Esports and the growing possibility of betting on digital sports

William Davis Published 30/11/2021

In 2021, esports is a big industry.

Esports are similar to traditional sports where top-level competitors play for the top spot within their field. Anyone can stream games through websites like Twitch and this makes esports very popular. The biggest esports titles include Dota 2, Fortnite, League of Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

The rise of esports betting

Famous football giant Florentino Perez recently claimed that young people are no longer interested in traditional games such as football. This is due to the rise in the number of viewers on platforms such as YouTube and Twitch. These platforms offer a way to view people playing games and other sporting events. A number of top esports events have drawn in millions of viewers.

Esports is quickly catching up with other events famous for online betting. Data released by Statista shows that there was a 50% increase in the market value of esports from the previous year. This establishes esports betting as potentially lucrative territory for bookies. Additionally, some online casinos offer content that is inspired by esports games.

Opportunities of esports betting to bettor and bookmakers

The rise of esports betting stems from a variety of factors including the demographics and freedom of sponsorship and partnership.

Getting into it is easy for bookmakers as well, with stats readily available for oddsmaking and an endless crush of events that people are interested in. Here are some of the opportunities esports presents:

Data integrity

For any betting agency, information is the key driver. Not having accurate, up-to-date information might lead to financial losses. Esports events guarantee data integrity by eliminating delays due to the nature of data collection.

Accurate and real-time odds

Since esports runs on digital devices, as opposed to traditional sports, it effectively compiles its own data that will be relevant for people in and around the betting industry. The data can be used by bookmakers to set pre-game odds more accurately compared to traditional sports. Furthermore, the odds are updated instantly.

Advanced in-play betting

Besides access to stored information, gambling operators also have access to real-time data. This allows them to offer more in-play bets with minimal effort. In traditional sports betting, in-play betting reaches a critical stage that makes it complex to come up with odds.

Data-driven customer experience

The presence of huge amounts of data creates new possibilities for bettors. Bookmakers can now present a visualization of game information in the form of widgets to help gamblers keep track and make decisions. This would greatly improve the customer experience.

Esports betting may just be starting in some parts of the world, but its influence has been felt in different Asian countries. Currently, it makes up about 5% of sportsbook revenue in the UK. It is predicted that in the near future, revenue between traditional sporting events and esports will be shared 50/50. This will be attributed to the growth in the number of players and improved gaming equipment.

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