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The unstoppable rise of esports

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Chances are if you told someone 15-20 years ago that competitive gaming would become big business in the near future, they’d have told you that you’re crazy. However, in the words of Bob Dylan, “the times they are a-changin’”. Whilst largely the preserve of amateurs at the turn of the millennium, esports has become a true sporting behemoth in an incredibly short space of time. With gripping tournaments, such as The International and The League of Legends World Championship, as well as a plethora of skilled competitors duking it out to bag huge cash prizes, it’s little wonder that esports’ popularity is constantly on the up.

Prime to make the big bucks!

Just to give you an idea of exactly how much of a big deal esports is nowadays, in 2021 the global esports market was valued at just over $1.08 billion, which is even more remarkable, given that this figure represents a whopping 50% increase on last year. Such exponential growth shows no signs of stopping any time soon either, as esports’ global market revenue is projected to reach the dizzy heights of $1.62 billion in 2024.

At present, Asia and North America are the largest esports markets, with China alone accounting for almost 20% of the entire market.

Who’s tuning in?

With so much money flowing around, this begs the question: who is actually watching esports? Well, quite a few people. As of 2021, 474 million people from around the world are tuning in to get their esports fix, and this figure is set to rise even further in the near future. According to current estimates, it’s said that esports will be attracting 577 million viewers from all corners of the world by 2024.

Just to give you a concrete example of how esports’ viewership is growing, ESportsBattle events (including e-football, CS:GO, e-basketball and e-ice hockey) are now getting 6m more viewers a month this year than in 2020 (24m in 2020 and 30m in 2021). Of all the Esports Battles disciplines, CS:GO events have seen the most substantial upturn in viewers since the start of the year, with such events attracting 384k more viewers in August than in December of last year. Moreover, CS:GO matches garnered 280k more views in August than in June (400k in August compared to 120k in June).

From gaming to betting

Of course, with the money floating around and so many fans tuning in, it goes without saying that esports is making its presence felt in the world of betting, and sportsbooks are champing at the bit to get a slice of the action. Consequently, esports has already become one of the five most popular disciplines among European and Asian punters, and is even one of the top two most popular disciplines on some sites, with more and more bets being placed on esports events by the day.

For example, the total number of bets on all ESportsBattles events rose by a whopping 99.9% between December and August 2021. The number of bets placed on ESportsBattle CS:GO events rose by 70.6% between February 2021 and August 2021 and the numbers of bets on e-football events saw a 93.1% between December 2020 and August 2021. What’s more, with 24/7 tournaments, as well as more than 15,000 matches per month, such rapid growth is only set to continue.

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PlayVS Announces Multi-year Partnership with Zenni Optical

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PlayVS, the leading esports platform in North America, announced a multi-year partnership with Zenni Optical, the world’s leading online eyewear retailer. This partnership establishes Zenni as the official eyewear partner of PlayVS, bringing exclusive benefits to PlayVS’ esports community.

As part of this collaboration, Zenni will serve as the official eyewear partner of the PlayVS Cup, the annual national esports championship for high school students. The Cup provides top scholastic esports teams from across the country with an opportunity to compete for a national title and earn recognition and awards, including college scholarships. Zenni’s partnership will help power scholarship prizes for Cup finalists, furthering PlayVS’ dedication to empowering students and supporting their educational and athletic ambitions. These scholarships not only aid with alleviating financial strain, but also highlight esports as a viable pathway to academic and professional success.

Zenni’s eyewear will also be included in the prize packages that PlayVS Cup champions and PlayVS Awards winners receive, providing students with high quality eyewear to complement their gaming performance. Additionally, Zenni will offer members of the PlayVS community exclusive discounts on eyewear.

“We are excited to partner with PlayVS and expand our ongoing support of the gaming and esports community. Empowering a dedicated high school esports program that not only will generate awareness around the importance of eye health to a new generation of gamers but also support their academic pursuits is such an amazing opportunity for Zenni to partner with,” said Robb Chiarini, Head of Partnerships, Licensing, & Events at Zenni Optical.

Through this partnership, Zenni will also be integrated into PlayVS’ content series, Road to the PlayVS Cup, a set of videos showcasing different esports programs across the nation as they compete to earn a spot in the PlayVS Cup.

“Partnering with Zenni is a natural fit for us as we continue to grow the high school esports community. Zenni shares our commitment to supporting students in both esports and academics. By joining forces with Zenni, we’re empowering students with scholarships and enabling them to partake in healthy competition to foster their esports careers. We’re excited to work together and bring Zenni’s eyewear to our community of gamers,” said Jon Chapman, CEO of PlayVS.

The post PlayVS Announces Multi-year Partnership with Zenni Optical appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.

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Genius Sports Signs Partnerships with Bayes Esports and GRID

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Genius Sports Limited has signed new partnerships with Bayes Esports and GRID Esports (GRID) to provide sportsbooks with the highest-quality official esports offering.

GRID, as the only game data platform directly working with the game publishers will provide Genius Sports with exclusive access to official live esports data from League of Legends, and VALORANT, the fastest-growing betting esports title, alongside Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six data, and a robust portfolio of CS2 and Dota2 data from the global tournaments by BLAST and Champion of Champions.

Genius Sports’ sportsbook partners will also be able to access official streaming and data visualizations powered by official GRID data.

Bayes Esports is helping power Genius Sports’ esports offering with its highly granular Live Match Data. As the exclusive data partner of key esports tournament organisers such as ESL FACEIT Group, Bayes Esports covers the majority of official live data for Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 esports, which brings in some of the highest revenue for sportsbooks.

Genius Sports will further enhance its offering with Bayes Esports’ data product suite, including low-latency video and live data-powered widgets. Select Genius Sports products will be available through Bayes Esports’ distribution in return.

Going forward, Genius Sports will provide sportsbooks worldwide with an end-to-end esports trading product across pre-match and in-play, powered by ultra low-latency data to guarantee sharp odds and maximum market uptime. Through this product, sportsbooks can unlock new revenues by reaching a highly engaged audience with high-octane, year-round content.

“We are thrilled to announce these new partnerships with Bayes and GRID, two leaders in their field, to create an unrivalled esports content suite for our sportsbook partners. As the new home of esports for sportsbooks, we will provide our partners with the highest-quality data and odds on the most prestigious titles in the sport,” said Matt Stephenson, Global Partnerships Director at Genius Sports.

The post Genius Sports Signs Partnerships with Bayes Esports and GRID appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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DACH CS Joins as Member of Esports Integrity Commission

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The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) has announced that DACH CS GmbH (DACH CS), a tournament organiser seeking to revitalise competitive Counter-Strike in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, has officially joined ESIC membership.

By joining ESIC, DACH CS commits to upholding the highest standards of competitive integrity. The membership requires the league to implement ESIC’s Integrity Programme across all of its tournaments, tackling key issues such as match-fixing, cheating, and doping, fostering a culture of fair play within the region.

As an ESIC member, DACH CS will integrate ESIC’s codes of conduct, actively cooperate in investigations, and enforce ESIC’s rulings. This commitment aligns DACH CS with global best practices, ensuring that the DACH Counter-Strike esports scene operates with a proven integrity framework.

Stephen Hanna, Chief Executive Officer of ESIC, said: “DACH CS’s dedication to rebuilding and strengthening the competitive Counter-Strike scene in the DACH region makes them a valuable addition to ESIC’s growing membership. Their commitment to competitive integrity and fair competition aligns perfectly with our mission to safeguard esports. We look forward to working closely with them to support a sustainable and transparent ecosystem for players, teams, and stakeholders in the region.”

Anton Christoph, Founder & Managing Director of DACH CS, said: “At DACH CS, we’re on a mission to take the Counter-Strike Scene in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland to old and new heights! We’re super excited to be joining forces with ESIC, as we’re confident that this is a vital step in keeping our community’s most prized values at the heart of our operations. By teaming up with ESIC and aligning with their globally recognised integrity standards, we’re making a promise to you, our players, teams and stakeholders, to provide a competitive environment that’s both trusted and well-structured. We are excited to work closely with ESIC to build a sustainable and respected esports landscape in the DACH region.”

The post DACH CS Joins as Member of Esports Integrity Commission appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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