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The future of gambling spaces: Esports and the world of competitive video gaming Brett Abarbanel, Ph.D. Director of Research UNLV International Gaming Institute
The future of gambling spaces: Esports and the world of competitive video gaming
Brett Abarbanel, Ph.D.
Director of Research
UNLV International Gaming Institute
What are esports?
First-
Pe
rson S
hoo
ter
Fig
htin
g G
am
es
Re
al T
ime
Str
ate
gy
Multip
laye
r O
nlin
e B
att
le A
ren
a
(MO
BA
)
Spo
rts G
am
es
Game Play
Who’s gaming?
Median age = 28, ~70% between 18-34
Gender neutral
Most popular games – MOBAs & first-person shooters
Gamer Motivations
PwC, 2016; Quantic Foundry, 2016
These are certainly
games…are they sports?
Terminology
Esportsbook
Daily fantasy esports
Peer-to-peer betting
Game-mediated (skins) betting
Narus Advisors, 2016; NewZoo, 2016; Superdata, 2015
“esports" ≠ “esports betting”
Esports industry: ~US$493M
Biggest markets: US, China
Esports betting industry: ~US$594M
Betting Behaviour
Esports & Integrated
Resorts
UNLV IGI Gaming Lab IGI Esports Lab
Discussions in Esports &
Gambling
Liabilities
Game Integrity
General CSR
Location
Verification
Geo
location
Age
Verification
Respo
nsib
le/P
rob
lem
Gam
blin
g
Spo
rt?
Goal: Mitigate threats and issues.
But remember, these are games. Have fun!
Brett Abarbanel, Ph.D.
