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New UKGC Reports Show Growth in Esports Suspicious Event Reports

The betting integrity reports have been released by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC). These reports contain a detailed analysis of all sports betting activities in the UK, based on briefs sent in from sports governing bodies, betting operators, sport and betting trade associations, and law enforcement representatives.

The report helps the UKGC identify rising complexities in sports betting like match-fixing and gameplay disruptions so they can be adequately handled. Savvy bettors can benefit from the information in the reports, and they can make better-informed decisions when betting on esports.

Unfortunately, the current reports have evoked concerns about the events in esports. Football alone accounted for 44% of the reported integrity issues. Tennis followed next with 21% and esports with 20%. Other sports contributed to the remaining 15% (iGaming Business, 2021).

This is the first report published since the policy on all licensees submitting details of integrity issues to the Gambling Commission’s Sports Betting Intelligence Unit was implemented on April 1. The policy was part of an amendment to the UKGC’s license Condition and Codes of Practice in October 2020.

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Factors Affecting Esports Betting Integrity

With the rise in popularity of esports among professional bettors mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, several reports have been received on issues that potentially influence the different games under esports (Esports Insider, 2020).

Some of these issues may be classified under the following:

  • Technological issues
  • Institutional issues
  • Player issues

Esports relies on the internet, hence a lot of concerns have arisen due to glitches during the game of play, game bugs that may cause issues, favoring a player over another, and the rising issue of deliberate server attacks by hackers.

Many institutions are known to have corrupt officials and technicians that have the power to illegally influence a game, and several of these institutions do not have a responsible gambling policy in place to protect their players.

The players too are not left out of the situation, as some of them are guilty of taking certain substances to enhance their performance. Some players also agree to match-fixing and abuse their opponents physically and mentally to get an edge over them (Liebertpub, 2021).

Plans by the UKGC for the Sports Betting Industry

The UK Gambling Commission has released the yearly Action Plan for the Sports Betting Integrity. It details the Sports Betting Integrity Forum (SBIF) objectives for keeping the sports betting industry in Britain as safe as possible. The objectives include accommodating the effects of the recent pullout from the EU by the UK government and COVID-19 (iGaming Business, 2021).

In addition to this, the regulatory body also empowered SBIF to redesign its official website to make resources on betting integrity more accessible. This serves as an educational resource for the Betting industry in the UK as it comes in the form of a training module.

Sources:

  1. iGaming Business, 2021
    https://igamingbusiness.com/gambling-commission-integrity-data-shows-growth-in-esports-reports/
  2. Liebertpub, 2021
    https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/glr2.2020.0017
  3. Esports Insider, 2020
    https://esportsinsider.com/2020/04/esi-gambling-report-esports-betting/

GAN Signs Multi-Year Agreement with Incredible Technologies

GAN Limited, an internet gaming service provider for companies in the online gambling industry, announced on Thursday, June 17, that it has entered an agreement with Incredible Technologies, Inc., a designer and manufacturer of coin-operated electronic gaming machines for the US market.

The agreement grants GAN Limited exclusive online rights to all existing and future online games by Incredible Technologies, which are expected to grow to over 110 during the term of the contract. This is GAN’s second major agreement for exclusive gaming content, reinforcing the SaaS company’s position as an industry leader in the United States’ iGaming sphere.

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About Incredible Technologies Inc.

Incredible Technologies is an Illinois-based company known for its array of innovative electronic gaming machines, including popular ones such as Crazy Money and Money Rain. Its games line the floors of retail casino gaming outlets in the United States and are accessible online in New Jersey. With this deal, the company will be able to grow its online portfolio while working long-term with a partner that has a well-established online distribution chain in the country. This was made known in a statement by Daymon Ruttenburg, the Senior Vice President of Gaming of Incredible Technologies.

“Our partnership with a proven and premier partner like GAN advances the online U.S. distribution of our leading portfolio of gaming content. Since our company’s founding, we have been committed to creating innovative and exciting ways to engage players with new technologies and capabilities. We know that GAN shares this commitment, and we look forward to bringing new online experiences to our players through GAN’s extensive online distribution network. Together, we will be drivers of the U.S. iGaming market as it continues to grow.”

Implications of the Deal for Gan Limited

Gan Limited will now begin to obtain online content licensing fees from existing online operations of Incredible Technologies in the Garden State. What this means is that access to Incredible Technologies’ existing gaming library and future additions to it will be only through GAN’s Platform and Super RGS. The company has announced that because of this long-term deal, its exclusive content from combined online slot partners makes up about 7% of all slots sold in the United States last year.

Jeff Berman, Gan Limited’s Chief Commercial Officer said:

“We welcome this partnership with Incredible Technologies as another validation of our market-leading presence in the regulated intra-State markets of America. Today’s announcement is another exciting step toward building upon our strategy of establishing exclusive online access rights to the most popular retail U.S. slot games. Few content providers in the U.S. market have established a reputation for innovation and creativity as well as the operational excellence of Incredible Technologies. The popularity of IT’s slot games, including the player-favorite Ultra Rush themes, will be a critical addition to our portfolio as we commit ourselves to becoming a leading provider of exclusive online content.”

Sources

  1. BusinessWire, 2021 – https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210617005163/en/GAN-Announces-Multi-Year-Agreement-with-Incredible-Technologies-for-Exclusive-U.S.-Online-Rights-to-Leading-Casino-Portfolio
  2. Benzinga, 2021 – https://m.benzinga.com/article/21608816
  3. iGaming Future, 2021 – https://igamingfuture.com/gan-and-incredible-technologies-sign-us-exclusivity-deal/

CC: What is CS: GO and why are people betting on it?

Esports is quickly becoming one of the great frontiers for the future of sports betting. The Esports realm is all about competitive gaming and playing in tournaments while getting paid a crazy amount of money participating.

There are tons of games to choose from when looking into esports such as League of Legends, Overwatch, Starcraft 2, Dota 2, and COD World War 2. The great thing about the Esports industry is spectators can go online and make bets on some of the games being played. In this piece, we’ll go over Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO).

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What is CS:GO

CS:GO is a first-person shooter game available. The game’s available in multiplayer and was developed by Hidden Path Entertainment and Value Software, both American based games developers. CS:GO is an expanded version of the original Counter-Strike game developed in 1999 and supports new maps, weapons, characters. It also involves updated versions of older maps such as Nuke, Train, Inferno and Dust. Alongside this, new game modes are available for players. These involve:

  • Arms Race
  • Wingman
  • Flying Scoutsman
  • Competitive
  • Casual
  • Death Match
  • Demolition 

The game is so popular there were more than 20M unique players last month, with approximately 1M users playing on a daily basis.

The Role Of CS:GO in Esports 

This game is arguably one of the most popular esports games in the world. It peaked with an all-time user base of 1.3M users at one time during the day. Esports tournaments for this game began in 2013 and were available for 16 teams until 2017. Then allowed for 24 teams from 2018 till the present time giving a larger range of players to join in and play competitively. Teams have the opportunity to win massive sums of $1 million-plus for major tournaments and $250k for smaller tournaments.

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CS:GO Tournaments & Teams

There are several tournaments available to watch, bet, and play on. CS:GO has both free to join tournaments which any user can join. Then they have tournaments users can pay to join where they have the chance to win small prize winnings. Then comes the major tournaments that have massive prize funds and lots of viewers such as: 

  • IEM Katowice: 1,200,000 viewers
  • StarLadder Berlin 838,000 viewers
  • ESL One Cologne 506,000 viewers

Past tournaments such as the world electronic sports games gave a massive prize-winning of $1.5M, while the IEM katowice gave the winners $500k. Upcoming tournaments for CS:GO are:

  • Blast Premier Global Finals 2020: Jan 18th — 24th: $1,000,000 
  • Black Premier Global Spring Series 2021: Feb 4th — 14th: $150,000
  • IEM Katowice 2021: Feb 18th — 28th: $1,000,000 
  • ELS Pro League Season 13: Mar 10th — Apr 18th: $750,000
  • Blast Premier spring 2021 showdown: Apr 13 — 18th: $162,500

More esports tournaments have been scheduled across the year, and have prize funds of similar values. Scheduled events can be found at HLTV where dates and prize money for these events can be located. The official top 10 CS:GO ranks are as follows: 

  1. Team Vitality
  2. Astralis
  3. Heroic
  4. Natus Vincere
  5. BIG
  6. FURIA Esports
  7. Mousesports
  8. Complexity
  9. G2 Esports
  10. OG 

Ranking outside of the Top 10 can be found at CS:GO world rankings 

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Betting on CS:GO 

To start betting on CS:GO you’ll need to join an online sportsbook that offers the option to place a bet on esports. Most of the big online sportsbooks offer this option so you won’t need to worry. You can find a list of sportsbooks that offer esports betting here on our site. There are lots of things you can bet on in CS:GO. The go to bet is picking a match winner from the two teams as it’s one of the easier bets to place. Other bets include:

  • Map round winner 
  • Maps total
  • Maps handicap 
  • Total rounds per map
  • Total round per map for each team

Compared to normal sports betting, esports betting is exactly the same in terms of having markets to place bets on. You’re still placing a bet on the teams alongside different betting options to do with the rounds and players. You’ll find it easy to place bets and make money winning on esports. Some of the better sportsbooks will allow you to cash out during games and watch a stream of the game. 

Final Thoughts

Esports is an industry that’s gained a lot of traction during 2020. Sports such as football, soccer, basketball, baseball and many others were put to a halt during the pandemic. Esports was the only one running for pundits to place bets on and now its popularity has gone through the roof. The winners will start winning more and the entire esports betting industry will start getting bigger and bigger. 

Predictions for the Future of iGaming

For any industry, being able to spot trends and plan for the future is an essential part of success. Large organizations pay huge sums of money to analyze and predict consumer behavior to inform their upcoming business strategy. The iGaming industry is no different, and each year people make predictions as to what the upcoming year may bring.

2020 was a strange year for iGaming and the world as a whole as a pandemic gripped the world and many countries enforced shutdowns. This led to the postponement of sports and the closure of retail casinos, affecting both sports betting and brick and mortar casino gaming. On the other hand, online casinos saw their profits increase as more people than ever signed up to play. 

While it’s impossible to know what the future holds for 2021, we can make some educated predictions as to what the year may hold based on current trends and recent events. Below are some of the top predictions from industry experts relating to the iGaming industry in 2021. 

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Industry Growth

The past few years have seen a dramatic increase in the number of people choosing to gamble online, and it’s expected for this to continue to grow. 2020 saw the emergence of the COVID virus which has meant that non-essential businesses have had to close their doors, including many sportsbooks and casinos. This has led to a growing number of gamblers signing up for online sites, and this growth will no doubt continue into 2021 as lockdowns persist across the world.

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The online gambling industry has been predicted to grow at a CAGR of 11.5%, reaching a $127.3 billion value by 2027. This growth is partly thanks to the increasing number of gambling brands that are moving online as well as the availability of mobile gaming. In 20202, around 3 billion people had access to a smartphone, and a large percentage of those regularly used their phones to play games. With more gambling sites optimizing for mobile use, 2021 will no doubt see an increase in the number of people signing up to play and bet from their phones or tablets. 

New Payment Methods Including Adoption of Cryptocurrency 

Making payments at online gambling sites is often a significant barrier of entry for a lot of potential players. While most sites try to make the payment process as simple as possible, there are often still a lot of hoops that the customer needs to jump through to make a deposit. On top of security concerns, this often puts off a lot of would-be online gamblers, leading to lower revenues.

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The iGaming industry is always looking for ways to improve the payment process, and as a result, we predict that 2021 will see several changes in how payments can be made. Services like Trustly offer a more secure method for online payments and provide peace of mind to consumers as well as making the payment process much simpler. As these services grow in popularity, we expect to see more online casinos and sportsbooks accepting them as payment methods.

Cryptocurrency had a great year in 2020 as coins such as Bitcoin surged in popularity and significantly increased in value. This rise in value was partly thanks to PayPal now allowing cryptocurrencies to be bought and sold through its platform and will potentially lead to wider adoption of these digital currencies. At the moment, major cryptocurrencies are accepted by only a few gambling sites and not many of the major brands. In 2021, this is expected to change as more sites start to see the value in accepting crypto payments and will even offer withdrawals in major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. 

More focus on eSports Betting

eSports were some of the few competitions which were largely unaffected by the global shutdown in 2020. While major sports leagues such as the NBA, NFL and Premier League all closed down temporarily, eSports were able to continue online. This brought the spotlight onto a sport that’s been gradually increasing its market share in the past few years.

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eSports have gone from a relatively fringe event to a mainstream hobby recently. It has gained further legitimacy from sportsbooks that now offer markets on lots of different eSports events. When sports bettors had reduced options to bet on, they found that eSports were still available and the number of eSports bets placed during this period rose significantly. It remains to be seen whether this will cause an increase in the number of eSports fans, but considering the sport has been growing steadily in popularity, we expect it to continue. 

With major sports leagues potentially facing more shutdowns in 2021, we expect that more sportsbooks will start to offer markets on eSports events as they’ll be keen to avoid further losses in revenue. Major eSports competitions are expected to continue online, for now, avoiding any major disruption to schedules.

Expanding Markets in Indian and Latin America

The Indian iGaming market is currently worth an estimated $930 million and is going through a period of rapid growth. The market’s total value is expected to quadruple over the next decade, putting it as one of the largest gambling markets in the world. There’s a growing interest among Indians in traditional sports betting as well as eSports betting and casino gaming. The market is still relatively new with little saturation and plenty of opportunities for companies to grow provided they have one of the accepted licenses to operate in the country. 

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Latin America, particularly Brazil and Colombia, are also emerging and showing potential for growth in iGaming. Colombia was the first Latin American country to fully legalize and regulate online gambling in 2016. Growing demand for sports betting and other forms of gambling mean the country is an excellent opportunity for iGaming businesses. Brazil’s gambling market has largely been illegal, but recent years have seen the introduction of new regulations, and the country looks poised to allow online gambling. It’s worth noting that Brazil has the fourth-highest number of internet users in the world, showing the massive potential for iGaming growth in the country. 

Final Thoughts

After an unusual 2020, there’s still a lot of uncertainty over how 2021 will look. What we can expect, however, is that the online iGaming industry will continue growing and developing. The growth of the mobile market is another big factor as more sites optimise for mobile users and include mobile-only features. With growth into new markets and emerging demand for eSports betting, the future looks bright for online iGaming.

A Look Inside An Esports Tournament

Esports has become one of the fastest-growing markets of the past decade. Data analytics firm Newzoo describes esports as the “biggest thing in the tech market since the introduction of the iPhone in 2007.”

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The term ‘esports’ simply refers to electronic sports. It is used to describe competitive gaming at a professional level, with the best esports athletes often regarded as the best globally in their respective fields. Esports simply converts video game playing into a playing sport, with viewership running into hundreds of thousands. In some cases, it involves individuals. Most times, however, it involves teams. Young people are the major participants in esports since they can earn while playing their favorite video games.

Like traditional sports, esports makes money via branding, advertisements, and sales from merch. The global eSports industry raked in over $950 million in 2020. The esports market is projected to grow rapidly in a few years and it is estimated that the revenue will increase to $1.6 billion by 2023.

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How Does Esports Work?

Esports tournaments are organized, professionals compete, they win, and that’s the end. However, there are several rules and regulations that players must abide by, but the rules are not complex. 

It starts with the formation and funding of an esports team, this is particularly important because self-sponsored teams may not be allowed to participate in tournaments and competitions. 

Like any other sport, the goal of esports players is to be the best among the best. Esports athletes are contracted to play, just like a footballer or basketball, and the teams practice and play games just like traditional sports. Depending on the game, several tournaments and events are hosted yearly with six-figure winnings up for grabs, and even up to a million sometimes.

How Is Esports Organized?

Unlike traditional sports where there is usually one professional league for each sport, esports has multiple leagues for each game. Additionally, there are specific consoles for specific esports leagues. For instance, the Call of Duty World League involves playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 specifically on the PlayStation 4 console. 

Other leagues like the European Gaming League (EGL), Cybergamer, and Ultimate Battle are specific to a particular region. Ultimate Battle is played locally in India, and the EGL is played in Europe, including the UK, while Cybergamer is specific to the Oceania Region including New Zealand and Australia. 

Despite this, esports is international in every sense of the word, so it’s only normal that international leagues are established. An excellent example of this kind of league is the Electronic Sports League which was established in 2000 and is headquartered in Cologne, Germany. It is the biggest esports organization globally.

There are two ways to access esports games. Players can attend the live event where they have to purchase a ticket. Another viable alternative is to stream the event. This is usually done via Twitch.tv, Youtube Gaming, or Mixer. The Esports Calendar is a comprehensive resource for finding the esports events taking place.

Some of the most popular esports tournaments include: 

  • The International Dota2 Championships
  • Evolution Championship Series
  • Halo World Championships
  • Major League Gaming
  • League of Legends World Championships
  • Intel Extreme Masters
  • Capcom Pro Tour
  • Call of Duty Championship

Esports Formats

There are several esports tournaments for all kinds of games. However, there are 4 major categories that every esports game falls under. They include:

First-person Shooter

This involves using weapons and strategy to achieve tactical goals which can range from defense to shooting as many people as possible. It can be played as an individual arena-style contest as seen in games like Overwatch and Halo,  or it can be in the form of a team-based fight as represented in Call of Duty and Counterstrike.

Fighting games

Combat games have always been a popular feature in couch-based competitions and arcade battles. These games involve mixed martial art and players deploy a combo of timing, positioning, fundamentals, and special skills to defeat opponents. This is represented in games like Street Fighter and SuperSmash.

Real-time Strategy

This involves a combination of strategic planning and swift decision making. Players have to manage resources, develop structures, mount defenses, and launch attacks. This is represented in games like Warcraft III, StarCraft: Brood War, and StarCraft II.

Multiplayer online battle arena

Gotten from a combination of the strategic planning and tactical attack of Real-time Strategy and the individual skills in First-Person Shooter, MOBAs shifts the RTS action to smaller divisions of even stronger units- generally referred to as Heroes, each handled by one player, then the struggle is converted into an opportunity for team play. “Dota (Defense of the Ancients)”, “Dota 2” and “League of Legends”.

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Esports Betting

There are several ways of betting on esports. Esports betting is fast becoming a popular betting feature in many sportsbooks.

Real-money Betting

Similar to traditional wagers on sports like football, bets are placed on specific odds. If the predictions are correct, your winnings will be paid out. Bets can be placed on several outcomes such as the winners of individual matches and tournament winners.

Some of the most popular types of real-money eSports bets include:

  1. Draw: Here, you are betting on whether the outcome of the match will result in a draw. 
  2. Group of Winner: Wagers are placed on the group that includes the final winner.
  3. Handicap bet: Here, a sportsbook sets a margin, otherwise known as a line. This gives an unfavorable team a ‘handicap advantage’. So you have to bet on the winner of the game, whether it’s the team with the handicap advantage or the other team.
  4. Tournament winner: Wagers are placed on the overall winner of the tournament. 
  5. Over/Under: You place bets on the number predicted by the sportsbook for a specific statistic in the game. Wagers are placed on whether the actual number is higher or lower than the bookmaker’s odds.

Fantasy Betting

Fantasy betting is another way of betting on esports. It works just like daily fantasy sports for traditional sports, but this features esports athletes instead.

Sources

  • Gerbis, Nicholas. “How Professional Gaming Works.” How Stuff Works. Aug 6, 2016. (Dec. 3,2020)
  • https://money.howstuffworks.com/professional-gaming.htm
    De la Navarre, Tristan “Esports Tournaments & Leagues Guide” Line Ups. June 5, 2020. (Dec 4, 2020)
  • https://www.lineups.com/esports/esports-tournaments-leagues-guide/
    De la Navarre, Tristan “eSports Teams & Players: How eSports Teams Work” Line Ups. July 15, 2020. (Dec 4, 2020) https://www.lineups.com/esports/esports-teams-players/
  • “eSports market revenue worldwide from 2018 to 2023.” Statistica. Oct. 13, 2020 (Dec4, 2020) https://www.statista.com/statistics/490522/global-esports-market-revenue/
  • “HOW TO BET ON ESPORTS: UNDERSTANDING ODDS AND MARKETS” https://esportbet.com/how-to-bet/
  • “An Expert’s Guide to Esports Betting in 2020” https://www.gamblingsites.com/esports-betting/