E-sports made its debut at an online sportsbook way back in 2009. But it is in recent years that it has taken off and become a regular feature of betting sites. You can find markets and odds on all the big sportsbooks, like BetOnline, and a range of events is covered.
Although there are obvious similarities with what could be called traditional sports, there is a distinct market and demographic for e-sports. So it is interesting to see how e-sports betting has become so popular – and how mainstream it is, even compared to five or ten years ago.
Why is E-Sports Betting so Popular?
E-sports had become big way before the COVID pandemic, with major events being held around the world and the best players and teams enjoying huge fan bases. But the lockdowns that occurred a few years ago made it impossible for most sports to continue for a while. Although e-sports events were cancelled, it was easier to stage online events, compared to other sports.
With not as many other sports happening, sports betting fans had to look elsewhere – and many of them discovered e-sports. At its base form, e-sports is still two players or teams going against each other and even customers with no gaming experience could relate that back to why they like other sports.
More Sportsbooks Accepting Bets
A major reason why more people are betting on e-sports is that there are more sportsbooks offering markets on events and accepting bets. This, again, really took off around the time of the lockdowns, when online betting firms realized that there was a newer way to make money.
With greater exposure, e-sports only grew and became a familiar feature on most sportsbooks. With more gambling money involved, there is even more opportunity for e-sports to grow, as the sportsbooks want more people to know about a previously relatively untouched area of business.
Big E-Sports Events
There have been huge e-sports events for years, even before there was any real betting element. But that has only grown in the last few years. Online sportsbooks always report spikes in revenue around big sporting events, such as the Super Bowl or the soccer World Cup. So it follows that it would be the same with e-sports.
The top players have become sporting stars in their own right now and the media attention that events, such as the League of Legends Championship, the ESL and The International, means that sportsbooks would be foolish to ignore them. The betting revenue will always go up when these events come around.
Win-Win for Sportsbooks
As much as the rise of e-sports has been good for gamers and gaming fans, the adoption by betting operators is a real no-brainer for them too. From those days of offering strange markets when e-sports was still unknown in betting circles, to it becoming a lifeline when traditional sports stopped – this has been big news for the industry.
Not only have e-sports betting markets offered something new to existing customers, there has also been a whole new audience exposed to sports betting where they may not have been interested before. Suddenly people who would class themselves as not into sports will access a sports betting site.
Advances in Technology
Twitch is one of the major platforms when it comes to gaming and e-sports. Early events would ask viewers who they thought would win an event. From there, it is not a big leap to sportsbooks offering betting markets essentially asking the same question. With betting sites able to live stream e-sports, there is even more opportunity to cash in.
There is no doubt that e-sports has completely changed the way that betting operators now market their products. What was once a niche market is now seen as a major driver of revenue and expanding business. As the technology develops, sportsbooks will have more opportunities to offer more markets for League of Legends, CS: GO, and other e-sports. However, this seems like just the beginning.
