Why is latency important to the success of the esports market?
Are operators paying enough attention to latency and its potential impact on player engagement and retention?
Latency is a key aspect for sports betting, whether it’s esports or traditional sports.
A two-second time advantage can give a significant edge to punters or bookmakers.
Esports differs from traditional sports with intentional delay for managing betting integrity and broadcast quality.
Operators are approaching latency correctly, but delay is not receiving enough attention.
The delay in esports can be 5-10 minutes, which has a huge impact on player engagement.
The current delay level is too high and needs improvement.
Playing matches online without onsite referees increases the risk of cheating.
Esports typically uses delay to prevent unfair advantages, but it detracts from the punter’s gaming experience.
Delaying the data feed in addition to the video stream could make it fairer.
Some gaming titles or genres are more dependent on latency levels due to continuous gameplay.
In lower-tier esports, delay or latency is less problematic since everyone gets their info from the same stream.
Higher-tier esports with official data feeds have a higher risk of integrity issues.
A delay of five minutes can significantly impact the outcome of the game, making it unfair for punters using the stream content to make bets.
Delay and latency affect betting integrity, especially for bettors at an information disadvantage.
Most data providers are making progress in minimizing latency, but delay remains an issue.
AI can process large amounts of data quickly, making it useful in improving data communication speeds.
Operators can improve latency levels by partnering with the right service providers and regulators.
Offline tournaments can remove delays for equal information access.
Organizers of online tournaments can align video stream delay with data feed delay to prevent unfair advantages.
Improvements in latency and delay are necessary for a fair and competitive betting environment.
Operators can still price markets efficiently and enhance the betting experience even with no perceived delay.
Industry-wide changes are needed to create a more equitable and sustainable betting ecosystem.
