A group of mostly 20-and 30-somethings crowd into a ballroom last weekend at Atlantic City's Hard Rock Hotel & Casino for an inaugural wagered Madden event, a sign of how esports can change a venue's demographic.
More than 290 gamers competed in a Madden tournament held at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, N.J., this past weekend. The two-day tournament marked the first skill-based esports betting event in the U.S., as participants were able to place legal bets on themselves to win their 1-on-1 matches against their opponents.
Bets were placed through LANDuel, the skill-based wagering site owned by Esports Entertainment Group (EEG). Each gamer received a complimentary $25 in their LANDuel account to use for bets. The tournament also had a $9,000 prize pool, with competitive Madden player Jaybird winning the first-place prize of $3,600.
“This is a demographic that casinos covet,” says EEG CEO Grant Johnson. “They’re not currently getting this demographic, and part of the reason is the casinos don’t have a product that the younger gamer wants to play. There’s revenue off the rake of each of the wagers, but the bigger economic picture is when these people come into your place to game, they’re going to buy food, going to stay, maybe see a show, buy a drink.”
According to Johnson, 70% of gamers are between 21 and 35 years old, and the demographic has an average income of $86,000. Everyone at the Madden event was given a Hard Rock Wild Card rewards card, allowing them to earn rewards for their other transactions in the building. Hard Rock Atlantic City plans to add a permanent space to host esports betting events, while Johnson says he’s received interest from nearby casino operators Penn, Caesars, Borgata, and Harrah’s.
“We’ll be able to show the casino the spend of every single one of these people because they’re getting a Wild Card,” Johnson says. “The additional revenue of having hundreds of 20-to-30-year-olds in your facility who have a lifetime value of 30-40 years that they’ll be able to do these types of things—this is really the economic story for these casinos, and that’s why the Hard Rock was very interested.”
The inaugural Madden betting event was held in a ballroom one floor above Hard Rock’s casino, and although LANDuel generally allows 18-year-olds to wager, the state of New Jersey and Atlantic City’s Hard Rock required the participants to be 21 or above. Either way, the majority of the entrants were in their 20s and 30s.
As a skill-based gaming product, LANDuel could be offered in 41 states without requiring a gambling license. In January, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement granted Esports Entertainment Group an online esports gambling license, meaning prop bets and odds-based wagering is a likely next evolution for EEG.
“LANDuel as it sits today doesn’t require a gambling license,’’ Johnson says. “But let’s say two guys are playing, and there’s a leaderboard with odds on it, and I as an individual could bet on amateur play. That will only be allowed inside a casino, inside a licensed environment. But that is coming, it’s probably an 18-month-out product.’’
The LANDuel platform needs just a few games to analyze a user’s performance and set them up to play against gamers of similar skill levels. In addition to Madden, the company sees LANDuel hosting skill-based wagering events for other 1-on-1 based sports games such as Madden, NHL, NBA 2K, FIFA and fighting games.
This is a demographic that casinos covet. They’re not currently getting this demographic, and part of the reason is the casinos don’t have a product that the younger gamer wants to play.
EEG CEO Grant Johnson
EEG embraces its gambling ambitions—after all, the company’s Nasdaq stock symbol is GMBL. The company’s sports team partners include the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Los Angeles Chargers, New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers and MLS club Philadelphia Union.
“After this event, we will be going back to the pro teams with data and say you want to be involved in these events,” Johnson says. “Whether it’s a pro team sponsored event in Atlantic City or New Jersey or any other jurisdictions that have large casinos. Or does the team itself want to have a Madden event pregame? The NFL I believe, is going to get behind a Madden league, just like the NBA got behind the 2K league. It’s coming.”
Photo credits: Esports Entertainment Group (ballroom)
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