Credit – https://pixabay.com/photos/game-console-sony-video-games-6603120/
Alt text: Two PlayStation 5 controllers
Professional video gaming has exploded into the entertainment and betting markets over the last decade and a half. The concept of professional video gaming has been in development long before the internet began to have a significant impact on the way people played their games. However, it was the innovation that lit the fuse and opened the door, bringing these long-awaited ideas to fruition.
Early Days Of Pro Video Gaming
Gambling markets often emerge in response to a new professional competition or sporting event. So long as there is a market and a large enough audience, then there will be betting companies that pursue the idea of chiselling off this market for themselves. In the early 2010s, the obvious potential of eSports betting flourished off the back of the incredible success of the market, and this wasn’t an anomaly.
Although professional video gaming had only started to become a viable market in the late 2000s, by the mid-2010s, some of the top teams and players in eSports were securing prize pools in the millions of dollars. It laid the framework for the incredible success of the current market, with the biggest eSports tournaments covering a wide range of games, including Counter-Strike 2, Valorant, and League of Legends.
In the modern market, the world’s top eSports tournaments now boast prizes exceeding $50 million – but this would not be possible without the overarching success of the industry and the health of underlying industries, such as eSports betting, which bubble beneath the surface.
Correlation Between Betting & eSports
Sports betting platforms experienced a similar boost, as the same growth that allowed eSports to reach millions of new customers — enabling much quicker internet speeds and mobile browser accessibility — was also leveraged in the betting world. For those who are partial to eSports and a punt, this is a perfect blend, and a perfect storm that allowed this subsector to find its full potential.
As we touched on in our introduction, the overlap of high-octane and high-pressure professional video gaming tournaments has acted as a springboard to bring validity to the underlying betting market. Video gaming and the broader gambling industry share many similarities, ranging from the consumer experience through mobile browsers and apps to the marketing strategies employed by their respective departments to achieve the broadest possible reach.
It’s challenging to describe the unique experience of attending a stadium to watch an eSports game or tournament unfold. Many of these tournaments take place in neutral settings, such as Saudi Arabia.
This is because many of the top eSports players are from the US, China, and Russia. Those teams that get the chance to play in front of their home crowd often have a decisive advantage, as is the case in professional sports.
Many electric sporting atmospheres stem from a bubbling mixture of passionate fan bases, teams or players that represent their city or culture, and in some cases, the vibrant betting markets that buzz underneath them, injecting even more drama and adrenaline into these high-pressure environments. As eSports continues to establish itself in the market, these components are becoming more prominent in the world of professional video gaming as well.
A Vast, Digital Marketplace
Betting companies and eSports share many similarities, as we discussed in our previous section. It means that video gaming influencers, social media sites, and prominent streaming companies are all able to utilise their digital presence to help bring the market under one international umbrella.
However, social media influencers and video gaming influencers have become an integral part of the growth of professional video gaming, as well as the burgeoning subsectors that operate within the world of iGaming.
You will have some idea of how they work if you have spent a lot of time watching them online, or if you follow gaming influencers who either feature in the tournaments, use their platforms to promote games and eSports events, or live stream their gaming escapades to a paying audience.
What Does The Future Hold?
Ultimately, the reason they are such a hit is their ability to comment on the unfolding action and add another layer of entertainment to what is happening in the major tournaments. As professional sports have demonstrated, there’s a massive market for pundits, commentators, and social media opinions, all of which help drive interest, online engagement, and facilitate the rapid spread of major headlines across the international market.
As betting companies start to knock down the walls that have existed, and more countries, states and jurisdictions warm to the idea of legislating and regulating niche betting markets like eSports, it’s a trend that will continue to fuel interest in eSports over the next decade, and the vast, digital marketplace which helps to bring all these ideas together is one of the main factors behind the growing demand for eSports betting markets.
As long as there are enough video games and a large enough audience, betting markets will continue to thrive in this burgeoning new gaming market.
