Esports and gambling: two industries that have gained a lot of public notoriety in the last years and which have influenced each other to a great extent. The gambling market has made room for players who adopted the idea of esports betting.
This, however, meant a lot of changes for the casino industry. How did esports competitions shape online gambling, and how will they affect this industry in the future?
Let’s try and answer these questions!
The Esports Industry Is Expanding – And So Does Gambling
The esports industry is growing exponentially every year as more and more diverse variants make their debut on the market. And the effort of creating something new and unique does not go unnoticed by both gamers and gamblers alike.
Some choose to test their skills within the games themselves and go head-to-head against competitors throughout the globe, while others would rather sit aside and bet on the potential winner.
Worldwide Competition Brings Profit
Combining these two grandiose industries – esports and gambling certainly generate great sums in revenue each year, that may even amount to billions of dollars. And we have yet to mention the numerous championships conducted annually, with million-dollar stakes.
For instance, the 2021 World Championship gathers 24 teams with players across the globe that compete against each other in the League of Legends game.
Gambling And Esports – Common Ground
If we look closely at the esports industry, we will notice that it actually has many gambling features.
For example, players can buy skins or acquire them along with their gameplay. The first instance supposes you already know which skins you are going to buy. However, if you happen to find a loot box along the way, you may not know if you can find skins or another feature there. Similar to a slot machine game, the anticipation grows as the prize is revealed.
If you receive a great asset, you will want to pursue an even greater one. And, if you don’t get what you initially want, you will want to continue playing until you hit the jackpot. Either way, the anticipation and thrill of the find make you want to play even more!
Skin Gambling Gains Popularity
We all know that skins are designed specifically to change the appearance or features of a certain character. However, their increase in popularity gave them a new meaning: an online currency.
Players can purchase skins and use them to place bets on the outcome of certain games. CS: GO is one example that adopted this feature.
The algorithm is simple: if a player wins the bet, he or she gets back the skins they initially introduced in the game as well as the ones gambled by their adversary(s). These skins are then included in the Steam library for further use.
Streaming On Social Media Channels
Esports contests have become so sought for in the last few years that gamers have started to use as many means of live transmission as possible in order to share their experiences. Here, we’re talking about YouTube and Twitch streamers who make millions of views and subscribers every month.
The contests go on an even bigger scale when done professionally. Contestants are joined by hundreds of thousands of fans in grandiose arenas, where they play to win millions of dollars. Many young people want to participate in this spectacle, either as competitors or as spectators – and here we’re talking only about the players who actively take part in the games, one way or another.
Many Gamblers Have Switched to Esports
In regard to gambling, many of those who have already resorted to traditional betting as a leisure activity, has now switched to esports betting.
And so, many online casinos have adapted to their clients’ requests and created a special section for esports betting, with an array of games to choose from, such as CS: GO, Call of Duty, Overwatch, Dota 2 and so on. This way, esports competitions have gained even more recognition among gamblers.
The Uprise in Technology
Both the esports and the online gambling industries have taken measures to improve their technological features. For example, multiple casinos have partnered with many payment services that offer a secure, faster payout process. Not to mention the addition of cryptocurrency as a quick means for making deposits.
Some of these variants have also been adapted to esports betting. But the area with probably the most notable yet arduous changes remains the mobile play.
Mobile Availability Has Become a Necessity
Mobile optimized casinos have become a regular choice for gamblers all across the world. In fact, fewer and fewer people are accessing online gambling platforms on laptops or even tablets.
A gambling study conducted by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission stated that the number of customers who choose mobile devices has more than doubled in the span of 5 years (2015-2020).
This significant change meant that casinos had to step up their game, adapt their gaming features and even introduce new ones so that everything runs smoothly, without any glitches. After all, the ultimate goal is to offer players a pleasant experience, so they return on the website.
The esports industry picked on this trend, and so became many MOBA and FPS games available on Android or iOS devices. Arena of Valor and Hearthstone are some of the most popular ones.
Bottom Line
Both the gambling and the esports industries are changing at a fast pace. As we have seen, the esports market had and will continue to have a tremendous impact upon gambling, as its popularity will increase even more.
We have yet to see to what degree and how fast!
