Adam Conway: “BETER’s strategy for next-gen bettor engagement ahead of World Cup 2026”

Adam Conway, General Manager of the Esports Business Unit at BETER, discusses how the company is scaling its ESportsBattle eLeagues portfolio at a pivotal moment ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026. In this interview, he explains how eFootball and other fast-betting formats are designed to fill engagement gaps during live sports downtime and transform them into continuous betting opportunities.

Q: BETER has recently expanded its lineup of eFootball events, at an important time with the FIFA World Cup 2026 approaching. Has this timing been part of your broader business strategy?

Yes, the timing is very deliberate, but it is also the result of a long-term strategy rather than a short-term reaction to the tournament. The World Cup is both a challenge and an exceptional opportunity to reach a broader audience, especially in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

We’ve been scaling our exclusive ESportsBattle eLeagues portfolio for years, covering eFootball, eBasketball, eHockey, and eTennis, and today we deliver up to 550,000 matches annually, enabling operators to maintain engagement far beyond live sports fixtures. The recent expansion of eFootball content, with an additional 4,200+ monthly events focused on key U.S. betting hours, including World Cup–themed tournaments, is designed to ensure continued bettor retention when live broadcasts pause.

What the World Cup does is amplify a structural challenge in the market: downtime. Whether it’s halftime, gaps between fixtures, or rest days, these are the moments when operators traditionally lose players. Our strategy is to transform those gaps into active betting windows through 24/7 fast-paced content such as eFootball.

So yes, the timing aligns with World Cup 2026, but the real objective is longer-term—building a continuous ecosystem that keeps bettors active 24/7/365, not only during peak sporting moments.

Q: BETER’s Esports Unit focuses on eLeagues, especially the eFootball series, and the coverage of esports tournaments worldwide. What has the uptake been for this vertical among traditional sports fans versus esports audiences, and who makes up your core target group?

To start with terminology, eLeagues are structured live, human-player competitions, not AI simulations, in which real people compete within organised league formats. These feature scheduled matches, predefined rule sets, and continuous seasonal cycles, often mirroring real-world sports structures such as standings, fixtures, playoffs, and promotions and relegations.

What we consistently see is that eLeagues content sits at the intersection of both audiences, but the primary growth driver is traditional sports fans.

Esports-native players already understand the format. They are comfortable with fast cycles, short matches, and instant settlement. However, the more significant shift is coming from football bettors who historically engaged only with 90-minute matches.

eFootball mirrors familiar teams, leagues, and narratives, but delivers them in an 8-minute format. That significantly reduces friction and increases participation.

We are not replacing traditional sports betting; we are complementing and extending it, enriching the overall player experience.

So while esports audiences remain important, we see the strongest growth potential among sports-first bettors, who are increasingly evolving into high-frequency users, particularly during major tournaments such as the World Cup.

Q: You recently spoke about capitalising on downtime during major events. Do you think BETER’s portfolio is uniquely suited to ride the wave of excitement around major sports tournaments while still delivering meaningful results for operators and fans?

Absolutely, and I would go further: inactive moments are becoming the primary battleground for engagement.

Major tournaments like the World Cup 2026 create massive spikes in acquisition, but the real challenge is what happens between those spikes. That is where bettors drift, often within minutes.

Our portfolio at BETER is designed specifically to address that. With fast-paced eFootball, we create a continuous layer of football content that operates independently of live fixtures, while still mirroring them in structure, teams, and emotion.

For instance, a bettor watching a match at 8 pm can still be engaged at 8:15 pm, 9 pm, or even the next morning through relevant, high-frequency content.

This is not just about filling gaps; it is about redefining player interaction cycles. Instead of single long sessions, operators can maintain multiple short, high-intensity activity loops per hour, improving retention, LTV, and revenue stability during peak tournaments.

Q: Given the footprint of your eFootball and related products, how strong has adoption been among traditional iGaming operators so far?

Adoption has been very strong, particularly among Tier 1 and regulated operators who understand the value of engagement retention over pure acquisition.

Operators across multiple regulated markets, including the United States, are increasingly integrating fast-betting esports into their main sportsbook offerings rather than treating it as a secondary vertical within the BETER ecosystem. For instance, since 2025, ESportsBattle content has gone live in several U.S. states via bet365’s local domains, including markets like Florida, New Jersey, and Colorado.

What has changed in recent years is the mindset. Operators are no longer asking whether fast-paced esports belongs in sportsbook environments; they are asking how quickly they can integrate it into their core offering.

The combination of scale (about 550,000 annual ESportsBattle events), strict integrity frameworks, and operational reliability, including high uptime and a stable 7.5%+ margin, makes it commercially compelling.

As a result, adoption is no longer experimental. It is becoming structural, particularly in markets where gaps during sports calendars are most pronounced.

Q: Where do you still see room for improvement in BETER’s esports portfolio, and can we expect any further announcements ahead of the World Cup?

We are very focused on continuous evolution rather than one-off launches. Our roadmap is centred on deepening the product experience, increasing event volume, and consistently meeting the ever-changing needs of bettors.

There are three key areas of development.

First, market depth—expanding betting options per match, including more granular in-play markets aligned with modern betting behaviour.

Second, product diversification and localisation, particularly in the United States, where we are preparing fast-paced eLeague disciplines inspired by American football, college basketball, and baseball. This is not just localisation; it is about delivering content that players instinctively understand.

Third, continued scaling of event volume. Last year, we set the benchmark at 500,000 annual events and have already achieved it. With new U.S.-focused disciplines, we expect to further increase total annual output, extending our lead over other providers.

Ahead of the World Cup 2026, we will continue refining our eFootball content, particularly around tournament structure and operator integration. The goal is not simply more content, but smarter, more contextual player experiences aligned with real bettor needs.

The FIFA World Cup is a milestone, but our focus is building a long-term, always-on entertainment ecosystem that extends far beyond it.

Image credit: Unspalsh.com