Theresa Gaffney
HLTV.org is now a part of the expanding Better Collective portfolio. This past week, the well-known sports betting media firm acquired HLTV.org ApS for a purchase price of €34.5M EUR ($37.9M USD). The platform is best known for its Counterstrike: Global Offensive news, statistics, and discussion forums.
Since the CS:GO scene comprises of a large network of tournaments and no single unifying authority, HLTV’s rankings have long served as a way to know who the best of the best is. If a team manages to end the season in first place on the HLTV rankings, they are likely the top force to be reckoned with and the informed CS:GO community knows it. The website receives over 26.5M visits per month on average, according to a news release.
While it’s altruistic to operate a platform to better inform the wider CS:GO community of news and player performance, revenue needs to come from somewhere. In the case of HLTV prior to acquisition, the site made most of its money on promotion of esports betting. This works well into the Better Collective’s interests as it intends to become a major player in esports betting.
Jesper Søgaard, CEO of Better Collective, echoed this purpose, “The nature of esports betting differs significantly from traditional sports betting and, therefore, it was essential to find the right partner, adding deep know-how and industry knowledge to Better Collective. I am confident that, through this acquisition, we have found the right people who operate some of the best-positioned esport brands in the world.” Martin Rosenbæk, CEO of HLTV.org Aps, said in the same release, “Joining the Better Collective group will support our ambition to remain the preferred CS:GO brand for esports enthusiasts across the world.”
Rosenbæk and his team will continue in daily management roles “for at least three years to ensure the continued strong development of the platforms and communities.”
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