Cross-Marketing in Gambling: Promotion of Casinos and eSports

Modern technologies have practically erased the boundaries between the terms “cyber competitions” and “online games for money”. Joint marketing has played an important role in bringing these different areas closer together.

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Online Games and eSports: About the Terms

Gambling continues to be one of the largest and most profitable industries on the Internet. This is a unifying concept for any type of entertainment for money.

Professionals from the Statista independent agency claim that by the beginning of 2026, the industry’s volume will reach $107.7 billion, and by 2029, the sum will increase to $133 billion. The projected annual growth rate of the market is 5.42%.

The eSports sector is a comprehensive name for computer game competitions. Niche athletes participate in both individual and team championships, which can last up to 20 days.

The sphere has grown so much that it was recognised as an official sport at the 2021 Olympics. According to Newzoo, its audience exceeds 577 million people, of which 474 million are engaged fans. By the end of 2025, the industry’s total turnover will reach $1.8 billion.

Key Differences in the Segments

Despite a large number of contact points, there is still a striking contrast between online games and cybersport.

Age of Users

People from 18 to 39 prevail among entertainment sites visitors. Moreover, 47% of clients belong to the age group of 20–29 years.

Estimated distribution of customers by gender (according to GeoPoll research):

• 61% — men;
• 39% — women.

70% of the eSports audience is young people under 34. And if in casinos, the shares of male and female players tend to be equal, in cyber competitions, the overwhelming majority of athletes and spectators are men. They account for about 74% of traffic in the English-speaking segment and 92% in Russian-speaking regions.

Level of Social Interaction

The structure of eSports is built on the principle of competition, so it initially assumes the presence of a large community, from coaches and sports teams to their fans or casual viewers.

Mass events are not typical for the online casino vertical. The situation began to change only in recent years when the market discovered a new promotion tool — streaming platforms.

Mechanics vs. Strategy

Most of the products presented in the iGaming segment are solutions based on a random number generator. This model makes the outcome of sessions unpredictable.

The inability to influence the result is one of the key factors in attracting and retaining customers.

In the eSports niche, the main emphasis is on the user's skill. Like athletes in classical disciplines, participants train a lot to improve their skills.

Legal Compliance and Control

In gambling, there is a global trend towards tightening regulations. For example, in most jurisdictions, operators face restrictions on many types of promotion:

• direct advertising of entertainment products and services;
• marketing via traditional media, including radio and television broadcasting;
• sponsorship activities;
• participation of minors in promotional programs, etc.

Since eSports is equated with traditional disciplines, the regulation in this category is less strict. Entrepreneurs have access to direct advertising on TV and engaging adolescents in the niche.

Cross-Marketing: the Intersection Point of These 2 Worlds

This is an innovative tool for mutual promotion of non-competing brands.

Companies participating in such a program can conduct various joint promotions, form unified prize funds for clients, provide cashback, etc. This is a convenient solution for the eSports and iGaming verticals since both of them have a lot of contact points.

Let us consider the key ones:

Gamification

It is one of the most striking examples of how the online casino industry has adopted the experience of cyber tournaments.

The list of the most popular retention tools includes:

• leaderboards;
• team and individual competitions;
• multiplayer contests.

Each of the strategies contributes to a significant increase in conversion and provides customers with a unique experience.

Social Interaction

Live casinos demonstrate the best results in this area. Visitors to such platforms have an opportunity to immerse themselves in an atmosphere that is as close as possible to multiplayer games.

Moreover, participants can gain both the experience of competition and impressions from various partner collaborations.

In-Game Rewards

This phenomenon is known in eSports as character levelling, achievements for completing difficult tasks, etc.

A similar strategy is gaining popularity in the online casino niche where, instead of a cash reward, gamblers receive various modifiers that encourage them to continue placing bets:

• rating points;
• VIP access to special functions and rounds;
• free spins;
• increased odds;
• multiplayer tournaments, etc.

Content Created by Users

The eSports community is actively engaged in the development of industry products, for example:

• Twitch streams;
• news reports;
• YouTube videos with skill-building instructions.

In the online casino segment, this is a relatively new direction that is just gaining momentum.

According to Bloomberg, in January 2019, broadcasts of slot games on Twitch attracted an average of 9,000 viewers. By August 2022, this figure had grown to 66,000.

By mid-2023, online casino streams accounted for 2.7% of the total number of hours of coverage on the platform. The leader was the user Kick Roshtein, who generated almost 14 million live views.

Cross-Marketing Tools

Various intersections between iGaming and eSports allow enterprises to form strategies and use many advertising technologies and services:

1. Joint promotions. These can be exclusive promo codes, free spins, or bets from the entertainment location. The goal of such a program is to attract the audience of an affiliate company to the digital resource.
2. Team and tournament sponsorship. An online casino can act as an organiser or investor in eSports events. This helps to increase brand awareness and audience loyalty.
3. Integration of betting platforms. Fans of cyber competitions play slots quite actively in between big matches. The main condition is that all niche products must be located on one site and have easy navigation.
4. Collaborations with streamers. Operators can sponsor famous influencers or offer viewers various rewards. These actions help to create a more trusting and open atmosphere between suppliers and consumers.
5. Joint content. The category includes educational videos, interviews, and news round-ups with a mention of the partner firm. This is a proven and quite effective option for native non-intrusive advertising.

Advantages of Cross-Promotion in Gambling

Considering the many regulatory restrictions on casino entertainment advertising, project owners are constantly looking for new traffic sources.

Cross-affiliate ads have become an excellent alternative to classic marketing strategies.

The solution’s key benefits include:

1. Financial savings. Promotional expense is shared between brands participating in the program, and in some cases, firms can do it for free.
2. Expansion of the audience. In the casino and eSports sectors, there is no direct competition. They have fairly similar clients who like gambling entertainment and new experiences. Such people can easily be interested in solutions related to a particular category.
3. Instant results. Cross-promotion shows good statistics. These achievements can be explained by the most relevant audience ready to receive the offered services and impressions.
4. Enhancing the reputation. Collaboration with large niche leaders and influencers is one of the main confirmations of the product’s quality. And if an enterprise works with several famous people at once, its recognition increases many times over.

The Main Things about Cross-Marketing in iGaming and eSports

Entertainment for money represents one of the largest commercial sectors, and cyber contests are rapidly gaining popularity. The borders between them are gradually shifting, which is largely due to joint advertising.

Top tools for cross-promotion of eSports and casino solutions:

• Sponsorship. A common example of partner integration is when a gambling brand puts its logo on athletes' uniforms and fully finances a tournament or a separate team.
• Collaboration with streamers. In 2023, 2.7% of the total number of viewing hours on the Twitch platform was accounted for by broadcasts from online casinos.
• Cross-marketing and bonuses. These can be discounts on bets, free spins, cashback, etc. Any joint activities help to combine the audience and boost traffic for each affiliate.

It is also possible to order the following useful products:

• turnkey platforms;
• franchise programs;
• scripts;
• solutions for land-based business;
• lotteries, and much more.

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