ESPORTS BETTING CONTINUE TO RISING

Esports is a form of sport competition using video games.

It is also known as electronic sports, e-sports, or eSports).

Esports often take the form of organized, multiple-player video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams.

The most common video game genres associated with Esports are multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), first-person shooter (FPS), fighting, card games, battle royales, and real-time strategy (RTS).

WELL-KNOWN FRANCHISES

Well-known Esport franchises include League of Legends, Dota, Counter-Strike, Overwatch, Super Smash Bros., and Starcraft, amongst many others.

Tournaments that are popular in Esports include League of Legends World Championship, Dota 2’s International, the fighting game-specific Evolution Championship Series (EVO) and Intel Extreme Masters.

It was estimated by the late 2010s that the total audience of Esports would grow to 454 million viewers, with revenue increasing to over US$1 billion.

ONLINE PLATFORMS

The increasing availability of online streaming media platforms, particularly YouTube and Twitch, has become vital to the growth and promotion of Esports tournaments.

The constant development of Esports has reached worldwide fame, particularly in Singapore.

Online sports betting in Singapore also caters to Esports, adding a further boost to the Singapore online casino industry.

As such, Esports and betting have stuck together, moving from an unregulated form of gambling to become one of the traditional sports around.

BOOKMAKERS’ ODDS

Before, traditional operators were few, but through the years Sports grew largely and bookmakers now offer odds on this sport through its various events and tournaments around the world.

The betting handle with regulated Esports bookmakers has increased significantly.

Experts say this was due to punters seeking other opportunities to gamble on their favourite titles.

DEPTH OF MARKETS

Also, a contributing factor is the increased depth of markets available to bettors. Those aiming to place a bet at an Esports bookmaker can now follow a similar scheme to that of traditional sports.

In football, for example, those who want to place a bet have the option to build accumulators (parlays) with a selection of teams and also bet on more granular parts of the game.

There are numerous options, whether it’s an Over/Under bet on the number of corners, or a “First Goalscorer.’’

This is also now the case in the world of Esports. For example in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, markets on a player with the most kills, map score bets, handicap bets are all available.

OPPORTUNITY

Just the same, because live, instant data are available, the potential for in-play products is present, and various Esports bookmakers are already riding the opportunity. 

As we can say, the future of Esports betting is bright.

Several teams already have betting sponsors and this trend is seen to continue.

As game publishers learn more about the regulated gambling industry, and regulation continues to move to the United States, a future where each and every team has an exclusive partner from the industry is foreseen.

Entertainment products such as Darts, Horse Racing, and Greyhounds are almost exclusively boosted by sponsorship money from bookmakers.

LOCAL REGULATION

As long as those operating in the iGaming world adhere to local regulation across the board, the sponsorship money can continue to lend support to the Esports industry’s growth. 

Gambling has long been a hobby enjoyed by many, and this is set to continue. And this has contributed in a big way in the improvement of the Esports industry.

Esports betting is mainly done on the top-flight leagues and tournaments surrounding professional video gaming.

For example, you might find betting on the final stages of a League of Legends tournament, but you won’t find any markets on the online qualifying.

This is because Esports handicapping is still a relatively young game, and the depth of the player pools means new Esports stars are sprouting all the time.