At this year's SiGMA Malta conference panel discussion, Grid co-founder and CEO Moritz Maurer stated, "Now is the best time to get involved in esports."
Maurer, who served as the head of esports at Genius from 2015 to 2018, recalled that at that time, the marketing budgets for esports were limited, and companies entering the market had to rely on highly persuasive pitches. Today, nearly every gaming company is offering products related to esports. In 2018, he founded Grid, committed to bringing breakthroughs to the industry through "data democratization."
Over the past seven years, the esports market size has more than doubled. Maurer emphasized that initially, the industry was not data-centric, but it was the data-driven transformation that facilitated the rapid rise of esports.
Discussing the audience composition, he categorized them into two groups: one is the middle-aged group who played games over a decade ago and now prefers watching and betting; the other is the younger generation in their twenties, who are keen on short videos and instant content, naturally having a stronger affinity for esports.
Maurer pointed out that traditional sports betting often focuses on "marginal events" such as corners or throw-ins, which are less appealing to young people. Esports matches have a faster pace and frequent critical actions, naturally fitting the attention patterns of the "TikTok generation" and providing richer scenarios for "micro-betting."
He also emphasized the importance of establishing partnerships with developers and rights holders. Compared to the past, rights holders are now more willing to embrace esports and actively seek gambling sponsorships and commercial collaborations. This shift is closely related to data transparency and the maturity of the industry ecosystem.
Maurer concluded: Esports has formed a solid foundation of data and knowledge, and the industry is at a critical stage of rapid development. For market participants who are still on the fence, now is the best time to enter this field.
