Esports is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the betting industry, yet it is often viewed with apprehension. It can be difficult to understand for the uninitiated, as consumer habits differ vastly from traditional sports. Moreover, as the industry is still relatively new, it has seen less investment than traditional sports over time.
With the esports market evolving and viewership figures reaching ever-growing heights, product development in esports has recently made significant strides. As the industry matures, an influx of resources has enabled esports product quality to reach similar levels as seen in sports, removing the previously present obstacles for esports betting.
Today, we’re clearing away some of the preconceptions surrounding this sector with Peter Torsson, Engineering Manager at Abios. Abios is a leading B2B esports data and technology provider, enabling operators to quickly and easily offer best-in-class statistics, live markets and in-event combinations for top esports competitions.
Founded in 2013, Abios has spent more than a decade perfecting its products, tuning in to consumer demands, and optimising the betting experience to match the dynamic nature of esports. Don’t miss out—read on!
One of the biggest challenges the esports industry has continually faced is the stereotype that it only attracts a young fanbase with lower disposable income levels. Is there any truth to this, and what demographic of players should operators be targeting?
“Traditionally, esports has been seen as an extension of gaming, a pastime for younger boys playing FIFA or CoD in their parents’ basements. It has been seen as a young sport with even younger audiences.
“However, many have failed to realise that games such as Counter-Strike and its many iterations are over twenty years old now. The kids who grew up during the dot-com boom playing Counter-Strike are now thirty to forty years old, with stable incomes and, more than likely, kids of their own. While these people might not necessarily have the time or extra room to play games themselves, they might enjoy watching occasional matches and following the largest teams as they climb through the competitive ladder. As they’re not following teams as closely as they’ve done in the past, they might also throw in some cash and place a bet just to keep things interesting. And there you have it: the demographics of esports are closer to the more profitable ones in sports than perhaps many might think.
“Of course, a younger generation of early-twenty-somethings also watch competitive matches and streams to improve their gameplay. With the loot-box mechanics of games such as Counter-Strike, many aren’t strangers to various forms of gambling. They might not have found a product that resonates with their preferences yet, as esports betting has perhaps lagged behind sports betting in the past, both in terms of features and performance.”
Counter-Strike is one of the most popular esports betting verticals in the world and accounts for a large portion of the bets most operators take. How can leveraging Abios products help them maximise their players’ experience within this game vertical? What role does good-quality data play in this?
“Counter-Strike is a very fast-paced, round-based game where professional players put in tens of thousands of hours to hone their gameplay to perfection. In terms of its concept, the game is relatively easy to understand. You have five versus five taking turns arming or defusing a bomb. As such, there is a very low barrier to entry when it comes to understanding what’s happening on screen. Nonetheless, with all the intricacies map designs and weapon interactions provide, it is hard to master.
“To take advantage of the game’s intricacies and make bet offers interesting for fans, you must create an odds feed following Counter-Strike’s dynamic gameplay. One of the main components is a fast-paced live betting experience that feels smooth to the end user.
“A data feed is necessary to create pricing for live odds. Since esports matches are played on servers and not all aspects of the game are visible simultaneously, there would naturally be some latency if solely using manually edited data.
“At Abios, we have access to official tournament data for most tier-1 esports through agreements with official data providers. This allows us to get fast and accurate data from game servers, allowing each action and event in-game to flow into our system virtually as it happens.
“With its speed and accuracy, server data allows us to automate large parts of our trading process, minimising the risk of human error and bet delays while maximising bet offer availability and market efficiency. This ultimately creates a smoother betting experience for end users, finally bringing the live betting experience of esports on par with what we see on major sportsbooks for top sports.”
The Abios Bet Builder is a great new product feature that gives players more freedom in their bets. How can features like this help operators attract and retain more players going forward?
“Many Counter-Strike fans play the game themselves, which means they can appreciate a professional player’s performance. With many of our employees coming from backgrounds as fans or players, one of Abios’s core strengths is that we truly understand the intricacies of various games and what users want from their betting products.
“We know that individual player performance and dynamic factors such as team compositions, in-game economy, and team momentum are important. As such, we focus on offering player propositions that can be combined with main lines such as “match winner” or “team to win pistol round.” In this way, we can create a betting experience that touches on the most interesting aspects of the match.
“This is crucial in building out an offering for esports, and many operators we’ve spoken to understand that esports fans need a better product experience to become interested in betting. This lands us in a sort of catch-22 situation, where operators want to build a fantastic esports product to attract and retain players but find it hard to justify adding significant in-house development resources to esports in an already crammed product roadmap without proof of concept.
“That’s where Abios esports odds feed comes in. With a laser-like focus on esports and heritage in data, we have created an offering that runs on the fastest data in top tournaments and has features that truly engage with esports and gaming audiences, leaving operators to focus their main development efforts on their core sports verticals.”
Aside from the short-term intentions of acquiring esports bettors, what can be done with them in the long term? Are there opportunities to cross-sell them into mainstream sports betting markets?
“In the past, we have seen that a majority of Counter-Strike bettors also bet on other sports. According to 2024 Kambi data, 90% of those who bet on Counter-Strike 2 also bet on football. As such, acquiring esports bettors might also have a splash-over effect on other sports.
“While esports might be its own entity now, it has become more intertwined with the regular sports industry, getting accepted into the Olympic games and seeing high-profile football players such as Messi investing in teams and sports teams acquiring esports rosters.
“These developments, in combination with esports viewership figures increasing each year, solidifies the opportunity for operators looking to future-proof their brand by investing in what makes the digital generations tick now.”
Editor’s Note:
Quality data is crucial in esports betting, where the intricate nature of the gameplay demands real-time, accurate data that tracks the action and ensures a seamless betting experience.
Abios works with official data providers to power its products with official tournament data, which can reduce latency and produce more reliable odds and live markets.
Additionally, as esports fans and gamers themselves, they understand the market and consumer demand. This is evidenced by cutting-edge products like Abios’ Bet Builder, which enriches the consumer experience, allowing for customisation, innovative prop betting, and greater engagement.
Peter highlights the growing opportunities provided by the increasing integration of esports into mainstream culture, including cross-selling into traditional sports as the industry expands. He also urges savvy operators to invest in esports to “future-proof their brand by investing in what makes the digital generations tick now.”