Esportspools unveils real money betting platform ESP.Bet

Esports betting and fantasy league site, eSportsPools (ESP), has this week announced the launch of its real-money betting platform, ESP.bet

With this launch, esports fans in regulated markets can now bet at ESP.bet 24/7 across titles such as League, Dota and CS:GO. As esports betting grows in popularity, the space is becoming more competitive and sites such as ESP are looking to cultivate based on the fact that they’re esports only. 

Scott Burton, CEO of ESP commented: “We are making esports more exciting by creating a platform where members can bet with real money on what happens next.

“The team has passionately worked on creating our real money product, and we are confident that our members will love it. The whole team is looking forward to building upon this, with awesome new features coming soon, such as our new in-play betting, where users can make bets in real-time on live matches.”

ESP has been making moves of late and recently announced Thorin as its brand ambassador ahead this new launch and expansion. 

In the summer of 2016, Eilers & Krejcik Gaming and Narus Advisors released an update to their esports gambling report (triggered by Valve’s ‘crackdown’ on skins betting sites) which looked at traditional real money betting, skins betting and the casino opportunity across esports.

It stated that the net impact of Valve’s move resulted in a 60% reduction in their projection (from a prior version of the report) for total esports gambling activity by 2020. Despite this, Eilers & Krejcik Gaming and Narus Advisors still put their base case projection of the total value of money and items wagered on esports by 2020 at $12.9 billion (£9.95bn). 

With this in mind it’s no surprise that there is a land grab going on at present with a number of esports only operators emerging to try and take on the likes of Betway, Bet365, Sky Bet and Pinnacle. 

ESP is fully regulated and licensed in the Isle of Man and is a member of the Esports Integrity Coalition (ESIC). As yet it does not have a UKGC licence. 

Esports Insider says: With Thorin on board as an ambassador, a real money betting platform and the retention of the fantasy option upon which it built its brand, ESP is undoubtedly becoming a force to be reckoned with. We’re intrigued to see what new features emerge in the coming months. 

Scott Burton will be speaking on the Brand Ambassadors panel at the 2017 Betting on Esports Conference in London in September (13-15). He’ll take to the stage alongside Kinguin CEO Viktor Wanli, Strive Sponsorship MD Malph Minns and Ellie Reed from M&C Saatchi.

Disclaimer: As a part of SBC, Esports Insider is organising the Betting on Esports Conference