OSKAR FRÖBERG is founder and CEO of Abios, a B2B data provider in esports. Abios is the one source for all esports data, with the most detailed data and broadest coverage of matches. The intuitive Abios API and unmatched level of updates creates the foundation for success.
Esports betting continues to evolve and as a data provider we are experiencing a continued increase in interest from sportsbooks and other related betting companies. The consensus in the industry is that those betting operators looking to grow and capture the new generation of bettors need to include esports in their offering. However, operators do not necessarily need to replace the small sports with esports – the best course of action is to simply add epsorts to their offering.
The most cost efficient and effective way to do this is to find the right supplier, preferably one that has been around for several years as esports betting is quite knowledge and experience-intensive, with lots of edge cases and particular situations to take into account. Many, if not most, operators within regular sports betting have already made the transition from having their own in-house traders to buying feeds from suppliers. Other than the really minor and geographically concentrated sports located in only one or two countries, it seems everyone is using providers of data and odds – in fact, operators often use several to ensure the broadest and best coverage. We believe that esports betting operators will naturally take this step right away and do away with hiring and educating their own traders.
The challenge facing suppliers is finding people with both trading experience and a deep understanding of esports. Bear in mind that often an individual only has a deep knowledge of one or two games. The skill is in using different data points and metrics in different games to gauge what is of importance, while at the same time maintaining simplicity and not overfitting your models. The takeaway here is that it is crucial for suppliers and operators to consider each game on a standalone basis and not to simply clump all of the games under the esports label.
Furthermore, operators should exercise caution when selecting a supplier. Make sure that data feeds are good and precise; there are a lot of delayed and unreliable feeds out there and you don’t want to construct an entire organisation or a vital part of a new offering on them.
The interesting part about esports is that it fits a new type of timeframe for watching and betting. While a horse race is over in a couple of minutes, a game of football, ice hockey or tennis can last anywhere from 90 minutes to several hours. Esports comes somewhere in between, with matches generally lasting 20-45 minutes. Moreover, even though these matches are often played in a series, it still makes for a natural opportunity to bet on just one match or make several bets with intervals of less than an hour.
COMPANY PROFILE
•NAME ABIOS •FOUNDED 2013•SECTOR PLATFORM PROVIDER •WEBSITEABIOSGAMING.COM•TWITTER@ABIOSGAMING