Amir Mirzaee, Chief Commercial Officer and Managing Director of Bayes Esports, writes for Esports Insider to discuss the company’s achievements in 2023 and what’s in store for 2024.
2023 shaped up to be a pivotal year for the esports industry. It brought necessary changes to operations, largely due to the sector undergoing financial hardships, and substantial growth through the form of viewership successes. As the industry continued to mature, Bayes Esports grew and evolved with it.
We strengthened our leadership in esports data and became a key partner to major players at the centre of this ecosystem. From new tournament IPs, an expanded distribution network, an enhanced product suite, and more, Bayes Esports is driving towards a sustainable future in esports. For 2024, the focus turns to realising maximum turnover potential and profitability for clients by creating an expanded, more focused content calendar than ever before.
2023 was a milestone year for Bayes Esports
Over the years Bayes Esports has celebrated many big milestones for the esports industry. This includes signing the first-ever data distribution partnership, launching the official League of Legends Data Portal for professional teams, and building machine learning match probabilities and a multi-feed odds products for esports. 2023 was no different.
Rewind to January last year. Bayes Esports captured a strategic multi-year partnership with BLAST Premier, adding the company to our leading content ecosystem in esports data. Bayes Esports also extended and expanded its existing relationship with ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) over a three-year term. By partnering with these two heavyweights, Bayes Esports now covers the majority of premium data content within Counter-Strike and Dota 2 esports. By adopting a commercial model with our B2B partners, Bayes is able to jointly tackle the grey market in betting and help transition clients to operating with official data.
Bayes Esports also made the leap to South Korea with Team Snowball, the leading esports technology and solutions company in the region. By leveraging networks across Europe and Asia, Bayes Esports is in the process of developing innovative and market-defining solutions for the entire esports industry. Bayes Esports also became proud partners to both Relog Media and Skyesports, among others, securing coverage to top tournaments like Skyesports Masters, Relog’s Roobet Cup, and more in 2023.
Alongside new partnerships and expanding distribution and content, Bayes Esports’ engineering, data science, and product development teams, worked behind the scenes to deliver new and updated products. The team revamped Bayes Esports’ live probabilities-as-a-service, improving odds margins for a wide range of events and markets. The development of this product helped the company break through the LATAM and African markets, where leagues such as FIFA have seen strong early traction. With both probabilities and live odds available through one integration, it opens the door for more opportunities in the future.
New tools specifically designed to enhance audience engagement were also introduced this year. Products like Widgets and Video Streams aim to help our customers drive more users to their sites, and keep them active for longer, ultimately generating greater incremental revenues.
All of these milestones enabled Bayes Esports to hit over 40% in growth in 2023. With so many accomplishments in the rearview mirror, 2024 is looking just as exciting.
What to expect from Bayes Esports in 2024?
Added content and new partnerships
One of Bayes Esports’ main targets next year is to invest in the most profitable game titles and content to reach maximum turnover potential and return on investment for clients. Through exclusive partnerships with EFG and BLAST, Bayes Esports is the leading official live data rights supplier for CS2 and Dota 2 esports data, which bring in some of the highest revenue for sportsbooks.
This also includes fortifying our market position through ongoing collaborations with additional tournaments and expanding with distribution partners. By strengthening our market presence, and turning our attention to more profitable opportunities and game titles, Bayes Esports is able to enhance the technological infrastructure of esports betting and build a sustainable future.
Bayes Esports is thrilled to have the most expansive, most refined content calendar in its history in 2024.
New products and services
Betting operators around the world all have different specific goals and audiences. Each one is different so they require more than a one-size-fits-all betting solution. The evolving demands from customers and the market play a role in Bayes Esports’ product development. Moving forward into 2024, there is an added focus on providing tools for every part of a customer’s journey, while optimising all distribution channels. For 2024, the aim is to expand our product range and services, so Bayes Esports’ single integration adds more value along the entire commercial value chain. Ultimately, Bayes Esports is expanding its range of products and distribution channels to deliver data and services efficiently.
To further solidify Bayes Esports’ leadership in esports data, a particular focus on data and odds marketplaces is also being emphasised. While most odds providers focus on traditional sports, Bayes Esports’ is backed by esports experts, to ensure the highest uptime, improved accuracy, and no lost revenue in one comprehensive solution. With multiple odds providers to choose from, Bayes Esports customers have the flexibility to change, while we handle all of the updates in the back end. With one integration using a unified format, customers can access optimal margins across a vast range of tournaments, titles, and markets.
Doubling down on integrity
For great products and services to be innovated, official live data must be at its core. That is why Bayes Esports is a driving force behind white market esports betting. As the sector develops, more and more customers see the value of official data, but the work doesn’t stop there. A goal of 2024 is to convert more B2C brands to live data, helping these companies move away from scraping altogether. By working with major players in the betting industry and large-scale distributors, a mainstream adoption of the white market will be achieved.
However, despite all of our work with our customers and partners, the integrity of esports is still in question. So in 2024 Bayes Esports is doubling down and providing further support for those key white market players. This includes leveraging Bayes Esports’ market monitoring and rightsholder protection capabilities in an effort to self-regulate the industry. The industry as a whole, needs to provide further support to white market players through marketing and branding opportunities.
Meet Bayes Esports at ICE London
If you’d like to know more about Bayes Esports, then meet the team at ICE London on February 6-8th 2024 or IEM Katowice on February 9-11th 2024. If you want to learn about the value of official live data, what odds you could have access to, or what the first step to building a comprehensive esports data portfolio is, contact Bayes Esports at [email protected].
Disclaimer: This piece is from our partner Bayes Esports.
