Latin America is one of the most underappreciated regions in the world for the ever-growing esports sector, according to experts at Oddin.gg. But to get it right in LatAm, stakeholders must be aware of the acute nuances across the diverse region. 

The insights were shared on episode three of Expert to Expert – a video podcast series that cuts through the noise in esports betting. Designed for sportsbook decision-makers in product, trading and strategy, it brings senior Oddin.gg experts together to unpack what actually matters.

In episode three, Oddin.gg’s Senior Business Development Manager, Juana Bischoff, was joined by her colleague Mauricio Lima, who focuses on the Brazilian market, a nation he says is ripe for growth in esports.

Lima said: “We are talking about an audience that is mobile first and very digitally connected. We are event driven, which means we love being present at events. We love to be in contact with each other to experience those events which is a great opportunity for operators and for ourselves to get in contact with the bettors, who are our final customers at the end.”

Data on consumer habits also support Lima’s confidence in esports growth across Brazil.

“When we look at the data, research says that 70-75% of the Brazilian population play games. It doesn’t mean esports, but they are playing games on mobile, which means they’re very digital and they’re consuming social media and games,” he added.

But Latin America is a huge region, and it’s often argued that Brazil isn’t even a part of it at all. 

Bischoff works across Latin America as Oddin.gg sees it as a big opportunity to grow its supply of esports betting content and products. She understands that LatAm has many complexities and that no two countries are the same. 

“Brazil is not Latin America – Brazil is Brazil,” she noted. “There is Latin America, then there’s Brazil. So LatAm is Spanish speaking, but every country is different. You cannot compare Mexico with Peru or with Colombia or Argentina. For example, in Mexico, the esports betting market is projected to reach $59.2 million by the end of 2025 and it is projected to reach $70 million in 2029.”

The sheer scale of the opportunities that esports offer across Latin America are significant, and often surprising for some operators. Bischoff outlined the reaction that operators give when they are told that esports can total 5-10% of a sportsbook’s total volume.

“People say ‘Oh, wow I didn’t know!’ This is exactly the reason why we want to talk about this, so that people have something in their hands, because otherwise it’s so hard to understand, because it’s also very hard to find these numbers out there. 

“But as soon as you tell operators it can make up to 10% or even more, and we also have operators where esports is more than 10% – it is definitely a big number.”

There have been concerns that esports could risk cannibalising other forms of revenue in iGaming and sports betting. 

However, esports is often viewed as a compliment to sports betting rather than a replacement for it. Esims can come into play during football off hours, and other kinds of esports have dedicated and loyal fanbases. 

As Lima explained: “The audience for esports is different from the audience for football so it can be an incremental number for them, which is very important. I think it’s cheaper for them in terms of a market to invest in, to get this new audience, then to fight with other operators to get right before market investment to get the attention of the same bettors.”

As always, understanding the audience is paramount to succeeding in any vertical, but particularly in esports. Treating any country’s players as ‘esports bettors’ is too general, the experts said, and different countries in LatAm have different esports titles that are more popular than others.

“Peru is a really good example, Peru has a huge fan base of Dota 2 fans. Mexico is more about League of Legends and Counter Strike,” said Bischoff. “Brazil is also Counter Strike. Free Fire is really big in Brazil too. So there definitely is a difference when it comes to preferences, and this is also something that you need to take into consideration. 

“Then also when it comes to making business or helping operators in Latin America, you need to understand that the culture is different as well. So it’s very important to have a strong relationship, to have trust, and this is also why we are going to so many events.”