Betting on eSports has been a rapid growing trend in the last few years, together with the growth of the gaming industry. Many online bookmakers UK are now offering the option to bet on eSports as well as the traditional sports. This comes as no surprise, since having this option is a great opportunity for bookmakers to attract new users and diversify their revenue streams. But is this trend only beneficial for the bookmakers or for the players too? Let’s find out.
Why eSports betting is an opportunity for the bookmakers
While traditional sports, particularly football, are nowhere near declining in popularity just yet, it is quite clear that the younger generations, such as Gen Z, are moving away from it. Nowadays, many youngsters prefer watching other people play eSports games through online streaming services, like Twitch or YouTube. There are huge tournaments hosted for eSports games with thousands of viewers watching and picking their favourites. Introducing a betting option for eSports games is therefore a very obvious and smart move from the bookmakers.
In addition to this, betting on eSports involves some other great opportunities for the online bookmakers. For instance, the nature of eSports betting solves certain challenges that bookmakers are often faced with in traditional sports. The data collected in eSports games is instant and real-time, which means that the online betting companies receive the information on scores before anyone else has access to it and therefore avoids players cheating the system that way. The instant collection of all gaming data is also beneficial in terms of having access to highly accurate odds and more advanced in-game betting opportunities.
Lastly, eSports games allow bookmakers to offer new and unique betting strategies based on the different games. For example, such things as a player’s health, tactics, respawn rates, inventory and other factors can be used in betting to better understand how well the player is doing. Some bookmakers have also started introducing different ways to stake money in eSports betting, such as through digital tokens, NFTs and other digital collectables. All of which provide a more engaging betting environment catered to the eSports audience, which ultimately benefits the bookmakers with new users and revenue streams.
How is eSports betting beneficial for the player
Betting on eSports is not just an opportunity for the bookmakers – it has some great benefits for the players too. One of the biggest advantages is that, unlike traditional sports, eSports games are held all year round, meaning that the players don’t have to wait until a certain season to bet on their favourite games. There are also a wide variety of different games, tournaments and gamers to follow, so the selection is much greater. With eSports being such a fast-growing industry, the increase in betting opportunities is guaranteed, therefore, players currently have a chance to learn the ins and outs of the eSports gaming industry and become much sharper bettors, while it’s not as competitive.
Additionally, betting on eSports includes many new and unique opportunities, deals and promotions. With new games developing and launching everyday, there is always something new to get excited about, and so betting on eSports is unlikely to get boring anytime soon. Lastly, the options for betting with digital currencies, tokens and cryptocurrency may be an interesting opportunity for the more tech-driven bettors.
