UK-based esports bookmaker Midnite has partnered with data platform GRID for its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event, #HomeSweetHome.
Midnite will pair the public launch of its beta platform alongside investment in #HomeSweetHome, the eight-week online CS:GO event with $320,000 (£276,081.60) in prize winnings.
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Midnite will brand itself “as the premier landing spot” for bettors seeking a traditional esports wagering experience during the tournament.
Sujoy Roy, Marketing Director for Midnite, touched on how the platform will be highlighted throughout the event: “Midnite is delighted to partner with GRID for Home Sweet Home during the launch of our public beta. Every CS:GO match on HSH will be accompanied by our fan-centric features including fast withdrawals and our brand new live mode designed to be the ultimate watch and bet experience. Home Sweet Home provides the perfect event for Midnite to level up the action for the serious CS:GO fan.”
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In partnership with Serbian event producer Relog Media, GRID created #HomeSweetHome as a response to the cancellation of LAN tournaments due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event’s collective of partners has continued to grow since announcing; this includes RuHub as a Russian broadcast partner, and GameCo as an American distribution partner. The latter of which GRID had teamed up with in March to bring esports betting products in North America.
Mikael Westerling, VP of Business Development for GRID, spoke to the partnership in a release: “#HomeSweetHome is a tournament created to help our partners and provide that shared experience we as esports fans expect to have when we attend events in-person,” says Westerling. “We are already receiving amazing feedback from the core CS:GO community, and Midnite with their ‘esports community first’ mantra is a perfect fit to give those fans interesting ways to engage with the action.”
As for Midnite, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) licensee had debuted earlier this year with a £1.9m fundraising round backed by the likes of Makers Fund, Venre, and executives from Betfair and GVC.
Esports Insider says: The initial intention of #HomeSweetHome was to fill the programming gap of LAN events left by COVID-19, and it’s accomplishing just that. The esports betting market is bustling with activity as traditional punters look for new products – we fully expect more sponsorship opportunities to come up in the following months.
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