GODSENT enters new multiyear sponsorship deal

Esports has been becoming more and more popular as an entertainment option over the last few years. In turn, this has led to more money entering the sport and thus players being able to turn professional, with large prize pools at tournaments as well as sponsorships from brands to help pay the bills. 

It is extremely exciting and encouraging for the sport that GODSENT, the Swedish sports organization, has announced a three-year sponsorship deal with the sports betting brand Betsafe.

According to this deal, Betsafe is now the official and exclusive betting partner for GODSENT, while it is also the headline sponsor for the organization’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive division and team. 

Recently, sponsorship and partnership in esports has become very popular. Partnership in sports and gaming companies offering this kind of sponsorship helps in promoting products and services, increases brand awareness, attracts the attention of potential consumers, thereby increasing the number of its target audience.

This deal marks Betsafe’s first esports brand deal, which shows how esports is slowly becoming a relevant option for betting, as well as a general entertainment option. Betsafe will be focusing on CSGO during this deal, due to the game being very popular on the esports scene, especially with European esports bettors. 

There will also be an emphasis on collaboration between Betsafe and GODSENT, especially around the use of social media for cross promotion, and Betsafe will also look to social media to improve engagement with its betting products. The two groups are also expected to come together to create content to put out on various social media channels during this partnership.

According to Kim Eklund, head of marketing at Betsson Group, the parent company of Betsafe, esports has been gaining a lot of momentum over the last couple of years. The pandemic situation further strengthened its positioning. 

While sporting events have been postponed and canceled all over the world for four to five months earlier this year, esports gained a lot of attention and new followers. In fact, sports leagues and competitions themselves also set up their own esports competitions during this time to provide content to fans and keep them engaged, which added to its appeal as well. 

There is still a lot of potential for esports, which is why betting companies are beginning to show interest in this area. This partnership will also allow GODSENT to have access to a lot of data which will be useful for its preparation for upcoming matches in tournaments, through GODSENT’s partnership with GRID Esports.

The entry of non-typical sponsors into esports is a clear sign that the sector is evolving and adding new viewers and audiences, which these companies want to take advantage of by providing their product in front of these new audiences. 

At the same time, despite being nearly 15 years old, CSGO is still one of the most popular games in the world, with a number of high-profile tournaments taking place every year, and so it made sense that Betway chose a CSGO team as its first entry into the esports world. 

Bettors already saw how many betting operators were offering odds on esports matches earlier this year during lockdown, in the absence of live sports. This could now become the norm, rather than the exception. Esports continues to gain traction and create a foothold in the wider gaming industry, as well as a serious entertainment option for sports fans and casual gaming fans.