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Canadian sportsbook Rivalry.com hinted in a letter to shareholders it may opt to get into the cryptocurrency space.
Rivalry is an esports betting platform made by gamers for gamers that has tapped into other markets in recent years.
In its financial year 2023 report, Rivalry reported gross gaming revenue of CA$35.7m, up nine per cent year-on-year. accounted for 52 per cent of the $423.2m total betting handle for the year.
Steven Salz, Co-Founder and CEO of Rivalry, said: "This time last year I spoke about Rivalry's evolution from a market leader in esports to a diversified company setting the standard for Gen Z betting entertainment broadly. Today, we have a business with revenue distribution across casinos, sports, and esports betting, growing market share in new geographies, increased velocity in core regions, and the strongest customer KPIs in Rivalry’s history."
Rivalry notes that the rise of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology has introduced a new level of speed, access, and security to web-based consumer experiences.
This has long been true of online gambling sites operating internationally or offshore, many of which thrive today thanks to their cryptocurrency offerings. The speed of payouts and enhanced transparency, not to mention the ability to gamble anonymously, has made digital currency options like bitcoin especially attractive. Some online casinos and sportsbooks even operate as "bitcoin only".
The CEO said that the year ahead is "rife with new, innovative product releases" arriving in Q2 and continuing throughout 2024. "We are doubling down on core growth opportunities in sports that resonate with our audience, such as basketball and soccer," stated Salz.
He added: "Further, we are building on a successful casino segment which already represents 50% of our business, enhancing variety, depth, and accessibility, as well as developing new original games that blur the lines between betting and entertainment. We are in the process of additional geographic expansion, and pursuing new licenses to broaden our total addressable market, positioning Rivalry to own the Gen Z gambling opportunity globally.
"Throughout time we've seen gaming and internet culture reshape how consumers engage with technology," Salz pointed out. "That shift is broadening the definition of gambling, where product design is influenced by video games, or it exists fully embedded within social apps like Telegram, where content creators are the new affiliates and much more.
"Rivalry, with a brand steeped in internet culture and living at the intersection of this digital economic renaissance, is well-positioned to access this growth opportunity. There is a high overlap between Gen Z, gamers, gamblers, and a fast-growing audience of over 420 million crypto users worldwide organically aligned with our audience and brand. And we believe that more than half of this audience globally is already wagering with crypto," the letter reads.
"It will be Rivalry’s ability to understand, implement, and adapt to this shift more rapidly than our peers that we expect to create first-mover advantages for us. It is for that reason that our vision is now bolder than ever for what’s possible in the online gambling category. Soon, we will reveal plans for a crypto-enabled product set to enhance alignment between Rivalry and its users, increase network effects, and generally deliver a consumer experience that lives on the internet of 2024," the CEO shared.
