SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Bitcoin sportsbook and casino Cloudbet has launched an esports vertical, enhancing its customers’ betting experience on titles such as Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) and FIFA 20.
Cloudbet customers will now be able to place in-play bets using cryptocurrency on a variety of esports events everyday. The sportsbook will also enhance its customer engagement with a Discord channel (a communication platform regularly used by gamers) in which like-minded fans can exchange betting tips while also finding out the operators ‘Bet of the Day’.
A Cloudbet spokesperson stated: “Our figures indicate clearly that there is strong demand and we will continue to invest in making our platform the best place to bet on esports with crypto. Our aim as a responsive and innovative operator is to recognise what our customers want and deliver it to them.”
According to consultants Eilers and Krejcik Gaming, the amount wagered on esports had been forecast to rise to almost $13 billion this year, more than double the total in 2016. It is also important to note that these forecasts were made before the COVID-19 crisis which caused sportsbooks to put more of an emphasis on esports betting.
This has prompted operators such as Cloudbet to boost their esports offering to meet the growing demand from punters. The sportsbook also highlighted that esports accounted for a fifth of all sports bets placed with Cloudbet in April, led by FIFA 20, CS:GO and Dota 2.
Cloudbet will also offer more than 60 daily in-play betting markets and live streams on League of Legends, Overwatch, NBA 2K, StarCraft, Rainbow Six, Rocket League, Call of Duty and King of Glory.
