Oliver Niner, Head of Sales at PandaScore, says that esports is no different to traditional sports when it comes to integrity but that data and expert traders are pivotal to ensuring nothing slips through the net.
Is the esports betting sector a little behind the curve when it comes to integrity?
No, it’s not. There is always an inherent risk when betting on any sport, but that risk is no greater or smaller if betting on tennis or League of Legends. The main concern is of course underage athletes taking part in the sport and the sportsbook then offering wagers on that athlete or indeed the match they are taking part in.
I’d say there is slightly heightened concern among operators regarding the integrity of esports, but that’s mostly down to a lack of understanding. Of course, this is something we are looking to address and go to great lengths to reassure our partners as to the safeguards and integrity protocols we have in place to allow them to offer esports betting with absolute confidence.
What unique challenges does esports betting throw up in terms of integrity?
I don’t think there are any unique challenges – the fundamentals of integrity are the same for sports as they are for esports. What I would say is that data is crucial when it comes to being able to identify underage athletes regardless of discipline, but esports is perhaps not as mature in terms of the quality of data and the availability of feeds for suppliers and operators to access.
Then of course there is the need to combine data with a team of experts who can decipher the information and determine whether an underage athlete is in a team or taking part in a contest – this is why we have expert traders for each discipline. But this is the same for traditional sports where a tennis trader would likely struggle to spot if there was an underage player in a lower-league South American football team.
How can these challenges be overcome?
As a supplier, it’s all about having access to the highest quality data out there and for PandaScore at least, we always combine multiple data sources. This is usually a mix of official data and other third-party data. This allows us to verify the accuracy and integrity of the information our team of expert traders then use to determine if there are any underage players in action.
Ultimately, it is about prioritising integrity, and this is something we have done having seen other providers from the traditional sports betting space encounter issues in the past which led to operators offering markets on contests featuring underage players.
What is PandaScore doing differently in the area of integrity?
Ensuring integrity in esports is all about understanding the landscape, being able to spot patterns that indicate something is not right and then taking action. But this is incredibly difficult to do if, as a provider, you offer odds and markets on every single esports tournament or contest taking place around the world.
At PandaScore, we have always been selective with our coverage – some have even accused us of being conservative – based on whether it has passed our checks and balances (who is taking part, are blacklisted players present, has anyone been accused of throwing a game before, etc). There are some companies out there that will offer blanket coverage, but that coverage will not be subject to the same integrity standards as ours.
You touched on it previously, but just how important are traders when it comes to integrity?
They are super important to integrity. They have a deep understanding of the game and its mechanics, and this enables them to spot irregularities in the data and the action as it unfolds. This is why we have been building a team of expert traders for each esports discipline we offer coverage for as they ensure we have the high level of expertise required to ensure integrity for each.
This is really important for esports – as an odds maker, we don’t rely on lines or have the option to cross-check with exchanges and this means there can be variance between providers, so we need to be absolutely sure of the integrity of our feeds.
How can operators be sure the markets and odds they offer meet the highest integrity standards?
They need to get their esports odds and data feeds from a supplier that is fully committed to integrity and has the checks and balances in place to ensure nothing slips through the net. This means a supplier that specialises in esports and that has the processes – and expert team – in place to deliver the highest degree of integrity across the coverage they provide. This is the only way to maximise the opportunity that esports betting presents with confidence.
Comments