The Esports Hub, developed by Pinnacle Solution, will enable operators to engage with esports fans on a new level by creating a standalone esports betting destination.

Designed as an extension of Pinnacle Solution’s existing esports trading product, the Esports Hub encapsulates the company’s market-leading esports content in one place – something Pinnacle CEO Paris Smith hopes will promote esports betting as a vertical in its own right.

As part of a demo for SBC News, Smith disclosed that the primary aim of the newly launched product is to ensure that esports is not treated simply as an extension of sports betting, but rather is tailored to the unique needs of esports fans. 

“With the unique position of being the only managed trading service with skin in the esports game, we know first-hand the challenges that operators face,” Smith told SBC.

“The Esports Hub allows partners to leverage this know-how and deliver their esports customers with an award-winning product designed for their needs.”

Smith confirmed that deployment of the product through its iFrame Solution is completed – on average – in just two to three weeks, with operators given the choice of integrating the Esports Hub as a standalone product or adding it to their existing sportsbook offering.

However, she was clear on her preferred integration path, adding: “Esports betting is a vertical in its own right, not an extension of the traditional sportsbook, and this B2B tool provides the community with a betting destination tailored to how they like to engage with esports, while also delivering operators new revenue streams and enhanced hold potential.”

Through the demo, we also learned that the Esports Hub offers live streaming capabilities to give fans “seamless access to action to educate their bets on”, as well as data-rich scoreboards using a number of data sources to provide up-to-date information.

The data sources, Smith went on to explain, will be bolstered by information from Pinnacle Solution’s risk management and trading teams to ensure it can deliver a stand-out product for esports bettors.

Meanwhile, joining her was Pinnacle Solution Trading Director Marco Blume, who argued that – more often than not – there is not enough done to engage with esports fans when compared to the marketing strategies we see for the more ‘traditional sports’.

While noting that Esports Hub will give partners an additional tool to stand out from the crowd in the increasingly competitive B2C market, Blume pointed towards the product’s esports-first UX – which includes a ‘dark mode’ as well as a premium desktop and mobile experience – as two of the many considerations made when tailoring the product specifically towards esports bettors.

He said: “We’ve pioneered esports betting from day one from a content perspective, giving esports fans the best prices and limits across the widest range of titles. With the Esports Hub, we’re taking this offering to the next level and giving the community a go-to destination which resonates with their world, and doesn’t just treat them like any other sportsbook customer.

“Esports fans are arguably more engaged and educated than the typical sports fan, so those delivering an esports product which doesn’t meet their expectation won’t see the long term success they’re after. 

“We have to find new ways of engaging them on a higher level, and the Esports Hub will do just that for our partners, delivering quick access to an authentic esports betting experience, underpinned by our risk management expertise.”

The Esports Hub already offers betting markets for more than 35 esports titles, with 3,500 pre-match events, 100 title-specific markets and 2,100 live events each month – numbers B2B Marketing Specialist Sam Wright expects to rise markedly in the coming months.

Wright, the third member of the demo team, also stressed the importance of bringing together leading esports titles in one place, with unique markets for each shown clearly and in a manner which is recognised by the esports community.

As a result, he said, customers no longer need to trawl through “inefficient esports lists adapted from the traditional sports betting UX”, thus helping sportsbooks to better engage with the core esports demographic.

Wright concluded: “There seems to be an expectation by some that just offering a broad esports product, on par with the rest of the market, is sufficient to gain a foothold in this booming space.

“There may be millions of potential esports bettors out there ready to be acquired, but without delivering them with the user experience that reflects how they like to engage and interact online, that growth will be hard to deliver.

“The Esports Hub provides the extra dimension that the esports fan demands. It’s a unique destination that does the betting experience justice, bringing together more live data, better streams, and unique content which will assist our partners in positioning their own sportsbooks as first rate esportsbook too.”

You can get a preview through the Esports Hub launch video HERE.