Q&A: Marco Blume, head of sportsbook at Pinnacle Sports
Blume talks to eGR about the growth in eSports and why Pinnacle decided to make it part of its core sportsbook offering
Today marks the start of the world’s biggest eSports competition, The International, with gamers going head-to-head in Seattle to claim a share of a $17.8m (£11.4m) prize pot, with the winner set to scoop $6m (£3.8m).
With so much money at stake competition will be fierce but, with the first battles just hours away, sportsbook operators appear reluctant to get involved in an event expected to attract a global audience in the tens of millions.
While the likes of bet365, Ladbrokes and Betway have all produced an outright market, other heavy hitters such as William Hill, Coral and Betfair have opted to steer clear, perhaps due to a lack of eSports knowledge among its traders.
However, Pinnacle Sports is a firm that has grasped the eSports nettle, having started to price up eSports events back in 2010. eGaming Review caught up with Pinnacle’s head of sportsbook Marco Blume to discuss why Pinnacle made the early move and how eSports compares against other sports.
eGaming Review (eGR): Why did you decide to price-up eSports events? Has the decision paid off?
Marco Blume (MB): I decided to start offering eSports back in 2010 as an experiment. I was personally convinced of the potential that eSports presented, having closely followed its development, but we couldn’t be sure that this would translate to demand for betting markets. Thankfully I was proved right and where we are now in 2015, eSports isn’t a niche, or novelty; it is considered a mainstay alongside the other professional sports we offer, and is now actually more popular with our bettors than golf or rugby.
For the Grand Final of The International 2015 this week we are offering limits of $100,000 which is far in excess of standard limits for the English Premier League, as well as live betting. Though eSports provides a relatively small share of our overall activity, in December 2014 we received our one millionth eSports bet, which is still a significant number.
eGR: What’s been the rate of growth for eSports in terms of betting volumes?
MB: eSports has become our fastest growing market judged by volume and player numbers; overall it was our seventh biggest sport in terms of volume in 2014. By eSports I mean StarCraft 2; Dota2; LoL; CS:GO & Hearthstone, which are ordered in current popularity of betting.
The level of volume traded has pretty much doubled every year since we began dealing in 2010, and based on current activity this looks set to continue. As mentioned, we took our one millionth bet in December 2014, and expect to get to two million much faster.
eGR: What are some of the major challenges and opportunities facing eSports today?
MB: eSports is growing at phenomenal rate, and it faces challenges in terms of cohesive governance. We have relationships with several sports’ governing bodies so wherever that authority for eSports lies Pinnacle Sports is willing to develop a relationship.
In terms of opportunities, the numbers speak for themselves. Global eSports enthusiasts were put at 89 million in 2014 and expected to reach 145 million in 2017. Another 190 million will watch eSports competitions occasionally, showing that competitive gaming has evolved to a spectator sport with a fan base comparable to that of volleyball, American football or ice hockey, but on its current trajectory eSports has the possibility to become the only other truly global sport, after soccer.
eGR: What advice would you give to sportsbooks considering whether or not to offer an eSports service?
MB: Though fundamentally all betting is just about risk management, eSports presents particular challenges. eSports bettors are less likely to come from a betting background; the traditional sports betting customer and an eSports betting customer has very different profiles. This isn’t to say our eSports bettors aren’t savvy. We currently have about eight traders who handle our eSports markets including ex-Pro Gamers like Jonathan ‘DarKFoRcE’ Belke, illustrating the kind of knowledge we need to remain competitive.
Many smaller eSports bookmakers have come and gone since we started offering it in 2010. The odds-setting represents a real challenge, and the audience tends to be unique from a betting perspective.