a direct invitation to the final stage, EsportsBattle, and ThunderFlash, which had open qualifiers.

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Ukrainian esports team L&G won the Dragon EC Cup tournament, held on the 20th of April by Dragon Esports Club. Four teams competed in the tournament’s final: Lazer Cats, L&G, which received a direct invitation to the final stage, EsportsBattle, and ThunderFlash, which had open qualifiers. During the Grand Final, the L&G team competed with Lazer Cats on Mirage, Anubis, and Vertigo maps.

“This victory is a testament to the exceptional talent and commitment of our players, as well as the collective effort of our coaching staff and support personnel,” said Alona Shevtsova, founder of L&G Esports. “We are immensely proud of their accomplishments and grateful for the unwavering support of our fans.”

L&G is among the top 5 Ukrainian teams in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. It was founded in 2021. The previous name was Leogaming, and it was created on the initiative of the famous Alona Shevtsova from the fintech sector.

The team began competing in top tournaments and almost immediately made it to the Advanced division of the ESEA League Europe competition. The team also participated in and took prizes in European tournaments such as the SCL League, WhiteBit Crypto Open, Phoenix League, and local competitions. The team players are marat2k, r0ublE, kr1vda, kL1o, OneUn1que, rji (coach).

The winners received a 50,000 UAH prize. Dragon Esports Club also prepared a 15-skin giveaway for the broadcast’s viewers.

It is worth mentioning that the L&G team created its merch items, which are available for order worldwide. To get more information about the team, visit the L&G Instagram page, Twitch, or Telegram Channel.