Published 2025-05-20 13:17
Licensed bookmaker GGBET UA made its way to Kyiv’s Unit.City to host a dynamic panel featuring prominent experts from the esports industry. The session aimed to challenge and dispel common myths about esports that still linger in the public mindset. This engaging conversation was a key highlight of the third edition of SBC Summit Ukraine 2025, a nationwide sports marketing conference. As part of their participation, GGBET UA also unveiled an esports-themed exhibition showcasing rare trophies earned by Ukrainian teams and presenting key milestones in the evolution of esports in Ukraine.
The SBC Summit Ukraine, now in its third iteration, serves as a national platform bridging sports and business, fostering the development of innovative projects. GGBET UA returned once again as the premium sponsor of the event. One of the summit’s standout moments was the panel titled “Ukraine in esports: facts and fakes” — the first expert-led discussion on esports in the history of the summit. It tackled three widespread beliefs: “esports is not a serious industry,” “esports will never be as popular in Ukraine as traditional sports,” and “achieving success in esports is easier than in conventional sports.”
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Panelists shared compelling statistics and personal experiences to challenge these ideas. Yevhen Zolotarov, CEO of NAVI — Ukraine’s most accomplished esports club — noted that modern esports organizations have solid business frameworks and a wide range of monetization options, such as digital goods, offering extra value to sponsors and partners. Vitalii “v1lat” Volochai, legendary caster and co-founder of Maincast, highlighted that NAVI’s appearance in the 2024 CS2 World Championship final was among the top three most-watched sports events, surpassed only by two football matches involving Shakhtar and Dinamo. Meanwhile, Viktor Proniakin, product lead at Esports Charts, pointed out that esports qualifier matches now frequently outperform traditional sports in terms of viewership, attracting 30,000–50,000 Ukrainian-language viewers per event.
Andriy Hryshchenko, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Esports Federation, emphasized a meaningful initiative: using esports to help reintegrate and support soldiers. The federation already works closely with veterans and active-duty personnel, developing ideas proposed by the soldiers themselves and identifying promising areas for growth.
“We have collected assumptions about esports that are widely held, but controversial. This enabled us to facilitate a lively and open discussion. For a long time, esports has had its fans, its system of tournaments, its structure and partnerships, and disciplines such as CS2 and Dota 2, which are now included in the top 10 sports on GGBET UA. This industry unites generations, and we are delighted that we could demonstrate its true scale to SBC Summit Ukraine participants,” – Sergii Mishchenko, CEO of GGBET UA.
Alongside the panel, GGBET UA introduced an esports museum experience where attendees could explore original trophies from Ukrainian teams’ international victories, learn about the local scene’s growth, and see firsthand the impact of esports on today’s sports culture.
A special raffle also took place during SBC Summit Ukraine 2025, where two exclusive CS:GO record books — a detailed account of world records in the iconic title — were given away. The books were created by GGBET in collaboration with Dot Esports, a leading international esports publication.
Written by Jarhead
