Online betting has become a popular pastime, the ease of not needing to go to a high street bookie, the interactive nature of watching games on the computer and betting at the click of the mouse. It is obvious that the industry would grow and expand, but no one could have predicted just how well received the introduction of eSports betting would be, and the rate at which it would grow. bonusbets.com takes a look at this new way of online gambling and just why it is so popular.
What is eSports
eSports is the term coined to refer to betting on watching other players engage in video game challenges. Sometimes referred to as competitive gaming, pro players battle live on the internet, and the watching audience places bets on the outcome. Multiplayer battle area games and first-person shooters are the most popular, but it doesn’t stop there with gaming franchise like Pokemon and Overwatch getting in on the action.
Explosive Growth
Figures suggest that the industry generated a revenue of $655 million across the globe in 2017, which sounds like loads but in fact, we closed 2018 with figures topping $906 million. This year the predicted figures hit 1.186 billion, and the growth of the industry is likely to keep expanding exponentially until 2021 and beyond taking it, to what some predict, will be an industry worth $165 billion a year.
Where is the Growth Coming From?
The growth will be coming from two areas, firstly the popularity will increase as more and more people discover this sector, and of course, more bookies choose to push this. It is the perfect arena for times when your favourite sport is on a break; currently, the Premier League is taking a lot of the spotlight, but when the season ends in May it is likely that eSports will see a growth surge once more.
Secondly, the race is on to bring bigger and better tournaments and with everything add new games and approaches to the mix. Of course, you can have eSports betting in every video game, but the action needs to be compelling to attract the audience which is why things like LARP tend not to feature. Punters want to see short bursts of activity that give them something to bet on. There has been some talk of developing a para-eSports league which changes things further and brings an all-inclusive nature which of course is popular now. Types of betting will also bring a new arm to the gameplay, and already there is cash betting which is self-explanatory and skins betting which is where virtual items from the game are gambled and traded to increase the action.
Technology is going to play a significant part in the growth of the industry, and mobile devices are set to be at the heart of the action. The easier it is for punters to log on and watch the action from their mobile devices and place bets at the click of a button, the more people will look to get involved.