Only a few industries were spared from the Coronavirus pandemic, and sports bookmaking isn’t one of them. All sports events in the world are canceled and rescheduled.
Businesses are trying to move their operations online and digitalize their products and services, and for some, it’s working, and for some, it isn’t.
Bookmakers and bettors are hit hard as they’ve lost a stream of revenue and entertainment.
What was previously always up for debate is now the only choice for bookmakers. They have to turn to esports.
Esports betting has been there for quite a few years, with some reputable websites like https://dota2-bets.com/ specifically offering bets on one esports game. In this case, it’s Dota 2.
Other sites for betting on esports also offer a wide range of esports games, some even offer every single esports title.
So What Exactly is Happening?
Bookmaker holding company Flutter Entertainment has updated its shareholders that earnings could see a potential of $135.6m decline because of the lack of sports events.
Other brick-and-mortar casinos have to shut down their doors with no end in sight. The damages are growing daily.
Meanwhile, because esports can be done online, and more and more tournaments are shifting to an online setting, it’s an anomaly in the system.
The digital nature of esports betting allows bookmakers to keep their earnings and even potentially earn more as more and more people are staying home and are looking to bet on something.
Professional esports events like the ESL One Los Angeles Dota 2 Major, League of Legends Championship Series (LCS), and ESL Pro League shifted from a stadium setting to an online type of tournament with ease.
Because of all of this, sports bookmakers are developing an appetite for esports. This is a perfect opportunity for bookmakers. They can ease the effects of the Coronavirus on their business and simply adapt and improvise.
The Esports Betting Market In Numbers
People don’t realize how big is esports betting. According to Wholesale Investor, there is an esports betting market forecast of $17.2 billion by the end of 2020.
Established esports betting platforms are seeing a huge upswing in new player registrations following the cancelation of the English Premier League and other football leagues.
What we see these days is a lot of esports advertising from sports bookmakers who never really gave too much attention to esports.
This is a huge opportunity for esports to become mainstream. There is a chance that many people who aren’t gamers are going to enter the esports betting market.
The three big games in esports are CS:GO, League of Legends, and Dota 2.
They account for 85% of all esports betting in the world, but they are getting more and more competition as more and more games are being made in a way that they can become esports titles.
Bookmakers have seen a 200% increase of bets on games like Rocket League, FIFA, F1 Esports, and Call of Duty. A lot of bettors from traditional sports usually bet on games they can easily understand, such as FIFA and NBA 2k.
The opportunity is there, and some are realizing it faster than others. In any case, esports has never seen so much attention as now.
