Esports betting, or electronic sports, is one of the fastest-growing entertainment sectors online. Different from virtual sports, esports is real people playing computer games against each other under fully regulated conditions in proper leagues and tournaments, and it has become a serious online activity. Esports has caught on rapidly in the last two years.
How To Bet On Esports?
There is no difference when it comes to betting on sports from traditional sports only that the action unfolds quicker and more regularly.
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What Is Esports Betting?
Most people outside of traditional sports betting are starting to catch on that you can bet on real sports. You can definitely have a lot of fun with this form of betting.
As an online medium, esports betting is growing in popularity in the sports betting arena. With the industry starting to take shape, bookmakers have realised that there is huge potential for betting markets on this new and evolving platform, valued at over £600 million in 2019 and projected at £850 million in 2020.
To a first-time punter of esports, the idea of betting on a player or team in a game on a computer or console sounds somewhat ridiculous. However, esports betting is now a fully regulated industry. Therefore, you can be sure that there can be no manipulation in the outcome of races and matches.
Many betting sites have esports betting available across many sports, including football, horse racing, greyhound racing, cricket, motor racing, speedway, cycling, darts, and tennis. Sign up to one of the featured bookmakers and a free bet still applies.
Esports Betting 2020
There is no question that the esports vertical rose in popularity and prominence in relation to the iGaming space during the height of the global pandemic, and there is much proof that it is only gaining momentum, as uncertainty continues to surround other verticals in the industry.
Earlier this year, many operators turned to this new vertical as a way to mitigate their losses from the cancellation of different sporting leagues at the peak of their run.
In the last couple of years, we have seen the exponential growth in the esports realm and how it has taken over the world. In fact, according to a business intelligence report by Stream Hatchet, 2.4 billion hours were spent watching esports videos worldwide in 2013. In 2018, the number nearly tripled and 6.6 billion hours of esports were consumed by viewers.
This year, as we faced a worldwide lockdown, there has been an even more intense growth in the time spent watching esports, from 4.8 billion hours in Q1 to 7.7 billion in Q2 and 7.5 billion in Q3. Although we see a slight drop in the hours viewed from Q2 to Q3, it still demonstrates a 91.8% increase since Q3 2019, where 3.89 billion hours were watched.
In order to maintain the retention and turnover rate, many operators have turned to further focus on games and leagues similar to their traditional sporting counterparts in order to appeal to existing sports bettors. This proved to be a great solution.
According to Everymatrix’s Esports Betting Report, sports simulation games have a much faster adoption rate among sports bettors. This would mean that users who are already quite familiar with traditional sports had seamlessly transitioned over to a different form of entertainment in a similar setting.
This was the year we witnessed an increase in official organisations backing esports tournaments and leagues. In fact, we see this taking place at the beginning of the year with NBA 2K Players Tournament. All-star, Kevin Durant and other NBA players played and participated in this esports tournament, which was also aired on ESPN.
The further exposure of this new vertical to traditional sports viewers not only proved to be a great opportunity for esports to gain a whole new audience, but it also benefited television networks by helping to fill the sports broadcasting void.
As different sporting leagues and events began to resume, it was unclear if this new vertical would taper off, however, as time went on, it became more certain that esports is here to stay! Although a lot of punters have gone back to betting on traditional sports, this year has done wonders for the esports vertical and has shown that it will continue to grow at significant rates.
Operators and players alike are now more aware and educated on the vertical and its betting opportunities. For all the players that have turned to esports when traditional sports were halted, they are now more familiar with the teams, players, and tournaments. Considering all the aforementioned factors, the likelihood for these players to place bets once again is very high.
Major Esports Official Tournament Leagues
- The International Dota 2 Championships
- ELEAGUE
- Capcom Pro Tour
- Call of Duty Championship
- eGames
- Evolution Championship Series
- Major League Gaming
- Intel Extreme Masters
- Battle.net World Championship Series
- Halo World Championships
- League of Legends World Championships
- World Electronic Sports Games
Where Can I Watch Esports?
Growth in esports betting has been greatly boosted by the ease of how you can watch the action unfold. YouTube and Twitch.tv stream live events and tournaments.
Esports Betting Overview
This young and new type of betting got off to a slow start but has gained a lot of traction over the last couple of years. The growth has been so explosive that it’s been estimated that the global esports market will be worth nearly £850 million in 2020.
That’s a huge figure, especially if you consider that esports is still not mainstream as yet. Most people outside of traditional sports are starting to catch on you can bet on this like real sports. You can definitely have a lot of fun with esports.
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