eSports

IEM Cologne 2021: how major events increase the popularity of esports betting

Published

4 years ago

August 27, 2021

Reading Time: 3 minutes

IEM Cologne is one of 2021’s best Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournaments. This newsworthy event brings together 24 teams from all around the world, has a $1 million prize pool and three stages of play.

Counter-Strike is flourishing

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is the fourth game in the Counter-Strike series of games. As with its forerunners, the game is a multiplayer first-person shooter in which two teams (Terrorists and Counter-Terrorists) compete against each other in various game modes.

Just imagine, the first release of Counter-Strike was published on November 9, 2000. This game has existed for more than 20 years. Even though the last game in the Counter-Strike series Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was released nearly 9 years ago, in August 2012, the game is still top-rated online and has millions of fans.

According to Statista, as of February 2020, Counter-Strike had 24 million monthly active users, more than double the figure from May 2016. In May 2021, CS:GO reached more than one million concurrent players on Steam.

More than just a game

And what’s interesting is, it’s not just a game for millions of gamers, but for watchers of esports content too, of course. ELEAGUE Major, which took place in January 2018, was the most-watched CS:GO tournament that year, reaching nearly 1.9 million viewers. With such a large number of supporters, it is par for the course that CS:GO competitions are worth big money.

The game’s annual cumulative tournament prize pool reached $21.77M in 2019. And in 2020, the estimated prize money for CS:GO tournaments stood at $15.85M, making it the online game with the highest cumulative prize pool in that year.

Gamers are not short of attention and cash rewards. For instance, the Danish gamer, a member of Astralis, Andreas Højsleth, known by his online alias, Xyp9x, has earned over $1.88M playing CS:GO competitively. Currently, he is in second place in the earnings table for players of CS:GO. Another Danish player, Peter Rasmussen, who goes by the alias dupreeh, occupies the first spot with around $1.91M.

CS:GO betting

Professional gaming quickly became a matter of interest to sportsbooks. Today, as reported by iGB, the most popular esports betting titles fall under two categories. The first includes the “Big Three”: League of Legends, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. They’re also some of the most popular video games globally.

The growth of popularity of these games turned the attention of the majority of sportsbooks. Global betting operators are widening their portfolio with popular online PC games. Some of the most popular CS:GO events are commercial CS:GO tournaments with 24/7 schedules that allow sportsbooks to fill free airtime with engaging content.

Betting on commercial CS:GO events works the same way as betting on major CS:GO events. Bettors wager on various markets: the outcome of a match, top-performing players, final scores, etc.

One of the platforms that provide fast and dynamic 24/7 esports tournaments is ESportsBattle. It is worth noting that the organizers of ESportsBattle CS:GO tournaments have noticed the huge spike in bettors’ engagement rate in the run-up to big matches.

ESportsBattle & CS:GO

Because of increased global demand, ESportsBattle decided to expand its horizons and became the first platform to launch 1×1 CS:GO matches, guaranteeing beginner players an opportunity to have a shot at it. Earlier, ESportsBattle had only a 5×5 format and later became the first to offer 2×2 CS:GO matches.

This variety of formats and modes allows pro and amateur players to face off in EsportsBattle tournaments, develop their skills, and make money on it.

For bettors of EsportsBattle CS:GO tournaments, operators provide the following markets: match winner (2-way or 3-way), match handicap, total maps, correct map score, map winner (2-way and 3-way), total rounds.

During July 2021, when IEM Cologne 2021 took place, ESportsBattle CS:GO matches chalked up far more views, which, in turn, led to increased bettor engagement. The number of views of ESportsBattle tournaments has risen dramatically: from 120K in June to almost 200K in July.

Furthermore, the number of views increased by 73% from the beginning of 2021. Betting on CS:GO gives bettors a chance to feel even more engaged in the whole IEM Cologne 2021 experience, as though they are participating in the tournament.

Thanks to regular broadcasts of esports events that boosted the gaming, esports and betting markets began to enjoy particular popularity. Moreover, one of the betting operator stated that there was almost 40% uptake in the number of active bettors engaged with EsportsBattles’ CS:GO events between June and July. Since the beginning of 2021, the number of people betting on EsportsBattle CS:GO events has increased by 10,000%.

BETER

BETER Teams Up with FIRST

Published

2 days ago

October 1, 2025

George Miller

Reading Time: 2 minutes

In-demand fast-betting content provider brings its esports and sports products to a Tier-1 sportsbook supplier

BETER, the award-winning provider of fast-betting content and data for esports and sports, has entered into a strategic partnership with FIRST – Best in Sports, a Tier-1 sportsbook supplier.

Through this collaboration, FIRST will integrate fan-favorite ESportsBattle tournaments, initially taking eFootball and eBasketball, as well as world-renowned Setka Cup table tennis tournaments.

BETER delivers 24/7 live streaming, real-time data, and hyper-accurate odds for approximately 700,000 fast-paced events each year, offering up to 50 markets per event with an average operator margin of 7.5%+.

Its esports portfolio includes ESportsBattle tournaments, featuring eFootball, eBasketball, eHockey, and the recently launched eTennis. Its sports portfolio features the Setka Cup table tennis series, BSKT Cup basketball league, GTR Cup tennis tournaments, Padel tennis, as well as coverage of official cricket tournaments and leagues worldwide.

BETER ensures the highest standards of fairness and transparency across its content offerings, backed by collaborations with ESIC and IBIA.

FIRST – Best in Sports delivers a fully managed, high-performance sportsbook engineered for speed, scale and precision. With sportsbook specialization at its core, FIRST helps operators in LatAm, Europe and Africa compete at the highest level from day one, combining sharp pricing and risk, deep trading expertise, regional insight, and rapid rollout to accelerate performance.

Both companies were recognized among the best at the recent SBC Awards ceremony, with BETER receiving the Silver Award in the Live Betting Product category, while FIRST was named Sportsbook Supplier of the Year.

Gal Ehrlich, CEO of BETER, said: “The partnership between BETER and FIRST brings together two pioneering providers committed to delivering next-generation betting experiences.

“FIRST has launched our collaboration by integrating a suite of our most popular products—EsportsBattle for esports and Setka Cup for sports—both proven to engage players and deliver the fast-betting thrills they seek.

“This is a great partnership, and our teams are looking forward to a fruitful collaboration.”

Tom Light, CEO of FIRST, added: “BETER’s fast-betting portfolio fits exactly what FIRST was built for: a high-performance sportsbook crafted by specialists.

“Together, we give operators a direct route to Tier-1 competitiveness, faster time-to-market, higher player engagement, and the confidence to go head-to-head with the biggest brands across LatAm, Europe and Africa from day one.”

The post BETER Teams Up with FIRST appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Aquisitions/Mergers

GRID Acquires Bayes Esports Assets

Published

1 week ago

September 23, 2025

George Miller

Reading Time: < 1 minute

GRID, a game data and technology platform, has acquired the intellectual property assets of Bayes Esports following the company’s liquidation proceedings and will integrate the technology into its GRID Bet division.

The acquisition integrates strategic technology components developed by Bayes over nearly a decade, including live data trading solutions, prediction models, and fan engagement tools, into the GRID Data Platform. These technologies will now be powered exclusively by official esports data available only on GRID, accelerating product development and driving innovation across GRID’s entire portfolio, with a particular focus on GRID Bet, the company’s comprehensive solution for regulated esports betting.

“The acquisition of Bayes assets further accelerates GRIDs capabilities to create value for rights holders in esports and shape the next phase of esports betting in particular,” said Moritz Maurer, Founder & CEO of GRID.

The post GRID Acquires Bayes Esports Assets appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

BETBY

BETBY CELEBRATES SUCCESS AT SBC SUMMIT LISBON 2025 WITH ESPORTS SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Published

2 weeks ago

September 22, 2025

George Miller

betby-celebrates-success-at-sbc-summit-lisbon-2025-with-esports-supplier-of-the-year-award

Reading Time: < 1 minute

BETBY, a Tier 1 sportsbook supplier, successfully concluded an impactful presence at SBC Summit Lisbon 2025, where its booth became a central hub for clients, partners, and industry professionals. The summit served as a powerful platform for the company to spark new connections, exchange ideas, and engage in discussions on the latest trends shaping the global betting and gaming industry.

Positioned as “the global gaming and betting industry comes to do business,” SBC Summit provided the ideal stage for BETBY to showcase its cutting-edge sportsbook technology and innovative solutions. Visitors to the BETBY booth experienced first-hand the company’s latest tools designed to empower operators with robust, scalable, and future-proof technology.

The highlight of the event came as BETBY was honoured with the prestigious Esports Supplier of the Year Award. This accolade reflects the company’s unwavering commitment to delivering innovative, reliable, and high-performing solutions that address the evolving needs of sportsbook operators worldwide.

“Being recognised as Esports Supplier of the Year at the SBC Summit is an incredible achievement for our team,” said Leonid Pertsovskiy, CEO at BETBY. “It validates our focus on pushing technological boundaries and our mission to create solutions that bring real value to operators and their players. SBC Summit not only provided BETBY with the opportunity to highlight its achievements but also reaffirmed its position as an industry leader driving innovation in sportsbook technology.”

As BETBY looks ahead, the company is already preparing for its next major industry showcase at the SiGMA Europe Summit in November 2025, which for the first time will be held in Rome. There, BETBY will once again present its cutting-edge tools, insights, and expertise to operators across the globe.

The post BETBY CELEBRATES SUCCESS AT SBC SUMMIT LISBON 2025 WITH ESPORTS SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR AWARD appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.