Esports betting has evolved and innovated significantly in the past handful of years. Back in 2016, esports betting operators and activities cropped up left, right, and centre as the rest of the ecosystem grew exponentially and the industry became the next big buzzword.
It seemed like every week that more esports teams would sign gambling sponsors, video game gambling machines moved into casinos, and esports betting operators increased their offerings. Not long after, traditional bookmakers such as Ladbrokes and Sky Bet began to get involved too.
Since then, the reach of these operators has grown across a breadth of esports all around the world, and fans can now become both financially and emotionally invested in countless tournaments.
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Accelerated by the suspension of traditional sports at the hands of COVID-19, many national and state-wide gambling commissions have begun to permit betting on esports – most notably, the Nevada Gaming Control Board. With such a surge in esports gambling and the size of its market allegedly growing by 40x, some tournament organisers have felt it necessary to employ the services of sports data analysis firms to track patterns and better protect integrity.
It is important to consider, however, that sports data analysers and gambling commissions are not the only organisations trying to innovate and evolve betting in esports. Traditional bookmakers have been increasing their presence within the world of esports and so have newer, decentralised betting operators such as ZenSports.
Unlike traditional bookmakers who have a considerable stake in the result of a bet, ZenSports are offering esports fans a different kind of service. This betting operator plays host to a decentralised, peer-to-peer platform where users can create and accept bets with other users. ZenSports’ lack of involvement in specific bets means that they can offer users greatly reduced fees than traditional bookmakers. This dissociation with individual bets also means that the team behind ZenSports can avoid being embroiled in disputes between gamblers and let the marketplace settle bet results.
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ZenSports’ intention to think differently doesn’t stop with its peer-to-peer platform, however, as the betting operator has adopted its very own cryptocurrency token: SPORTS. In place of fiat currency and bitcoin, users can choose to make bets and receive rewards, bonuses, and perks when using SPORTS.
In an effort to meet all necessary regulatory requirements, ZenSports has partnered with Prime Trust, a financial services-based API to perform full checks of documentation. Using Prime Trust, ZenSports can ensure that all users on the platform are of appropriate age and are not using ZenSports as a way of laundering money.
Amidst the suspension of traditional sports due to the COVID-19 crisis, attention on esports from the betting world has increased considerably, to the extent that it’s being covered in The New York Times. Mark Saldaña, CMO of ZenSports, explained that: “After an initial learning curve, our players have begun gravitating towards esports because they can easily watch the matches live, and easily research the data online to better inform their betting strategy.”
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Though League of Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive are the only two titles that punters can currently access on ZenSports, this is set to change. Saldaña suggested that the operator is looking to expand to any and all major esports game titles later this summer.”
On the subject of whether sponsoring leagues or teams is something that ZenSports is interested in he stated: “That is something that we’re looking into in the future for both esports and traditional sports. In the meantime, we’re focused on affiliate marketing, content marketing, and digital marketing. ”
If you’re interested in what ZenSports has to offer, be sure to check out its app!
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored article by ZenSports
