Betbazar about Asian Esports Explosion

The Asian Esports Explosion

With the thriving Asian market opening operators’ eyes to the massive revenue potential of esports, Casino International caught up with BETBAZAR’s Chief Operating Officer, Max Sevostianov, to learn more about how iGaming business can tap into a huge emerging demographic both at home and abroad.

‍How has BETBAZAR ventured into the esports scene?

BETBAZAR have always been big believers in all esports and their potential within the industry, so we took a strategic approach to entering the scene. From the very beginning we recognised that understanding their unique dynamics and the passionate fan base that followed them was going to be key, so we focused on creating tailored solutions that really resonated with esports bettors.

To achieve this, we partnered with leading esports providers in the BETBAZAR marketplace to ensure that our offering was both diverse and appealing. Through them, we not only offer a wide range of markets on the most popular games but also provide esports products that simulate real-world sports games and are not worse than FIFA , NBA &  NHL .

Of course we work with official data providers so the quality of our product is very high, but one of the things that I think we’ve really excelled at is being able to analyse an operator’s existing offering and figure out how we can improve it. Through the insights we gather, we’re usually able to identify what widgets and additional features could make a positive impact and this typically results in them being able to increase interest in their esports offering and further boost turnover.

‍Esports is a rapidly growing industry – especially in Asia, which makes up more than half of its viewership – why do you think that is?

It’s definitely an interesting question and I think Asia’s dominance in esports numbers can be attributed to a several factors. First and foremost, the region has a deeply-rooted gaming culture with countries like China, Japan and South Korea being pioneers in the development and popularisation of video games – and this has had knock-on impact on how esports are perceived.

Over there, esports are not just a form of entertainment, but rather a legitimate career path. You have professional gamers who enjoy celebrity status in many parts of Asia and this is backed-up by strong support from the government and the private sector in promoting esports events. This, coupled with the region’s huge population and propensity for experimenting with new games and formats, has created a vibrant sector that will continue to grow as technology improves in future.

If we look at some of the recent numbers, we can see that it’s already happening. In 2022, there were over 400,000,000 esports enthusiasts in Asia and their activity accounted for more than 50% of global esports revenue. Since then, we’ve seen systems introduced that offer more power, better picture quality and more complicated games, so audience share has increased as a result.

‍How can betting and online gambling companies get more involved in esports and what can they do to stand out from the crowd?

I think above all else, you have to really believe in the future of esports and be committed to finding ways to improve your product. The iGaming industry is changing by the day and as audiences are getting younger, customer preferences are shifting too. From a business point of view, you need to be able to provide a product that will be accepted by this new demographic, who are used to spending a lot of time on mobile and consuming different forms of media online.

In order to stand out from the crowd, I think companies should focus on supplying an immersive and user-friendly experience for the bettor. This could include integrating advanced technologies like AI for predictive analysis or widgets for smoother data delivery and live streaming, but also less tangible things like creating a community-driven environment to attract and engage players.

At the end of the day, esports is not just a vertical that you add to your line-up and forget about. You have to constantly stay on top of emerging trends and fine-tune your product to cater for new players. If you’re only living in the present and generating revenue on real sports, you’re essentially ignoring this big emerging audience – and I believe that could cost you a lot of money in the future.