2024 started relatively slowly for the esports betting industry, but this also means that not a lot of negative news were announced early in the year. The main trend for January was that of an increasing number of partnerships.
To keep you updated with the scene, Esports Insider has created a list of the top esports gambling-related stories for the month of January. To find out more click the titles of the stories.
Looking for an in-depth dive into the esports betting sector? In Play’s monthly newsletter has you covered. The newsletter breaks down esports betting trends and stories whilst also providing an analysis of the ecosystem. To sign up for the newsletter, click here.
Spotlighted story:
North American esports and lifestyle organisation FaZe Clan has announced a partnership with cryptocurrency casino and trading platform Rollbit.
The ‘multi-million dollar’ deal will see Rollbit sponsor FaZe’s Counter-Strike 2 team as a global partner. The two companies claimed the deal constituted “one of the largest sponsorship deals in the history of esports.”
Faze Clan’s Rollbit partnership will be focused exclusively outside of the United States, possibly because Rollbit does not appear to be licensed to operate in the US. Esports Insider could not immediately verify where Rollbit is regulated.
Esports odds provider Abios has released an esports betting report that breaks down what fans bet on in 2023 across the network of its parent company Kambi.
The Abios Leaderboard 2023 report highlighted that across the Kambi Network, 56% of esports betting turnover in 2023 was on Counter-Strike. This is followed by League of Legends (24%) and Dota 2 (14%), esports bettings’ so-called ‘big three’.
In terms of Counter-Strike’s most popular leagues to bet on, Intel Extreme Masters accounted for 10% of the title’s betting turnover across the company’s network with ESL Pro League garnering 9% in 2023.
Esports cryptocurrency betting platform Thunderpick has announced a partnership with women-focused esports community platform the*gameHERs (Gamehers).
The two brands will work together on a wide range of activations and tournaments, including an event during the SuperBowl week, a weekly stream campaign and a Pro-Am tournament, to name a few.
The new deal with the*gameHERs will see Thunderpick support the organisation in several ways. The partnership is set to be launched in Las Vegas during Super Bowl Week, which is set to take place in early February ahead of the Super Bowl on February 11th. The launch will be followed by an eight-week-long campaign called “Pink Picks.”
Esports tournament organiser PGL has struck a partnership with Cyprus-based online gambling company 1xBet for Counter-Strike’s upcoming PGL Major Copenhagen.
PGL has named 1xBet as the official betting partner for the event, which takes place from March 17th to 31st in Copenhagen, Denmark. In a release, PGL described the deal as a ‘mutually beneficial partnership’, and said 1xBet has a ‘successful history of supporting big tournaments and popular teams’.
1xBet sponsors a host of esports organisations, tournaments, and other esports companies. The brand is a major partner of the ESL Pro League and Counter-Strike news site HLTV, among others. In 2023, 1xBet also sponsored the Dota 2 Bali Major, Skyesports Masters, and Asia-focused esports team Talon Esports.
Esports agency ULTI Agency and CS2 streamer Ohnepixel have been announced as co-owners of Counter-Strike skin trading platform Skinbid.
The company has also officially relaunched with a new visual identity. The goal for the company is, according to its owners, to become the number one skin trading site worldwide.
