Gimli is a young startup based on Ethereum that aims to provide a safe and transparent platform to bet on esports. Esports fans - a segment that is anything but anecdotal with some studies suggesting that up to 500 million users watch esports tournaments each month - currently lack reliable platforms to bet on their favorite streamers. For esports professionals, this is an incredible missed opportunity: sports betting is already a huge market and esports fans should feel equally attracted to betting online. Gimli wants to offer a reliable platform to bet online using blockchain tech that ensures a transparent and user-friendly experience for both users and streamers. We have spoken with their co-founders to find out how they intend to emerge as a reference in the world of esports.

Top Starcraft 2, Counter Strike Players behind Gimli

The Chicago Tribune recently mentioned that Gimli is, “led by eSports former world champions, the platform already supports millions of gamers who are playing League of Legends, Call of Duty, CS:GO, Overwatch, StarCraft and a host of other games.”

Gimli is currently only available on pre-alpha and will accelerate their development after their ICO in September, but they are already building strong partnerships with esports experts. Julien Charrel, Gimli’s co-founder, explains, “contrary to most startups that have failed to attack the esports market, we focus first on gathering the support of esports professionals. We pride ourselves in having one of the biggest Counter Strike players as advisor for Gimli along with a number of other experts.”

This includes Thud, who created the webTV O’Gaming (almost 75M views) about Starcraft 2. Also part of the team are ShahZam from Pakistan, and seang@res from the USA, two of the world’s top Counter Strike: Global Offensive players.

Will this approach help them come out on top in a sector that could grow to $10 billion by 2020?

A Decentralized Approach to Esports Betting Makes It Secure and Reliable for Users

Although there is undeniably a strong interest in the esports community for betting platforms - an opportunity seen by startup Unikrn, backed by Marc Cuban and Ashton Kutcher - the existing platforms present some very strong drawbacks. Transactions are opaque and platforms do not disclose their formulas, making it very hard for betters and streamers to always understand their returns.

We asked Sean Gares, a CS:GO player with the Misfits, for his opinion on the current platforms: “In Counter Strike, there’s a huge gambling phenomenon around skins right now - you can bet on them and then marketplaces trade them for bitcoin; but no one is overseeing any of it and a lot of them have been outed because of their misbehaviors. But platforms like that sponsor streamers heavily so they remain in existence. I would personally not be sponsored by such platforms unless I’m 100% certain of how they work.”

Gares commented: “I was very interested in Gimli’s approach when I discovered about them in the cryptocurrency subreddit. They basically give exclusive rights to the streamers on how to conduct a fair bet. For instance, the algorithm behind each bet gives a bigger share to the betters who come early, as they take on a lot more risk. I’ve never seen something like that before.”

In addition, as stated in their White Paper Gimli will be compliant with the laws of each country it operates in and obtain proper licenses when necessary. “Betting has a shady reputation in the world of esports, but nothing can prevent it from spreading. Players simply want a clear and transparent platform. That’s what Gimli does. Because we have esports professionals backing our project, it gives us a lot more legitimacy and facilitates the access to betting licenses in several countries,” Gimli’s co-founder Charrel said.

Gimli Provides Streamers with New Growth Opportunities

In addition to providing reliable and transparent transactions, GIMs can be used as new revenue sources for esports streamers. In Gimli’s source code, each streamer gets a portion of GIMs placed in bets according to a ratio that is publicly disclosed and which both streamers and users know in advance.

This new source of revenue is particularly interesting for streamers. According to Gimli’s White Paper, current revenue sources for streamers are primarily ads on Twitch and sponsoring. Ads are yielding diminishing returns as more and more users use adblockers, and sponsoring opportunities are difficult to find for new players.

“Having a bigger and bigger audience is key for esports streamers. The betting system has to be as simple and transparent as possible. Votes, donations, etc, are retention techniques that can be very useful for streamers,” explains Charrel. That’s why they hope GIM’s will enable players’ fans to bet on certain games, vote for certain streamers or crowdfund players. This will help streamers to grow with the support of their dedicated fanbase.

When we asked Sean Gares, he wasn’t even aware that Gimli could provide him with a new revenue stream! He did, however, insist on the fact that streamers need to be transparent with their community: “It’s very important for games like CS. I don’t know my followers like friends but I spend a lot of times with them each week. You viewers have a lot of trust and faith in you.”

Streamers will have a very exclusive opportunity to purchase GIM tokens during Gimli’s ICO in September.

To become leader of the esports betting world, Gimli will need widespread user adoption. The field is open for now, but strongly backed actors like Unikrn aren’t far behind. Gaining the support of the esports community is essential to Gimli’s success. Luckily, “the esports betting market is more or less untapped. We think we can get a large market share,” assured Charrel.

What’s more, being based on Ethereum, Gimli also has to bet on (pun intended!) a wider adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. Gares remains hopeful though: “It’s an obstacle indeed, but esports players generally have been good with accepting new technologies.”