SBC News Rob Dyche - Esport Gaming - Standing alone

Rob Dyche – Esport Gaming – Standing alone

Rob Dyche is the Cofounder and CEO of Esport Gaming, an esports focused betting platform licenced in Curacao. 

Rob Dyche, Esport Gaming
Rob Dyche, Esport Gaming

At the recent Esports Betting Summit, one of the points of discussion was whether esports is more suited to a dedicated platform or whether it should be integrated into a traditional sportsbook like any other new market.

SBC readers can hear the thoughts and opinions of the man behind one of the leading independent esports betting platforms created by a team of former professional players, coaches and team managers.

SBC: As one of the larger independent esports focused betting platforms can you tell us a little about your background, and the story so far? For instance has your traffic and numbers increased considerably in the past year with more mainstream attention on esports?

Rob: ESportGaming.com is a destination where anyone can win. We are fast becoming the #1 destination for esports wagering. We offer our community a smooth experience, weekly prize draws and the chance to share their exciting winning moments with everyone. We are esports’ ultimate companion.

Year one of our launch was our market testing phase. We advertised across the spectrum from esports events to standard CPC within the industry and massed a sizable user base while figuring out what works. Constant discussion with our users has helped us determine the future of our platform as we constantly innovate and add to our feature list.  We recently released an esport themed poker feature to our platform at the request of many of our users.  We are always pushing to develop new features and refine old features.

SBC: Are you of the opinion that esports fans in general will prefer a standalone platform as opposed to being part of a sportsbook of a traditional bookmaker? Or else is a partnership and integration with a major bookmaker something you’d consider?

Rob: I believe that many esports fans enjoy wagering in regular sports games as well.  We are open to the idea of a partnership or integration with a major bookmaker but it would have to be done in a way that preserves the ease of use and experience our community has come to expect from us.

SBC: You state you’re a community focused betting platform. Can you elaborate on what you mean by this?

Rob: I’ll start by saying this; unlike any other esports wagering platform out there we are parimutuel. Our community sets the odds.

In addition we offer weekly prize draws, customer support wise we have 24/7 live chat with staff always on hand to answer questions and help solve issues. There are also private polls, VIP perks, 1:1 email interaction with users and community events to boot.

SBC: Have the apps proven popular? A general rule for many esports fans and players after all is that their second screen is an actual second computer screen, and assuming this is where they’re watching and betting perhaps mobile won’t have quite the same draw for these types…

Rob: The mobile apps are used but our website is where the vast majority of interaction is. We have seen a trend that mobile use is steadily growing though and believe it will continue to get bigger as time goes on.

SBC: Do you plan to add more titles or focus on increasing the markets available and becoming specialists of those offered already?

Rob: We cover the most titles of any esports wagering platform. At present this includes CS:GO, LoL, Dota 2, SC2, Hearthstone, Vainglory, Overwatch, World of Tanks, Heroes of the Storm and Call of Duty: Black Ops 3. Moreover we are constantly on the look for rising titles and competitive scenes. We’re also one of the last few sponsors helping raise tournaments for Starcraft 2 as well as one of the first sponsors in the OverWatch scene.

First and foremost we are esports fans ourselves and want to help grow the titles people love to play.

SBC: What was the thought process behind including a virtual currency option (Gold Betting) on the site? In addition poker has appeared as a new option recently, do you believe there’s a significant crossover in the two sets of fans and players?

Rob: Gold betting is phase one of a larger development feature list. Over time more ways to use gold will appear and there will be a focus on monetization. At this point we are simply continuing to grow the user base which has already vastly exceeded our expectations. Our gold betting user base is significant and continues to grow each day. We also steadily have users who try gold first and then switch to real money as time goes on.

Poker is an addition that increases site activity and retention. Players will sit at a table chat, watch esports, bet and have a good time.

SBC: Anything else you’d like to add?

Rob: At EsportGaming we truly love esports. As players, managers and coaches we’ve all had the chance to be a part of this incredible industry and it’s our goal to leave a positive mark on the industry. Every day brings new and exciting challenges and I know I can speak for all of us when I say we’re all thrilled to be a part of it.

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