The sports betting is the industry that grows every year, and it is impossible to predict the growth of this new sports betting discipline, as eSports are the “new big thing”, because many people who grew up on video games are turning 18 (or 21) and they are slowly becoming eligible to place wagers.
eSports is one of the fastest-growing betting categories in the online gambling industry. As eSports betting is close to $10 billion in total wagers in 2020.
It is not difficult to predict how much will earn promoters. Media for TV rights, and how big revenue will have sponsors and players.
Those kids didn’t watch the Super Bowl, or the NBA Finals, as they played video games in their rooms. And they think that Dota 2 or League of Legends are more important titles than any other sport.
How did it begin?
We already wrote that eSports came out of nowhere and took the industry by surprise. Some of the most popular eSports games have their own ecosystem and use in-game aesthetics, called skins, which aesthetics fans (bettors) started to use for gambling purposes.
Back then, all skin gambling sites operated illegally and without any licenses. Sadly, in that period, many underage kids were allowed to gamble… And after many scandals and several lawsuits, skin betting was put under control at the end of 2016.
But this situation with unregulated skin betting showed the gambling operators the potential of eSports, and today eSports betting is one of the most exciting categories in the gambling industry.
eSports gives bettors countless opportunities and unlimited possibilities to create unique bets and betting markets.
Plus, the fact that new games are being constantly released… It is clear where the future of sports betting will be.
The Current Situation on eSports Market
At the moment, eSport bettors have a nice variety of options when it comes to betting on popular video games. Many popular and respected sportsbooks offer eSports to their customers, but also, there are specialized sportsbooks that offer to their customers exclusively eSports betting markets.
On top of that, there is a new wave of crypto betting websites! Where bettors can place their wagers anonymously and securely. Of course, there are still some illegal skins betting sites as well.
The main goal of gambling operators isn’t to lure sports betting fans to bet on eSports, but instead attracting the eSports fans to start gambling.
Let’s be honest, a hard-core football fan will hardly place wagers on some video game he knows nothing about. But millions of millennials are eager to start making money by charging their knowledge in eSports.
Conclusion
For years, online sports betting is focused on traditional sports by creating the optimal offers for their customers. But over the years, sports betting fans have aged, and the new generation of bettors is coming. These new generations are born and raised on the internet, playing video games.
Those potential new bettors expect something different, and there is an excellent opportunity for new operators. And new strategies to get implemented in this exciting industry.
FAQ
Sports betting is illegal for underage people, but the age restriction is different from state to state. In some countries, it is illegal to place wagers for all people under 18 years, but on the other hand, there are numerous countries where betting is illegal for people under 21 years. If you want to be sure, we suggest you read our article on that subject, or to read the laws and legislations of your state of residence.
Four games are absolute leaders in the eSports market, and those four games are CS: GO, Dota 2, League of Legends, and Starcraft II. But except those four games, there are other popular games such as FIFA Football, Overwatch, and NBA 2k Basketball. Still, there are many other games that gained popularity recently, so we can expect that soon the eSports sector will have more than 20 popular and for betting highly profitable games.
A betting bank (betting bankroll) is the amount of money that sports bettor puts aside solely for betting purposes. Novice and amateur bettors rarely make a betting bank before they start placing the wagers, but professional bettors all have their betting bank and use it with strict money management.
