Esports Entertainment leads the next-generation of e-sports betting online

Esports Entertainment Group (OTCMKTS:GMBL), or EEG, is a licensed online gambling company focused on the growing world of professional video gaming. Much like traditional sports gamblers betting on their favorite teams, EEG’s proprietary Player-to-Player (P2P) wagering system allows e-sports fans and enthusiasts to bet against one another in support of their favorite ePremiere League (ePL) teams. The ePL is a partnership between Electronic Arts and the English Premier League, which is the most-watched sports league in the world. 

With an estimated 350 million game enthusiasts worldwide, wagering in the space is already in the billions of dollars globally and is expected to surpass US$23 billion by 2020.

EEG takes a percentage of each wager on the platform but otherwise has no interest in the outcome.

CEO Grant Johnson, an industry veteran who is himself an avid video game player, says that the technology company is focused on being first to market, ramping up operations and signing as many partnerships as possible.

The target market skews younger: the average age of e-sports enthusiasts are men in their twenties, with many in their prime between the ages of 18 to 28.

The market is growing. Many US universities have already set up e-sport teams and offer scholarships to players. And the Paris 2024 Olympics is considering e-sports as a medal event,

Johnson says he believes the future of e-sports is sound.

This is further supported by the 100 e-sports teams around the world that have already become affiliate partners of the company for the purpose of generating income from their fans’ wagering. No e-sports team had previously signed with any wagering site.

Global in scope

The Malta-based company’s business model doesn’t rely solely on the US and focuses instead on the rapidly growing global online audience of e-sports fans already placing bets In Europe and Asia. It is licensed and regulated to legally conduct e-sports wagering in multiple jurisdictions.

EEG has staged exhibits at Gamescom 2018 in Cologne, Germany and has announced the signing of an additional 193 affiliates, more than three-fold increase over the same conference in 2017.

The company also operates Vie.gg, a betting exchange platform that allows fans to wager on a variety of e-sports games, including Call of Duty, Overwatch, League of Legends and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.

Among the partnerships and affiliations EEG forged in 2019:

• Partnered with majority owners of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils to offer player-to-player e-sports betting.
• Struck up a new contract with AffiliateINSIDER, a London-based public relations and marketing firm, to broaden the reach of its e-sports betting platform VIE.gg.
• Joined the Esports Integrity Coalition, an independent global body that works to protect the integrity of e-sports wagering.
• Signed an affiliate marketing agreement with GOLeague Int Gaming, a multilingual e-sports league.
• Forged an online wagering partnership with Belgium-based Epsilon eSports, an online e-sports gaming company.

Inflection points

Though the company’s wagering platform is focused outside the US, banking and regulatory rules in the US significantly loosened last year when the US Supreme Court eliminated a 1992 federal ban on sports betting at the state level.

So far, the only states where sport books have been legal are Las Vegas, Nevada, and Atlantic City, New Jersey. But Connecticut, Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia have passed laws allowing sports betting, and about a dozen other states may follow suit.

To reach a wider investor base in the US, EEG plans to uplist from the OTC Market’s QB exchange this year having applied in June to uplist to Nasdaq.

Outlook

The company recently filed a Form S-1 registration statement with the SEC for a proposed offering of securities with a potential value of US$11,5 million 

What the CEO says

“I believe we will be one of the top 10 operators” says Johnson. “The e-sports betting community will be on par with the other sports.

“We know there’s demand. With 100 e-sports teams and 250-plus e-sports influencers as our partners already, we’re well on our way to becoming a dominant player in this space.”

Story by ProactiveInvestors