Is Betting on eSports Big Business?

Playing video games competitively has been an option since the first multiplayer games were available on consoles. This goes back over 20 years but the multiplayer, competitive video gaming scene is much different now to how it was in 2000. Gone are the days of having to have the person you are playing with sat in the same room and it is possible to play a game with groups of people from around the world. This led to the creation of eSports but what is it and is betting on eSports big business?

What is eSports?

Electronic sports, known as eSports, refers to the competitive level of online gaming. Professional players come up against each other in regulated tournaments where there is big money for the winner. Events are screened live around the world, and it is possible to attend eSports tournaments in person, as the major events are staged in arenas around the world. The cash prizes for the biggest competitions can reach into the millions of dollars and being a professional eSports player is just as lucrative as being at the top of any other sport. Some of the popular eSports events include the Free Fire World Series, League of Legends World Championship, PUBG Mobile Global Championship, and The International Dota 2 Championships.

eSports is Booming

The Esports market is bigger than ever before and in 2021, the global market size of eSports was over $1.2 billion. This is expected to rise to over $3.5 billion come 2028 and there is no sign of the eSports industry slowing down. If we take the League of Legends finals match of 2021, the match had an average audience of over 30 million people and there were more than 73 million concurrent viewers, which is incredible. It is believed the eSports industry created more revenue than the UEFA Champions League in 2022, which is tremendous.

Betting on eSports

Such is the popularity of eSports; online gambling companies have started to offer comprehensive eSports betting markets. If we look specifically at gambling websites, online slot games are the most popular type of game for online casinos whereas soccer betting is the most popular sport in the world for sportsbooks. However, that could be about to change with the rise of eSports betting. If the eSports industry is generating more revenue than the Champions League, this could easily transform into greater eSports betting revenue for gambling companies. All the major online sports betting brands now offer eSports betting markets because it has become such a big earner. The choice of betting markets is continuing to expand, and eSports live streaming has become an integral part of the online eSports betting experience. In-play betting is an exciting form of eSports gambling and having access to live streaming enhances the in-play betting experience.

eSports is growing into a hugely lucrative industry, and this is spilling into online gambling. As with any popular competitive event, people want to have a wager on the action and betting on eSports has become big business.