Online operator Puntt has launched a new esports player betting platform, allowing users to wager on individual competitors, which it claims to be the first offering of its kind in the industry.
Available to UK customers over the age of 18, Puntt will initially offer a range of betting options on Counter-Strike:Global Offensive (CS:GO) players in the ESL Pro League, with Dota2 and other major titles to follow later in 2020.
Puntt will offer odds on all tournaments in the CS:GO Major Championships, with users also able to wager on certain match performance stats such as most kills.
The site will run as a pool betting platform, with customers able to bet against each other, rather than taking odds set by the operator. Puntt said that it will not limit or exclude players when they win, while it will also donate a percentage of its turnover to charity
“Puntt has been built to fill a glaring gap in the esports betting space – offering a fair and exciting betting product through which you back individual players as opposed to betting fixed odds on teams alone,” Puntt chief executive Phill Adams said.
“After 18 months of work to bring Puntt to market, and despite the current difficult circumstances, we’re incredibly excited, that we will be launching in the UK during the ESL Pro League – Season 11.
“For Puntt, this is just the start, with more player betting markets and more esports to be introduced over the coming months.”
The launch of Puntt marks the latest development in the esports betting market, at a time when the traditional sports wagering market is suffering as a result of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.
Today (26 March), EveryMatrix announced that it had enhanced its OddsMatrix service to help customers move into the esports betting market during the current sports shut-down.
The Formula 1 motor-racing series also launched a new esports competition in place of the races that have been postponed as a result of the outbreak, while esports betting provider GameScorekeeper rolled out a new service to allow operators to lower the risk of taking bets on events where the majority of participants are under 18.
In addition, the Nevada Gaming Control Board has given its approval for licensed operators in the state to begin accepting bets on esports competition, the ESL Pro League Season.
