The International Esports Federation (IESF) is thrilled to announce a major milestone as 136 nations have officially registered for the National Qualifiers of the 2025 esports season. This record-breaking level of participation underscores the remarkable growth and global appeal of esports, uniting athletes and fans from every corner of the world under one shared passion.

The National Qualifiers, which commenced on January 15, 2025, mark the start of an exciting journey for millions of athletes. Competing across a diverse range of PC, mobile, and console titles, these athletes are fighting for the opportunity to represent their nations on the largest stage of esports.

Highlighting the significance of this achievement, IESF General Secretary Boban Totovski stated:
“The participation of 136 Member Federations in this year’s National Qualifiers is an extraordinary accomplishment. It reflects the deep passion, dedication, and unity within the global esports community. We eagerly anticipate witnessing the emergence of this year’s national champions and the incredible talent that will define the 2025 season.”

Advertisement

As IESF celebrates its 16-year legacy, the 2025 season is another step forward in showcasing esports as a powerful unifying force. The federation remains committed to supporting the growth of the esports ecosystem, encouraging the next generation of athletes, and celebrating the diversity within the global esports community.

The 2025 season will bring nations together to honor the competitive spirit and creativity of esports. With 136 nations involved, IESF reaffirms its dedication to fostering collaboration, inspiring excellence, and showcasing the exceptional talent of athletes from all over the world.

The journey to an unforgettable year in esports has begun, as IESF continues to bring the world closer through the shared passion for competitive gaming.

With the start of the year behind, the company reflects on the key milestones.

Business Development

In 2024, the company experienced significant expansion, reflecting the increasing demand for progressive esports betting solutions. The total volume of bets processed grew by 74.2%, aided by the efficiency and dynamic scalability of the company’s trading team, alongside new collaborations from partners and clients. Otto Bonning, Head of Sales, said: “Our new partnerships with companies such as Altenar, NuBet, Airhead Ventures, and TurboStars have significantly strengthened the portfolio. These collaborations demonstrate our expanding influence and commitment to delivering exceptional solutions in the esports betting industry”. Clients also experienced an improvement in GGR, demonstrating the impact of the solutions on profitability.

Advertisement

The company’s user engagement rates also reflected the sizable uplift seen in 2024, with active users rising by 97.3% and average bet size increasing by 7%. Meanwhile, DATA.BET continued to broaden its presence in key markets, including Canada, Brazil, Finland, and Poland, further strengthening its global reach.

Esports Trading and Content Coverage

DATA.BET focused on strategic growth, enhancing its esports content to offer prosperous and dynamic opportunities for clients and their users.

Making focused improvements in popular markets resulted in growth. “We’ve expanded our offerings by adding 38 new markets, creating more opportunities for bettors and driving engagement,” said Thomas Donson, Head of Trading. “Our event coverage has also grown by 11%, adding over 10,000 events to ensure a more diverse and comprehensive experience. Ensuring 24/7 trading process, DATA.BET offers the highest quality market availability.”

Advertisement

The trust earned through high-quality product features, including the new Scoreboard and Pitch Tracker widgets, as well as the Bet Builder based on official data, all launched in 2024, has been instrumental in enhancing the customers betting experience. Scoreboards deliver detailed statistics, interactive visualizations, and comprehensive insights, helping users make informed decisions while boosting engagement through features like live betting, analysis, and availability for LoL, CS2, Valorant, and Dota 2.

Pitch Tracker, supporting our top tier titles, offers a 2D map as a visual representation with advanced tools for data analysis and in-game tracking, delivering detailed insights that enhance user engagement and decision-making. Additionally, the Bet Builder enables personalized betting by allowing users to combine multiple selections into a single wager, meeting the demand for tailored and dynamic betting experiences.

DATA.BET also broadened the scope of disciplines, adding 6 new games, such as Deadlock, Street Fighter 6, GeoGuessr, Teamfight Tactics, Hearthstone, Apex Legends, complementing client content with distinctive choices that amplified diversity and engagement.

Customer Support & Risk Management

Advertisement

The company provides a seamless customer experience and robust Risk Management, continuing to deliver swift and practical assistance.

With an average response time of up to 5 minutes, the dedicated team remains extremely efficient, addressing client concerns promptly while maintaining the highest quality standards. Between Q2 and Q4, handled around 1,500 client requests and completed more than 150 technical tasks effectively and precisely, ensuring high-quality 24/7 support and maintaining consistent service standards.

This is due to our proprietary trading platform that enables the generation and customization of content – specifically, markets – to align precisely with each partner’s distinctive requirements while accommodating their existing settlement rules. This approach ensures a seamless transition to the solution, eliminating the need for adjustments or reconfiguration after working with a previous data provider.

DATA.BET’s Risk Management team efficiently handled over 1,700 client requests. Over time, the number of requests from long-term clients noticeably decreased. The team’s familiarity with clients’ audiences and operations reduces risks through proactive measures. By identifying patterns early, the team prevents issues, ensures smooth operations, reduces reactive interventions, and builds client trust while improving system efficiency.

In 2024, DATA.BET strengthened its presence in the esports betting industry by showcasing its solutions and engaging with audiences at premier exhibitions, immersing attendees into the vibrant world of esports. Moving into 2025, DATA.BET remains focused on leveraging this momentum to drive further success and prospects for everyone involved in esports betting.

Advertisement

The global esports organization GIANTX has launched its new jersey for 2025. This jersey will be worn by professional players from the different teams within the organization in their national and international competitions this year.

The color blue takes center stage in a design that evolves the wave pattern used in the previous collection. The jersey is already available on GIANTX’s official channels and will debut in competitive play this week with the first matches of League of Legends and Valorant.

As a novelty, the new GIANTX jersey pays homage to its history by including an ‘08’ on the front of the collar. 2008 marks the founding year of the Málaga-based club Giants, whose merger with the British Excel led to the creation of GIANTX, one of the longest-standing esports brands in Europe.

Advertisement

This jersey is part of a collection that also includes hoodies and other products available in both blue and black. It is not the only new offering from GIANTX for its fans and video game enthusiasts.

In esports, fan loyalty goes beyond the action on the server. It’s about building community, offering added value, and connecting with the audience authentically. For this reason, GIANTX has launched an exclusive membership for fans of the club or esports in general who purchase the giants’ skins in Valorant.

The GIANTX VCT Membership offers unique rewards such as access to giveaways, gifts, passes to learning platforms for professionals, meet-and-greets with players and creators, and even trips to Berlin to support the team kicking off the Valorant Champions Tour this Wednesday. The skin pack is already available in the game.

With the launch of this GIANTX package in Valorant—one of the most-played games in the world with over 20 million active users, developed by Riot Games—the club takes another step in one of the most solidified club-fan relationships on the continent.

These announcements set the stage for the return to competition, which kicks off in style this week with the start of the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC), Valorant Champions Tour (VCT), and Spain’s Superliga by Liga de Videojuegos Profesional (LVP).

Advertisement