Sportsflare Targets Casual Gamers with New Esports Betting Model

Esports is one of those amazing new forms of entertainment that is only possible due to the internet and the recent advancements in video streaming, game development and other associated technology sectors. Not only has it raised up a new generation of digital sports stars, but it has also created its own channel for online gambling.

The world of esports betting, while it fits into the same platforms and gambling sites as traditional sports betting, not only allow fans to bet on their favourite teams but also on themselves.

Getting To Know About BoY?

The concept behind any Bet on Yourself (BoY) wager is a simple one. You select a competition you feel comfortable backing yourself in and then set a private wager with an opponent. Once you find an opponent willing to compete with you it’s a simple matter of seeing who wins and they are then awarded the pot less the platform's commission.

In the esports space, this could be head-to-head wagers playing a sports title like FIFA or perhaps even going one-on-one in a fighting game like Street Fighter or Tekken.

Esports betting specialists Sportsflare noted two major limitations to this Player versus Player (PvP) model:

1. There is a limited number of players interested in this type of wagering which can result in long queue times.
2. There may not be a player of the right skill level to make this type of wagering fun to repeat – too low or too high and the skill imbalance guarantees a loss.

With this in mind, Sportsflare developed a product aimed at casual gamers who have an interest in esports betting – as simple as it sounds their approach was to take the name of the category literally, allowing you to “Bet on Yourself”, without the need for other players.

 You Are Your Own Challenger

Gamers are familiar with the idea of being their own challenger while playing Player versus Environment games (PvE). In racing games, you can chase ghost cars that rerun your previous laps to push you to do better, in role-playing games you invariably face some evil version of yourself to battle and in the sports titles your season rank is a live tracker of your personal performance.

Sportsflare has stepped this concept up a notch by allowing gamers to play any game, whenever they want, and the bet they place is based on their performance within the game not how they compare to other players.

Max Polaczuk, CEO of Sportsflare, said:

“For us, what we do is the PvE style. So, I can play when I want on demand. What that then means is that we have to be able to generate a fair price for the player who wants to play the game and achieve a particular outcome. That then removes any queueing time and stops you from needing to matchmake the players. But it does also mean that the prices have to be solid.”

They believe that by allowing non-competitive players to bet on themselves, have fun, and get comfortable with esports betting their product will appeal not only to the estimated 250 million esports fans but a large portion of the 2.8 billion casual gaming market.

The Sportsflare product is already gaining traction with both iGaming and non-iGaming companies who see it as an engaging new way to run competitions and offer personalised giveaways to the gaming community. These companies are looking to offer free-to-play BoY competitions with prizes that range from free bets to bonus credits to physical prizes.