Online sportsbooks have been significantly impacted by the esports industry’s growing popularity. Currently, a record number of viewers are coming in to watch professional competitions in esports.
Sportsbooks now have a fantastic potential to draw in new clients because of this. Additionally, since many esports competitions take place online, bookmakers find it relatively simple to provide betting markets.
But first, let’s quickly examine how eSports got its start.
Going back to 1972
Home gaming consoles first became popular in 1972. While competitive video gaming has been around for decades, eSports as we know it today is relatively new. In 1980, the first official Space Invaders competition took place. There were over 10,000 players in the game.
The inaugural Donkey Kong competition was held in 1981, and video gamers loved it just as much. Professional competitions and tournaments for Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter grew all over the world in the early 1990s. The first Starcraft 2 competition took place in 1998. With more than seven million participants and more than fifty million watchers, this was a big event.
Even though all of these games are classics, first-person shooters currently enjoy the highest level of popularity. Even those who are not as familiar with eSports have heard of Counter-Strike, Overwatch, Starcraft, and Call of Duty. The Electronic Sports World Cup and the World Cyber Games helped the eSports sector gain significant momentum at the start of the 2000s.
The first Major League Gaming competition also happened in 2002. The first video game event to be broadcast on television occurred four years later, and the rest is history.
How did eSports get its popularity?
Thanks to a perfect storm of technology advancements and social developments, eSports’ popularity has skyrocketed in recent years. In the beginning, the internet allowed gamers from all over the world to communicate and engage in live competition.
Additionally, the popularity of mobile gaming increased access to video games for a wider audience than ever before.
Currently worth billions of dollars, esports is a thriving industry. Millions of people watch esports tournaments that are hosted all around the world. Ohio, which is legalizing sports betting from the 1st of January 2023, will also have eSports betting included. So you can find the best Ohio sports betting promotions and use them to bet on LOL or DOTA championship games.
eSports impact on online sportsbooks
As seen above, with more and more people participating in competitive gaming every day, esports’ future appears to be very promising. Due to their increased ability to provide esports fans with more and more betting markets, online sportsbooks are benefiting from this popularity.
The potential for esports and online sportsbooks appears to be endless, given all of this positive momentum.
The online casino gaming sector is valued at more than $59 billion globally, according to the most recent financial data. By the end of 2023, experts predict that the iGaming market will be worth over $92 billion. In other words, during the following two years, the market’s worth will double.
In 2021, the market for eSports betting and the worldwide eSports sector brought in more than $1 billion. The coronavirus pandemic has caused significant changes in the majority of businesses during the past two years. All industries and sectors have been impacted in some way by the most current technological advancements.
Certainly, the eSports and iGaming businesses have both thrived despite the numerous difficulties that the coronavirus outbreak presented. Thanks to the outstanding work of organizations like Riot Games, Activision Blizzard, and Electronic Arts, the world’s eSports business has expanded significantly over the past two years.
The iGaming industry benefited in several ways from the huge growth of the eSports sector, one of which was the development of players’ decision-making abilities. The finest online casinos provide their eSports lovers and aficionados with possibilities to wager on eSports in addition to offering flawless casino gaming sessions.
