The Inexorable Rise of Aspire's Sportsbook Platform
Aspire Global has been in business since the distant days of 2005. Back then, the iGaming sector was flourishing. Although mobile gaming was at least five years away, an estimated 8 million people
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were already participating in online gambling. To meet the burgeoning demand, an eclectic mix of operators and providers started to pop up, among them Aspire Global.
Today, Aspire is a firmly established iGaming provider boasting a platform that incorporates an extensive array of proprietary and third party casino games. NetEnt, Evolution Gaming and Blueprint are just some of the major online specialists on the company’s books.
To complement its formidable iGaming offering, the company acquired sportsbook platform BtoBet in 2020. So by the end of 2021, a large proportion of Aspire casinos were offering sports betting too. And it’s these casino sites that have enjoyed a huge uptick in popularity over the past year. Why is this?
The Evolving Betting Market
The evolving sports betting market seems to be one major reason behind the rise of Aspire’s sportsbook product. To begin with, wagering methods are far more sophisticated. In the early days, you’d place a bet on a winner and wait until the end of a game or race to see if you’d won. But the introduction of accumulators and in-play betting transformed the sector, offering gamblers the opportunity to place bets on things like the first scorer, the number of in-game events and so on. And this continues to be a driving force in the sportsbook vertical.
In addition, sportsbook is constantly expanding. While football accounts for around 48% of all gambling, there are plenty of other markets. Punters now have access to an ever-expanding range of international sports, some of which are decidedly obscure. Typical examples include Bandy, Floor Ball and Futsal – pastimes that aren’t exactly mainstays of the British sporting landscape. But they open up new avenues for customers looking to gamble on something other than football or horseracing.
Esports
Esports is another big factor behind the successes of Aspire’s casino and sportsbook websites. Also known as competitive video gaming, Esports attracts massive online attention. Studies in 2019 and 2021 found that the sport enjoyed worldwide audiences of between 197 – 234 million.
With international sport mothballed during lockdown, it was the esports ecosystem that provided gamblers with welcome alternatives. During the pandemic, specialists such as Luckbox reported massive increases in registrations, betting activities and average betting sizes. It was the same for many generic sportsbooks sites too.
Despite the cessation of lockdown measures, the market continues to generate estimated revenues of $1.1 billion. To cash-in, savvy iGaming providers such as Aspire Global continue to include Esports as part of its overall sportsbook package. And quite the package it is.
The Aspire Product
Sportsbook operators looking to compete need to offer an expansive range of betting markets. In this regard, the Aspire betting platform is about as good as it gets. It boasts a massive range of sports, which are of course dominated by football and horse racing. But it’s also possible to bet on more obscure sports around the world too. These options are supported by specials including politics, awards and televisual events such as Eurovision. Esports is very well-covered too - multiplayer games Counter-Strike and DOTA 2, as well as first person shooter Call of Duty are all available for wagering.
The platform itself works seamlessly across all devices and is easy to use. While there’s no dedicated app currently available, the mobile version is more than fit for purpose.
So to conclude, the success of Aspire’s sportsbook offering is largely the result of superb market coverage and the inclusion of esports betting options. Although not all Aspire-powered sites include the betting platform, you can expect wider adoption in the coming months.