SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
There are a number of bookmakers that have added eSports to their betting markets right now.
The latest Superdata report states that the European market is worth $72m (£48m), whilst the global audience is 134 million and growing fast. The facts are there for all to see, and TonyBet are making sure they’re at the forefront of this burgeoning market.
SBC spoke to TonyBet UK market representative Warren Lush, about what a sportsbook needs to stay ahead of the game, and the rise of competitive gaming.
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SBC: Innovation and staying ahead of the game are key characteristics of TonyBet. When did you decide to invest in eSports, and how was this decision made?
Warren Lush: Actually eSports betting has been around at TonyBet for almost two years now, the big news is that we’re now offering live betting which is a complete game-changer. Live betting is key in the modern sportsbook industry and with live eSports we’re offering the fans a complete experience – they can watch the match and place bets according to the latest developments in the game.
SBC: With company founder Antanas Guoga’s background in professional poker (Tony G), is Casino VR a product which you’re keeping a close eye on? Would this be something you’re keen to include in your own live casino offering?
Warren: We believe that our current live casino games are much better than virtual reality, at least for the time being. Of course, we’re keeping an eye on the latest trends in the market, but with live casino featuring actual live dealers we aim to bring the full B&M experience to our players’ homes and I think we’ve been quite successful at that.
SBC: Considering the fact that eSports is still legitimizing is it risky to offer live in-play markets? What do you think of the Unikrn integrity certification programme, and will it be of benefit to bookmakers?
Warren: Running a Sportsbook is always risky when you’re offering betting services on games from all over the world. However, every company has its methods on how to reduce the risks – our goal is to give players all the betting options they want. Of course, any preventative initiative is more than welcome.
SBC: With TonyBet having established partnerships across sports from football to racing, are you investigating partnerships in the competitive gaming world? How important are such partnerships to competing in such a hectic industry?
Warren: We’re always analysing the market for new sponsorship opportunities. Just two weeks ago TonyBet partnered in a huge international e-gaming conference where we presented the live broadcast of the League of Legends World Championship Finals. Of course, such partnerships are very important in putting your name out there and letting the fans know where they can find the gaming experience they seek.
SBC: Finally, what are TonyBet’s plans for 2016?
Warren: While we have a vast supply of online gaming services, we’re constantly looking for options of how to make it even bigger and at the same time improving the ones we already have. For instance next week we’re launching new versions of the two most popular poker games – Texas Hold’em and Omaha on our online poker client.
Regarding eSports, we’re currently working on expanding the live betting odds so the players would have even more betting options. Like any operator in the industry next year we welcome two major sporting events: EURO 2016 and the Summer Olympics and we’re going to have plenty of special offers on both of them.
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Warren Lush – TonyBet UK market Representative
