Marek Suchar, Managing Director and Cofounder of Oddin.gg – iGaming Interviews

Marek Suchar is the co-founder of Oddin.gg, an esports betting solutions provider established in 2018. With a background in finance and prior experience in strategic roles at global firms such as Citi, he brought a strong foundation in business development and international expansion to the esports industry.

At Oddin.gg, he leads partnership efforts, working closely with iGaming operators to expand and improve their esports offerings. He is also a frequent speaker at industry conferences including SBC, ESI, SiGMA, and ASEAN, offering insights into the growth and regulation of esports betting.

Oddin.gg provides an end-to-end B2B esports betting ecosystem that includes an odds feed, risk management, iFrame, widgets, live data, bet builder, 24/7 content, and marketing tools. The company leverages machine learning and advanced data science to help partners increase profitability. Clients include Betway, Yolo Group, LOOT.BET, Aspire Global, Altenar, and SOFTSWISS.

You began your career in finance, including time at Citi. What motivated your transition from traditional financial services into the esports betting space?

The move from traditional finance to esports betting came from spotting an opportunity—and from my passion for Dota 2 back in the day. My co-founders and I realized that existing sports betting models just didn’t cut it for esports. The games were faster, more complex, and constantly evolving. We knew that to really serve this space properly, we needed a dedicated product built specifically for esports. That’s what led to the founding of Oddin.gg in 2018—our goal was to build a seamless and high-performance esports betting ecosystem, and that’s exactly what we’ve done. Today, we’re recognized as the only provider delivering a true end-to-end esports solution, and that foundation came from asking the right questions early on.

Founding a company in Prague that’s now a global esports betting leader is no small feat. What were some of the early challenges you faced in those first couple of years?

In the beginning, the challenge was clear: prove we could consistently deliver value. We focused on what mattered most—accurate esports odds, effective risk management, and scalable infrastructure like our iFrame. These aren’t exactly flashy features, but they are critical. Our ability to maintain stable margins month after month helped us build long-term trust with partners, starting with Tipsport, Betway, and Sportsbet.io—trust that’s essential in the betting ecosystem. Once we nailed the core offering, we expanded into engagement tools, visualizations, and data—but always with performance at the center. That consistency helped us cut through the noise.

Oddin.gg was recently named the fastest-growing company in Central Europe by Deloitte. What do you attribute this rapid growth to?

It all comes down to doing the hard things right. From day one, we focused on delivering infrastructure that drives real value, starting with our odds feed and risk management, which consistently provide stable margins and growing volumes. Today, on average, our lines operate at 93% efficiency, and clients using our full stack—including risk—see over 10% higher margin than those using the feed alone. That’s a tangible impact and something that’s unheard of in esports betting. Combine that with a team deeply rooted in esports and a tech stack optimized for real-time data, and you get a business that scales fast without compromising performance. It’s not about flashy features and add-ons—it’s about delivering what actually moves the needle for operators.

Esports betting has exploded in recent years—demand for esports data rose 75% year-over-year. What factors are fueling this surge?

On a macro level, we’re in the middle of a generational shift in how younger audiences consume entertainment. If we talk about sports specifically, though, Millennials and Gen Z aren’t waiting for scheduled match days anymore—they want instant, interactive content that mirrors how they engage with streaming, gaming, and social media. Esports fits this model perfectly. It’s fast, it’s immersive, and it invites constant engagement. As a result, some of our partners already rank esports among their top five sports by handle, accounting for 5–15% of total betting volume. And this is just the beginning—we regularly see up to three-figure percentage growth year-over-year in betting activity, even without massive marketing budgets. When you have the right product and pricing, esports doesn’t just scale—it accelerates.

You’ve mentioned that esports bettors place significantly larger bets than those wagering on traditional sports. What do you think drives this premium user behavior?

This audience is different. The average esports bettor is 23 years old—digital native, deeply knowledgeable, and emotionally invested. They don’t just bet casually; they engage because they understand the gameplay, the meta, the storylines. That confidence translates to higher betting frequency and larger average stake sizes. To put it in perspective: average bets on football sit around €5, whereas esports sees €29 on average. This isn’t just a volume gap—it reflects deeper engagement. And when you compare that to sports like baseball, where the average fan is around 50 years old, you see the broader generational divide. Younger bettors expect fast, interactive content and act accordingly. Esports aligns perfectly with that shift—and operators are seeing the value in both engagement and returns.

Your BetBuilder product was crowned “Esports Solution Tool of the Year.” What makes it so innovative and valuable to operators?

BetBuilder is the first tool of its kind to offer truly personalized betting experiences across both esports and eSimulators. Bettors can explore hundreds of thousands of bet combinations within a single match—whether it’s CS2 or eFootball. Behind the scenes, it’s powered by advanced algorithms that automatically calculate precise odds while managing complex correlations across markets. Operators benefit from deeper engagement, higher average stake sizes, and better retention. It’s not a gimmick—it’s a commercially proven tool that’s already delivering double-digit increases in margins for partners who want to differentiate their offering and keep bettors invested from start to finish.

Simulated sports like eFootball and eBasketball are seeing remarkable growth. Do you see these as a natural extension of esports betting or a standalone opportunity?

We treat these electronic simulators—what we call “eSims”—as a distinct category within our 24/7 Fast Betting Content. They cater mostly to sports audiences looking for non-stop action and are especially valuable in regulated markets like Brazil. The betting integrity is guaranteed because these are PvP matches hosted by an ESIC (Esports Integrity Commission) certified third-party partner. That’s a big deal for operators looking to offer volume with confidence.

You’ve predicted that the U.S. will become the top regulated esports betting market by 2026. What trends or developments support that forecast?

We’ve already secured six licenses across North America and are working with brands like ESPNBet and theScore Bet. Regulation takes time, of course, but interest is strong and growing. We’re actively involved in regulatory conversations, helping shape frameworks that recognize the differences in esports betting. U.S. operators want to offer esports but need solutions built for scale, compliance, and uptime. That’s our lane, and we’re doubling down on it. In short, watch this space.

Oddin.gg emphasizes the blend of human expertise—like former pro gamers—with cutting-edge AI and data science. How important is that combination to your success?

It’s at the heart of what we do. Machines do the heavy lifting—processing real-time data, building models, and ensuring speed at scale. But they can’t catch everything. Champion picks, tempo swings, map rotations—those subtleties require human interpretation. That’s where our team of over 100 traders comes in, many of whom are former esports players, as you’ve mentioned. They bring the finer nuance and game sense needed to adjust on the fly. It’s this fusion of machine precision and human instinct that makes our offering so effective, and why our partners trust our lines to deliver, match after match.

How are you using generative AI and large language models internally to enhance your offerings and streamline operations?

It’s worth noting that AI isn’t something we’ve just recently added—it’s been part of our DNA since day one. Our machine learning models are built to handle the fast pace and complexity of esports, processing enormous volumes of real-time and historical in-game data to generate sharp, responsive odds. That’s especially critical in games like Dota 2 or League of Legends, where the gameplay changes minute by minute. On the risk management side, AI helps us detect anomalies in real time, dynamically adjust exposure, and support the trading team when rapid decisions are needed. It’s not just about protection though—it’s about enabling confident growth. These AI capabilities are fully integrated into our wider ecosystem too, from odds feed to BetBuilder to live content, ensuring operators can deliver smarter, faster, and more engaging esports betting experiences across the board.

You’re often on stage at events like SBC and SiGMA. What’s one major misconception you encounter about esports betting when speaking to industry outsiders?

The most common misconception? That esports betting is still niche. It’s not. Viewership numbers rival traditional sports, and 85% of our turnover comes from live esports betting. For some partners, esports already represents 5–15% of their total handle. Another misconception is that you can simply copy-paste a traditional sportsbook setup onto esports. That never works. Esports bettors behave differently—they prefer singles (93% of our bets are singles), they expect speed, and they engage during the match, not just before. If you don’t build for that behavior, you’re going to fall short.

Thank you for the great interview, readers who wish to learn more should visit Oddin.gg.