North American esports powerhouse Evil Geniuses has become the latest organization to affiliate itself with a cryptocurrency-oriented gaming company. It is now linked to Bitcasino.io, the B2C brand by the recently-rebranded Coingaming Group.
The partnership is a “first-of-its-kind,” as it will allow Bitcasino.io’s logo to be displayed on EG players’ jersey sleeves at the start of the Blast Premier Fall Showdown, one of the most prominent Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) events.
Bitcasino Puts Its Mark on Esports
Bitcasino.io is a native crypto casino that accepts digital currencies as its only method of payment. It features over 2,800 games that focus on the traditional casino experience, with options that include slots, roulette, baccarat and live gaming. To give the partnership further significance, Bitcasino.io has teamed up with Evil Genius’ player and content creator Tarik Celik to create a custom challenge course map, which is now available on Steam, a Valve-owned digital marketplace that distributes Counter-Strike.
Bitcasino.io will also garner exposure with other EG esports teams. The organization is represented in several high-profile competitions, including Dota 2, Call of Duty, League of Legends, and Super Smash Bros, to name a few.
The companies will work on collaborative content series across some of these video games, and specifically Dota 2 and Counter-Strike, which seem to draw the biggest crowds when it comes to engagement.
Engaging with Fans in Innovative Ways
Commenting on the partnership, Bitcasino head Kaupo Kangro said, “We love Evil Geniuses’ passion and forward-thinking approach to everything they do. They have been changing the game for more than 20 years, which is why they make the perfect partner for Bitcasino.”
Kangro lauded Evil Geniuses as true pioneers in their industry and said that the organization shared Bitcasino’s values for “fun, fast and fair gaming.”
Evil Geniuses director of corporate partnerships Brian Millman welcomed the partnership and said that EG were trailblazers in the esports industry and were happy to team up with another innovative organization such as Bitcasino.io.
Through both organizations’ combined efforts, Bitcasino and EG would engage with fans in new ways, Millman concluded. In the meantime, partnerships between esports organizations and crypto companies are not entirely new.
Crypto exchange Bybit has signed a string of deals in the esports vertical, including with Denmark’s premier CS:GO organization, Astralis. Earlier this year, another crypto exchange, FTX, grabbed headlines after it offered $210 million to Team SoloMid to rebrand as TSM FTX for the next ten years.
Yolo Group, which owns Bitcasino.io, has established many similar partnerships through its sports betting brand, Sportsbet.io. Most recently, Sportsbet.io signed sponsorship deal with Sao Paulo FC.