iGaming: Accessing the Asian market

October 6, 2022 China Emerging Markets Industry Updates

Due to the pandemic outbreak and restrictions on socializing, recreational activities, and access to land-based casinos, millions of individuals have turned to online entertainment. In this article, sports betting and iGaming platform provider Uplatform shares insights for operators deciding to venture into the Asian Gaming market touching on topics like localization, the popularity of esports, local payment methods, marketing, regulations, and so on.

According to data from e-Conomy, 40 million Singaporeans, Malaysians, Vietnamese, Indonesians, Filipinos, and Thais first betted/gambled online in 2020. This brings the overall number of internet users in the region to more than 400 million.

Localization
As with other regions, success in Asia can only be attained through a partitioned strategy that corresponds to each country’s cultural preferences and legislative leanings. Therefore, knowing your players and giving regionalized content to them is a great strategy to attract them to your website.

Effective localization depends on various factors, such as preferred content and providers, sports, leagues, languages, offering views, and odds formats. For instance, Pachinko is famous in Japan, while Mahjong is popular in China. Generally, live casino games with local live dealers, baccarat, sic-bo, lotteries, roulette, slot machines, and skill-based games with very popular activities such as fishing and hunting are the most popular among gamblers.

As for sports betting, cricket is extremely popular in India, and to meet personal demand, it is essential to offer bets on local matches for bettors who prefer to bet on lower-tier leagues as well as the World Championships. Other popular sports in the region include basketball, UFC, badminton, Muay Thai, and football.

Based on these preferences, Uplatform offers the most extensive sportsbook in the Asian-Pacific market, with over 200 sports available, including Asian championships and amateur leagues (such as the Philippine Collegiate Champions League). A total of 1.5 million global pre-match and live events. In addition, it features odd formats such as Asian handicap, Hong Kong, Indonesian, Malay, and an Asian view of the website.

Another factor that plays a critical role in localization success is language. There are major language differences between countries and regions. To meet local demands, operators must offer versions of their websites in the players’ preferred languages. Bengali, Chinese, Hindi, Hong Kong Cantonese, Bahasa Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Thai are just a few of the more than 65 languages that Uplatform offers language localization in.

Popularity of Esports
With over 50% of Esports revenue coming from Asia, operators are exploring how they can provide bettors with options to engage in their preferred competitions. Bettors on Esports in the region are mostly from the younger demographic and are ready to invest funds to enhance their experiences. 78% of Esports bettors in the region are between the ages of 18 and 25; they constitute the next generation of players. 64% of bettors bet exclusively on Esports, while 24% of Esports bettors occasionally bet on other sports.