5 Star iGaming Media meets BETBY’s Head of Sportsbook Product, Kirill Nekrasov, to discuss why chess is emerging as a compelling new vertical for sports betting, how BETBY is leading the charge, and what challenges the industry still needs to overcome.

Over the past few years, chess has undergone a quiet revolution. No longer confined to libraries, classrooms, or niche tournaments, the game has found new life on streaming platforms, social media, and most recently, esports arenas. Yet, despite this growth, one space where chess has been overlooked is sports betting, until now.

BETBY is redefining the intersection of chess and sports betting, pushing the boundaries of how this ancient strategy game is experienced in the modern iGaming landscape. But doing so hasn’t been easy. Let’s explore why, what pain points still exist, and how BETBY is already ahead of the curve.

Chess is Popular, But Still Untapped

There’s no denying chess’s surge in popularity. From the viral success of The Queen’s Gambit to the meteoric rise of chess streamers like Levy Rozman and the global footprint of Magnus Carlsen, chess has captivated new audiences worldwide. According to Chess.com, the platform now boasts over 200 million members, a clear indication that the game’s fanbase is booming.

Yet, when you look at most sportsbooks, chess is treated as an afterthought, if it’s there at all. Even though betting on chess has been a reality for at least 10 years, the few markets available are typically limited to simple outcomes: winner and a few outright options. 

Why? As Kirill Nekrasov, BETBY’s Head of Sportsbook Product, explains, “the biggest issue is that no one has ever seriously treated chess as a proper betting sport before. It’s always been seen as purely intellectual, with thousands of nuances that make market creation incredibly complex. Even cricket doesn’t come close in terms of modeling difficulty.”

The Pain Points

The main barriers to integrating chess into mainstream betting can be broken down into three categories:

1. User Perception

Chess has traditionally been seen as a cerebral pursuit, not a spectator sport made for betting. Convincing operators — and more importantly, bettors — that chess belongs alongside football, basketball, or tennis requires a mindset shift.

As Nekrasov points out, “finding users who would actually be interested in this kind of content has always been a challenge. But the esports crossover is changing that.”

2. Data Reliability and Speed

Live betting requires reliable, real-time data feeds. For chess, that’s been a sticking point. Many tournaments have intentional delays in data transmission to prevent cheating, making live betting virtually impossible for operators.

“There are quite a few challenges in sourcing data,” says Nekrasov. “Obtaining live data with minimal delay is tough, especially from top-level tournaments.”

3. In-Play Betting Complexity

Chess still carries the perception of being slow, technical, but formats like blitz, rapid, and fischer random have made the game faster, more intense, and perfectly suited for live betting.

The real challenge lies in building dynamic, reliable in-play markets that can react to those rapid moments. Unlike sports where scoring events follow a rhythm, chess can shift in an instant, making live market creation extremely complex. That’s why operators have avoided in-play chess betting.

Beyond Outright Winners

These combined challenges kept chess outside of sportsbook offerings, until BETBY started changing the narrative. Our team spent the past six months addressing these questions head-on, and the result is an upgraded chess portfolio that goes far beyond the basic markets seen elsewhere.

Today, bettors on BETBY-powered sportsbooks can engage with: First Move Prediction, First Piece Captured, Number of Checks in a Game, Castlings Count, Pawn Promotion Markets, En Passant Occurrence, Stalemate Outcomes, and even Timing of Critical Events, such as whether a checkmate will occur before a set move number

This market depth brings chess betting closer to what fans of football or tennis expect: dynamic, event-driven wagering that keeps users engaged throughout the match.

“By expanding our market depth and introducing innovative formats, we’re giving our partners and players a completely new way to engage with chess,” says Nekrasov.

A Defining Moment for Chess Betting

That said, the timing couldn’t be better. Chess’s inclusion in the 2025 Esports World Cup marks a turning point for the game’s place in competitive entertainment and, of course, betting.

Magnus Carlsen, five-time world champion and BETBY’s global brand ambassador, will represent Team Liquid at the event. His presence brings credibility and global recognition to the event, blurring the lines between chess, esports, and betting even further.

“With chess officially included in the Esports World Cup, we see a natural convergence of two verticals where BETBY is already strong: esports and chess,” explains Nekrasov.

The esports format also addresses the perception problem. Younger, digitally native audiences already accustomed to betting on CS2, Dota 2, or League of Legends are more likely to embrace chess within the same betting ecosystem.

BETBY’s Exclusive TCEC Betting Offering

Another space where BETBY is driving innovation is AI-based chess competitions. The Top Chess Engine Championship (TCEC), a prestigious tournament presenting advanced chess engines playing against each other, is now part of BETBY’s exclusive betting portfolio.

Why does this matter?

Firstly, AI tournaments have fixed schedules and no human cheating concerns, making live data transmission faster and more reliable. Secondly, AI-vs-AI matches often feature unexpected, aggressive plays, which is ideal to increase engagement.

“It opens up a completely new betting experience. These AI-vs-AI matches produce highly competitive, unpredictable games that challenge even the most experienced bettors. For us, it’s the perfect testing ground to innovate,” Nekrasov explains.

BETBY’s vision is clear: chess betting is way more than just grandmasters playing classical formats. It’s about variety, innovation, and catering to both traditional and esports audiences.

The Road Ahead

BETBY’s current chess offering covers around 20 tournaments per month, totaling more than 400 matches. With expanded markets, traditional and AI competitions, and esports integrations, we aim to make chess a permanent fixture in sportsbooks worldwide.

But there’s more to come. According to Nekrasov, the next frontier includes:

• Commercial tournaments designed for betting: Launching new chess competitions with formats tailored to live betting dynamics.
  
• Combining chess and esports communities: Merging audiences to drive greater adoption of chess within betting ecosystems.
  
• Simplified, engaging formats: Making chess events easier for users to follow and bet on, similar to what rapid chess and blitz tournaments have already achieved.

A Perfect Match in the Making

Chess’s growth over the past decade has been remarkable. But its true potential as a betting vertical is only now being realized, thanks to suppliers like BETBY pushing boundaries, introducing innovative markets, and reimagining how chess fits into modern sportsbooks.

By addressing historical pain points around perception, data, and complexity, BETBY is redefining chess betting not as a niche sport, but as a core product no sportsbook can afford to overlook.

As chess steps onto the esports stage at the 2025 World Cup, backed by iconic players like Magnus Carlsen and powered by BETBY’s cutting-edge technology, one thing is clear: the future of chess betting is only getting started.