The American SportZ Exchange (ASX), the world’s first virtual sports-trading exchange, has announced its latest strategic alliance with Esports Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: EBET), a leading provider of esports wagering products and associated technologies.

The alliance considers both entities joining forces in a tactical alliance that commits to bringing ASX players higher liquidity and bridging the cross-vertical divide between the esports markets and the exchange betting model. The intended result is to increase margins and improve retention opportunities in one of the gaming and entertainment industry’s fastest-growing verticals.

In the wake of the pandemic and an uncertain timetable of international sport, esports has been one of the few verticals able to maintain a robust and regular schedule of events, delivering an opportunity for millions of fans to enjoy a deeper engagement in esports, wherever they are in the world.

This fragmented global calendar for live sports has also accelerated the rise of esports as a popular betting medium, as more and more players pivoted their attention and enthusiasm to relatable esports content which fosters a familiar environment and comparable excitement. And despite the return of traditional sports from the sidelines in 2021, esports audiences have largely remained intact with fan engagement continuing growth momentum.

Through this complementary association, best-in-breed esports data from Esports Technologies (both pre-game and in-play) is intended to create a new level in authentic live engagement and peer-to-peer predictions for customers and data consumers on the ASX platform.

ASX is a hybrid next-generation fantasy sports betting company, fronted by gaming sector pioneer Paddy Power, where virtual shares in players and teams can be “traded”. This flagship startup, which allows its users to buy or sell “shares” premised on individual “player” and collective “team” performance, offers “share prices” around individual players and teams based on anticipated performance across a number of key criteria, unique to every underlying sports game.

The ASX platform is presently capitalizing on the soaring demand for esports player and team markets, whose worldwide appeal is premised on the granular statistics and player data which already drive the latest video games and fantasy football leagues across mature global markets.

Working in close collaboration with Esports Technologies, ASX seeks to promote and refine esports’ escalating popularity across worldwide regulated markets, familiarizing and educating fans via dynamic data and premium content.

Bart Barden, COO at Esports Technologies, said: “It’s great to be working with former Paddy Power leadership, aligning on an exciting shared vision for the future of esports through this strategic alliance with Paddy’s bold startup venture, ASX. I’m eager to bring our collective experience to bear, unlocking the strategic synergies of these companies via this strategic alliance.

“Esports Technologies’ deep and diverse range of pre-play and in-play data can quickly attract and educate new and existing esports audiences, particularly for a US fanbase raised on DFS and consequently primed for markets that run on individual player or team statistics.”

Paddy Power, President and Co-founder at ASX, added: “Esports Technologies are trailblazers in this rapidly emerging esports domain, while Bart’s previous sterling work at a leading International betting exchange, when we overlapped at Paddy Power Betfair, earmarked him as our go-to guy for esports once this ASX opportunity presented itself. Together, we now stand at the intersection of some of the most progressive technology and untapped verticals in the industry. It’s a thrilling time to see how we might again collaborate to mutually-beneficial effect over the coming months and years.

“ASX is the next logical step in the DFS evolution, fusing the excitement of an active trading marketplace with the most immersive retention aspects of fantasy management. By combining intuitive and recognizable stock-exchange transaction mechanics with the dynamics of live sporting events and record low-latency data distribution, we are now paving the way for the next generation in esports betting and fan-engagement ecosystems.”