GG.BET and BLAST Premier: a perfect match in esports betting

In the rapidly evolving world of esports, a strategic partnership between leading market players is about more than just driving profit, it’s about creating the necessary conditions for the industry to develop and grow. In 2024, the one-year global partnership between tournament operator BLAST Premier and betting brand GG.BET has done just that.

BLAST Premier is one of the most prestigious leagues in Counter-Strike 2. It includes seven major annual events offering a total of $2.5m in prize money. The league is streamed in 154 countries and 25 languages. GG.BET is an endemic brand in the esports betting sphere that has been successfully consolidating its position since 2016 through collaboration with top teams and community engagement.

GG.BET stands out for its special approach to tournament partnerships. The brand runs unique events and activities that enhance the atmosphere in the arena, as well as creating exclusive content that gives viewers a real taste of the action. GG.BET takes the viewing experience to another level through its product: a gamified betting platform with a wide range of esports options.

Both brands place special emphasis on creating high-quality content, providing an engaging experience for the community and actively contributing to the growth of the esports industry as a whole. It is these overlapping interests that prompted the two companies to join forces and spend 2024 raising the profile of the industry together.

Tournaments and communication

Esports tournaments are major platforms for brand promotion. For bookmakers, this means an opportunity to attract new audiences and strengthen their market position by organically integrating themselves in esports fans’ areas of interest. Collaborating with tournament operators gives bookmakers the opportunity to make deep connections with fans on an emotional level through their association with adrenaline-fuelled matches, activities in the arena and unique content. GG.BET uses this approach to strengthen loyalty and trust among its target audience and thus consolidate the brand’s position in a competitive market. This allows the brand to attract new users, as well as increasing customer retention.

Here are the online and offline brand manifestations that have helped GG.BET achieve its goals in 2024:

Offline activations: interaction with fans

Offline activations play a key role in the communication aspect of the partnership. They allow the GG.BET brand to engage directly with the esports community at BLAST Premier tournaments. During the two key tournaments of the year – the Spring Final in London and World Final in Singapore – GG.BET set up a ‘GG.BOOTH’ with special branded zones where arena guests could have fun and get creative. These were designed to function as transforming stands. 

They were used to host vibrant photo zones and signing sessions with NAVI and Team Vitality, as well as a creative zone where guests could design their own posters to support their favourite teams. The variety on offer and the addition of attention-grabbing merchandise drew thousands of fans and influencers to the GG.BOOTH. This not only strengthened the GG.BET brand in the eyes of its target audience, but also stimulated the creation of a significant volume of user content, which increased the viral effect of brand manifestations.

GG.BET also runs events for the community outside the arena. In June 2024, the brand organised a Community Watch for NAVI fans in their native Kyiv. They gathered for a party at the team’s office to watch NAVI games at Spring Final 2024 on the big screen. GG.BET went so far as to supplement this with a televised linkup from the OVO Arena Wembley so the Ukrainian fans could feel even more involved in the big event. 

Online campaigns: engagement and brand awareness

The partnership opened up wider online opportunities to interact with audiences around the globe. GG.BET successfully integrated its brand into tournament broadcasts on BLAST.TV, Twitch and YouTube, while also adapting to suit local streaming platforms. There were a variety of formats in which the brand could appear: banners, pop-ups and video ads, all organically complementing the matches shown. GG.BET demonstrated real innovation in its integration of predictions and betting odds on the match in progress, making broadcasts both exciting to watch and interactive. Rather than simply watching the action, fans could discuss predictions in the chat and engage with what was happening on the screen.

There was plenty of talk surrounding BLAST PICKS – a series of predictions from BLAST Premier and GG.BET experts on the outcomes of the tournament’s top matches. Viewers got involved in debates and discussions regarding controversial predictions, significantly increasing audience engagement and activity. As a result, this content provoked an emotional response and became a powerful tool for encouraging activity around the brand. 

Insights and impact of sponsorship on product

BLAST Premier uses a content-driven approach that has seen tournament reach increase steadily year on year, reflecting growing audience interest. On average, the number of views per tournament reaches 25.5 million, with 5.6 million unique viewers. A record-breaking 40.1 million views and 8.7 million unique viewers were recorded during Fall Final 2024. Events that ran on a tight schedule with minimal interruptions – such as the Fall Groups, Fall Showdown and Fall Final – were particularly effective in terms of audience engagement. The two-week break meant viewers could be continuously immersed in the tense battles between the best players on the S-tier scene.

BLAST Premier stands out among its competitors for its unique focus on creating rich media coverage with a constant emphasis on content quality. Social media campaigns generate 7.3 million impressions per tournament. The interactive format of GG.BET Picks, which garnered particular interest from the audience, generated an average of 214 million impressions. Giveaways never fail to generate high levels of interest and attracted a total of around four million unique users.

Tournament sponsorship helps the operator significantly increase retention. During BLAST Premier tournaments, the user bounce rate tends toward zero. CTA tools such as LIVE-ODDS during match broadcasts have the direct effect of increasing bookmaker profit. The LIVE-ODDS feature generated nine million impressions per tournament.

The analysis of GG.BET betting trends on Counter-Strike 2 for 2024 shows that at tournaments where the brand was a sponsor of the broadcast and participated in offline activations at arenas, the average daily number and volume of bets were higher compared to tournaments without such support. For example, during the Spring Final 2024, the daily number of bets exceeded that of IEM Rio 2024 by 19%, and the bet amounts were higher by 12%.

An analysis of the campaign results confirms that the GG.BET–BLAST Premier partnership was the right move, based as it was on an intersection of strategic market positioning. By combining innovative approaches, deep engagement in the esports community and the drive to create new experiences for fans, these two brands have established a solid foundation for mutually beneficial cooperation. It is an alliance that can rightfully be considered one of the key developments in esports betting in 2024.