Esports Technologies Seeking Betting Exchange Patent

Posted on: November 2, 2021, 01:23h. 

Last updated on: November 2, 2021, 01:45h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

Esports Technologies (NASDAQ:EBET), a provider of esports wagering platforms and related technologies, has filed a patent for a new esports betting exchange.

Esports Technologies
Esports Technologies filed for another patent. It wants to enhance esports betting liquidity. Shown is a recent tournament’s conclusion.(Image: CNN)

The Las Vegas-based company is angling to bring esports betting to a wider audience in the US. Currently, Esports Technologies’ gogawi.com platform is a sportsbook focusing on bettors in Asia and Latin America.

The patent application describes a private betting exchange model that is configured to offer operators and high-volume bettors greater liquidity and improved pricing in an esports betting environment where large bet sizes do not impact market prices,” said the company in a statement.

In the patent application, Esports Technologies details users’ ability to participate in various esports wagering markets.  Those include games, teams, players, and the capability of the platform to group those wagers into larger blocks, potentially bolstering liquidity in the underlying market.

In simple terms, sports wagering liquidity refers to the ability of the market to absorb large wagers or significant order flow without material alteration. For example, a highly liquid market, say the NFL, can handle a $500,000 bet on a single game, and a sportsbook operator might only move the line a half-point or point. In a less robust market like esports, big wagers can dramatically alter odds.

Esports Technologies Creating Wide Patent Portfolio

The recent patent filing is Esports Technologies’ third in less than five months. In June, the company filed a patent application for its existing technology that improves “the betting experience for sports and esports live streaming events.”

For companies like Esports Technologies, the combination of streaming and wagering is alluring. The marriage potentially taps into something gaming companies crave: Access to a younger, tech-savvy pool of would-be bettors. Importantly, data supports the notion that streaming is stealing share from linear television.

“In August 2021, the company filed a provisional patent application for a technology that uses artificial intelligence to generate odds models for use in a betting algorithm for esports tournaments and various stages of a tournament,” according to the statement. “In June 2021, it filed a patent covering a proprietary live streaming technology that integrates sports and esports wagering across many of the most popular streaming platforms, including Twitch, YouTube, Facebook Gaming, and Hulu, among others.”

Esports Technologies Stock Calm on News

Shares of Esports Technologies, a stock with a penchant for big moves in both directions, were surprisingly docile today on news of the new patent filing, closing higher by 0.63 percent on below-average volume.

The company went public earlier this year and is off almost 22 percent since its initial public offering. But it has some recent momentum, climbing 19.36 percent over the past 90 days. Among publicly traded gaming companies, those with internet casino and sports betting exposure are getting most of the attention. But that could change as more domestic jurisdictions approve esports wagering.