Is eSports stealing the betting industry?

The eSports industry has been growing at a pace that nobody was expecting. Video Games just a few decades ago were considered as just a hobby that your parents would deem as a waste of time, but now, the industry has developed so much that companies are able to generate billions of dollars through sales.

However, these billions of dollars spilled over into individual content creators that are acting as brand ambassadors at this point. People are able to make millions of dollars by promoting various games and platforms online, and it’s not uncommon to find them doing affiliate marketing for eSports betting websites.

That’s right. A lot of streamers, YouTubers, and bloggers are starting to cater to eSports specific online betting websites, and generate thousands if not millions in just a few years.

But how did this happen? Is eSports betting getting out of control? How much do these sportsbooks generate by offering eSports bets?

Getting to the Millenials

The main issue for gambling operators is reaching the millennial customer base, which is more or less not too welcoming towards online gambling and gambling in general.

That’s why we see software providers like Playtech develop games that have as much action in it as possible in order to entice Millennial players to join their games and it’s actually working.

If we look at the differences between software providers and their sales, the ones that try to target Millennial values, such as additional features in the game, interactive design and popular cultures like Vikings or Samurai or etc, tend to perform much better financial wise.

Playtech is simply one of the examples of what a software provider is capable of when targeting Millennials, and Playtech’s stock performance in the future is a clear indicator as to how new trends should be addressed in order to at least show some competition to eSports betting websites.

But most of the attention is directed towards eSports betting websites because that’s what interests the Millennials the most.

This demographic of customers prefer watching video games being played during large events rather than sports events with basketball or football.

Imagine a young Englishman in the 90s or early 2000s, nearly everybody was watching and betting on Football. It’s now the same for eSports, nearly every youngster is watching it and integrating them in the betting industry is the primary strategy right now.

How big is the eSports betting market?

According to statistics, the eSports betting market is poised to absolutely explode in 2020, reaching as much as $1.8 billion in total revenue. The most interesting part is that the eSports market itself is predicted to pass the $1 billion mark in 2021.

The betting market is going to outpace the sport itself.

What’s important to note here is the speed at which this market managed to develop compared to the regular sports betting industry.

It’s obvious that traditional sports will always remain relevant, but it may be quite scary to look at the eSports growth from a team owner’s or a sports betting website owner’s perspective.

Who are the largest bettors?

It’s safe to assume that most of the bettors come from countries like the UK, USA or Canada, but when it comes to eSports we need to focus on the markets where they’re most popular in.

Although the three countries listed above are leaders in that sense, it’s still apparent that Poland and Russia are quickly catching up to the scene.

According to several Russian eSports betting experts, Eastern Europe is sure to take a large chunk of the eSports betting market share in the future, simply due to the popularity of the games and the development of gaming hubs in the area. As EsportsBets.ru explains, Russia and CIS eSports profitability demonstrates very rapid growth and may soon overtake such high-net-worth regions as Western Europe and the Nordics.

Places like Katowice and Kyiv are slowly but surely becoming a hub for CS: GO events and are quickly swallowing up new trends such as PUBG and Fortnite.

Could eSports steal the spotlight completely?

Naturally, the eSports industry still has a really long way to go before it gets engraved in the minds of the majority of the population, but the way new generations are assimilating to the digital world gives us an idea that traditional sports may start moving towards the background while eSports comes on top.

eSports players are already being considered as the new superstars, and actually being recognized by countries like the USA as professional athletes.

It’s quite possible to see eSports has become the most popular sport in about two decades from now.