Five key trends from Kambi’s Esoccer Report reveal how the product is driving sportsbook engagement, filling gaps in the soccer calendar and creating fresh opportunities for operators.
Esoccer has become one of the fastest-growing products across the Kambi network, with betting activity increasing significantly since 2023. Insights drawn from Kambi’s extensive global partner network show that esoccer is no longer a niche offering. Instead, it has become a meaningful engagement and retention driver for sportsbooks.
From rivaling major soccer leagues in betting volume to attracting highly engaged customers, the latest data – revealed in Kambi’s Esoccer Report – highlights why more operators are treating esoccer as a core product category rather than a supplementary market.
Esoccer betting volume rivals top soccer leagues
Esoccer has risen to become a top-five sport on the Kambi network, putting it right up there with many traditional soccer leagues in terms of customer engagement and sheer betting volume. When assessed by number of bets it has overtaken the likes of Spain’s La Liga and Italy’s Serie A, and sits behind only soccer, horse racing and basketball on the Kambi network overall.
One of the key factors in this is the number and speed of esoccer matches. Kambi offers thousands of esoccer events each week, with these typically taking around ten minutes from start to finish. As Kambi’s VP of Esports Niclas Sundell highlights, “it offers non-stop action that keeps fans engaged, even when major leagues are paused”.
Esoccer bettors are also betting on soccer
Kambi network data reveals that over 90% of esoccer bettors have also placed bets on soccer, underlining the cross-sell potential and natural overlap that exists between the two as betting products.
This overlap is showcased clearly in the graph below, which illustrates that the number of bets placed on esoccer across our network spikes during low moments in the global soccer calendar, offering the potential to engage bettors during off-season lulls and the gaps between matches.
Esoccer is largely distinct from other esports
Engagement with esoccer exists mostly independently of engagement with other key esports titles, with limited overlap between those betting on esoccer and those betting on more traditional esports titles such as League of Legends, DOTA 2 and Counter-Strike 2. This supports esoccer’s positioning within the sportsbook as a core vertical in its own right, rather than as a gateway to esports.
This holds true across Kambi’s extensive partner network, although it is a trend that is particularly pronounced in Latin America, where only 5% of esports bettors bet on both esoccer and other esports.
Esoccer bettors demonstrate greater engagement
Esoccer is growing significantly as a betting product, but it is also just as important to highlight the greater levels of engagement with the wider sportsbook demonstrated by esoccer bettors as a cohort.
Within soccer, esoccer bettors place more bets, generate more GGR and wager on more games – demonstrating the scale of the opportunity for sportsbooks that deploy esoccer as a core betting product rather than a niche add-on.
A high-quality Bet Builder is central to maximising esoccer
Kambi’s esoccer Bet Builder offers all the depth and functionality which bettors expect on traditional soccer, with high uptime and more events than ever before.
Having a comparable product is critical when considering the cross-sell potential between soccer and esoccer, driving enhanced user retention. Consistent in-game functionality is another significant aspect of this, with Kambi’s Esoccer Report showing that approximately 30% of esoccer Bet Builders are live. The Bet Builder also has an ‘instant settlement’ feature, further enhancing the experience for customers while also delivering enhanced margins for partners.
To find out more about the rise of esoccer and learn how to level up your esoccer offering, you can read the full report here.