*(An interface of BitSport’s gaming platform. Photo/BitSport)*

eSport platform BitSport is giving gamers around the world opportunities to earn by playing their favorite games. The company is aiming to flip the industry by giving gamers real rewards using tokens.

“When you look at the present system, gamers don’t get any sort of incentivization besides organized tournaments,” Victor Ogunshina, the co-founder and COO at BitSport says.

He adds that the lack of real-world incentivization from the makers of popular games is a hindrance to the growth of the gaming industry. Most current games offer insignificant points, which BitSport wants to turn around.

The startup, which was formed in 2018, now seeks to reward gamers and gaming enthusiasts using tokens. Ogunshina says this model of payment will help gamers earn just like professional athletes.

“Instead of playing without earning anything, we actually found a model where people can play and also earn,” Ogunshina told Nodo News in an interview.

How it Works

(Victor Ogunshina, co-founder of BitSport, spekas in interview with NODO News in Lagos, Nigeria / Photo by NODO News)

On BitSport, gamers and enthusiasts can browse through multiple Open Challenges created by other players. Players can also create and send Challenges amongst themselves and declare a wager. Once you register, you can either create or accept PVP (Player vs Player) challenges. Gamers can also join BitSport live events where two gaming influencers connect and their audience can stake on them in-situ or join tournaments, according to the site.

The PVP Challenge can feature games such as FIFA, Mortal Kombat, Counter Strike Go, PUBG and Call of Duty. Gamers can claim their winnings on BitSport through the use of tokens. Gamers can also list challenges as open challenge for other gamers to accept.

“If I create the challenge of, let’s say, $10, we (BitSport) charge 10%. The winner takes 90%,” he explains.

BitSport allows gamers to withdraw their earnings in US dollar-pegged stablecoins such as USDT and BUSD, or through PayPal. So far, over 500,000 USDT, BUSD and PayPal transactions have been processed in withdrawals, he said.

Their funds are escrowed until the end of the game when the winner gets 90% and BitSport takes 10%.

BitSport is planning to roll out its flagship token “$BITP.” The token has yet to be listed, but it is under private sale at $0.06, Ogunshina says.

BitSport has a gaming community of 21,000 gamers spread across the world.

Rolling Out Web3 Games For All

(Charles Adenuoye, co-founder of BitSport / Photo by NODO News)

The growth of mobile phone access in Africa is fueling the potential of mobile and web-based games. Africa and the Middle East are set to grow mobile gaming, according to Newzoo’s Global Games Market Report 2023,

“Regions populated with mobile-first growth markets will see modest growth this year,” the report denotes. “With the Middle East and Africa growing by 6.6% to $6.8 billion and Latin America growing by 3.4% to $8.4 billion in 2022, console’s downturn hardly impacted these mobile-first markets.”

Ogunshina states that BitSport’s future will lie in creating HTML5 and mobile games backed by Web3 technologies. He adds that gamers will be able to access the games on feature phones, Android, iPhone, tablet, or PC.

The company recently launched BitPool, an HTML5 platform, where you can play 8 Ball Pool. 8 Ball Pool developed by MiniClip has been downloaded over one billion times. The startup says it will also introduce HTML5-based Chess and Scrabble games.

“We want to roll out the game that is not going to be difficult for even the kids in the slums of India or Africa to be able to access,” Ogunshina states. “We don’t want to roll out the game that you need a console worth thousands of dollars.”

Their idea hedged on the fact that feature phones dominate emerging markets. In addition, it is an innovative way to introduce the masses to Web3. BitSport’s token will in future be used to control most of the features on the DApp which includes live staking, multiplayer mode on all games, NFT marketplace sales, and voting.

In addition, BitSport’s token will in future be used to pay for airtime. This will cement the use of Web3 tokens in real-world scenarios.

BitSport now targets to acquire 200,000 users by the end of the year, while launching more games.

-Edited by Faustine Ngila