February 2024 saw the esports betting scene slowly ramp up to its usual tempo. The biggest trend in February was the increase in partnerships, paired together with some legal issues and a major event announcement.
To keep you updated with the scene, Esports Insider has created a list of the top esports gambling-related stories for the month of February. To find out more click the titles of the stories.
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Spotlighted story:
Esports cryptocurrency betting platform Thunderpick has announced a global Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) tournament featuring a $1m (~£788,800) prize pool.
The second edition of the Thunderpick World Championship will commence on April 1st, with the World Finals in late October.
The 2023 Thunderpick World Championship garnered 144,317 peak viewers, according to esports data platform Esports Charts. While its $600,000 (~£473,300) prize pool was paid out in Bitcoin, the 2024 champions will receive their rewards in cash.
Esports betting company Rivalry and Counter-Strike commentator Mohan ‘Launders’ Govindasamy have unveiled a second Counter-Strike 2 LAN tournament.
Known as the Launders LAN, the event will take place from April 20th to the 21st at The Warehouse located in downtown Toronto Canada.
The event will be operated by Rivalry and is the sequel to FragFest, the first Counter-Strike 2 LAN hosted by the betting company and Launders. Launders LAN will be an expansion of the first event, featuring 32 teams and a $10,000 CAD (~£5,841) prize pool.
Esports odds provider Abios has announced a partnership with sportsbook solutions provider Betinvest.
As a result of the deal, Abios will gain access to data from virtual football matches played as part of Betinvest’s CyberLive! Arena and Esport Pro Club circuits on EA Sports FC.
According to a release, Abios will gain access to over 11,100 EA Sports FC monthly matches enabling it to provide odds sportsbooks with virtual football data to increase the amount of live content available for consumers.
Esports betting services provider Oddin.gg has become a member of the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA).
As a result, the two parties will collaborate to ensure high standards of betting integrity are maintained across the provider’s esports betting products.
Founded in 2005, IBIA is a not-for-profit organisation that aims to protect the integrity of sporting events and the businesses of its members. Members of the association adhere to a code of conduct committing them to performing responsible betting practices in their respective markets.
Joining IBIA coincides with Oddin.gg’s North American expansion. According to a release, the provider is ‘seeking additional licenses in the US’ after securing licenses in New Jersey, Colorado, and Ontario.
Esports bookmaker Rivalry has renewed its Dota 2 partnership with Tier One Entertainment-owned esports organisation Blacklist International.
As a result of the deal, the two companies will continue to jointly operate Southeast Asian Dota 2 team Blacklist Rivalry.
Blacklist Rivalry was first launched in December 2022 in a deal that saw Tier One Entertainmententer the Dota 2 scene. Since the team’s debut, Blacklist Rivalry has qualified for two tier-one events – ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 and the Bali Major 2023.
Game data platform GRID has extended its partnership with esports data provider DATA.BET.
The extension will see DATA.BET continue to utilise GRID’s platform to deliver real-time data feeds for esports titles such as Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, League of Legends and more.
Utilising GRID’s data capabilities, DATA.BET says it will also be able to offer greater esports betting offerings for its range of B2C and B2B partners — ranging from bookmakers to iGaming platforms. Some of DATA.BET’s notable partners include data company Bayes Esports and bookmaker GG.BET.
Sports and esports betting company Rivalry has partnered with ex-professional League of Legends player and creator Filipe ‘Ranger’ Brombilla de Barrios for the CBLOL, League of Legends’s premier competition in Brazil.
According to a release, Ranger will collaborate with Rivalry on content and activations. This includes offering meet-and-greets and special promotions for fans to bet on esports matches.
Ranger has an extended career in League of Legends esports, having played for Brazilian teams such as FURIA and Flamengo. The former player also participated at Worlds and MSI back in 2018. Recently, the Brazilian pivoted towards content creation after spending the previous season at Los Grandes.
