The year 2020 will be one that many people remember for a lot of different reasons. The world of eSports has really come to life in 2020, and betting on eSports has been the main drive behind that.
With a lack of sport for many weeks, eSports were one of the few activities that were available for people to bet on. Major leagues around the world such as the NHL have come to a halt, so no betting has been available.
This brought completely new fans to the sport, many of whom had never watched before and now they were so involved that they were watching and betting.
What happens next will determine how bright the future of the eSports industry is, and how many of these new fans will stick around and boost the viewership.
The place we are in right now has all happened because of betting though, showing just how much influence betting has over a number of sports.
How Betting Has Brought New eSports Viewers
With little else to watch and bet on, bookmakers have really increased their eSports service recently.
While the bookmakers have been struggling around to find things to offer, punters have been doing the same while many of their favourite sports have been cancelled. Games such as CS:GO have filled a gap for these punters.
The two have met in the middle of what has been an excellent period for eSports. Bookmakers have been providing more betting markets than ever before, and they have also been offering live streaming and live betting in their in-play sections.
Punters have been using these, even if they don’t normally bet on eSports, just because it is something for them to watch and bet on. There have been many betting bonuses available too, for those who wish to start betting on eSports, which has been great to see.
The key for anyone in the eSports industry looking to move to the next level is to work out how they turn these gamblers into becoming eSports fans.
Can Gamblers Turn into Fans?
Those who have been betting on eSports have been doing so because there is little else to do at the moment. What needs to happen is that these people become people who are betting on eSports because they want to, regardless of what else is on offer.
There are many other sports that have larger fan bases than they normally would because of gambling, and eSports need to embrace that and take these fans on board.
An eSports gambler is someone who will keep up to date with things on social media, and look out for the latest news, because it helps them with their gambling.
The more they do this, the more hits and interaction different eSports have on their media outlets, and that is going to help them grow in the future as they look to future sponsors and TV deals.
How Will This Help the Future of eSports?
If eSports as an entire industry is to grow to compete with regular sports then they need two things to happen. The first is additional income in the form of sponsorship and the second is to get a big TV deal.
New gamblers liking the sport can help both of these. They can continue to bet on eSports to give bookmakers more income from eSports, they may return some of that in the form of sponsorship.
The second is with a TV deal. This is only something that can happen if eSports shows that people are interested and that TV ratings will be good.
They do this by showing how many are betting, how many are following on social media, and how many are keeping up with news. All of these can be added to by gamblers.