Tracking The Growth of The Esports Industry Over The Next Few Years

Esports, once a nerdy pastime out of the basements, has become big business. Millions of people are watching professional gamers battle it out around the clock, and this new global sport isn’t slowing down anytime soon. Supporting and boosting this frenzy is a circular growth engine: esports betting.

The promise of esports betting is beyond tempting. You could enhance your excitement for your favorite matches by placing bets on the outcomes. But where is this market going to go? Let’s take a look to see what the future holds.

Taking Inspiration From Other Online Gambling Genres

Looking towards the other online gambling experience, esports could benefit from adopting elements from it to create a more powerful and deep ecosystem. This starts with the data-driven experience of online gambling sites. Data from gambling sites is designed to be specific, complex and insightful. 

Odds, betting patterns and detailed results are designed to inform the wagers that players put through, demonstrating considerable depth. For table games, having this access to information is extremely important for players and can really influence their decision to make a bet and how much money they want to fork out. Some players will take a long, hard look at roulette odds before they start placing any bets. This helps them to understand the game more and ensures that they get a good return on the money they’re putting down on the table.

Similarly, by structuring esports data appropriately, it can be applied to narratives and broadcasting in a way that gives fans a much richer and more detailed understanding of what is actually happening on a competitive level. This would ultimately improve the broadcasting – and the experience that fans have – of the esports that they are playing or that they are watching. 

An Expanding Arena: Growth and Mainstream Appeal

The esports betting market is booming. Experts forecast that the global market in 2024 will be more than $4.3 billion in size, with strong growth forecasts for a few years after that. The rising popularity of esports games, such as League of Legends and Dota 2, which all have player bases and viewing audiences bigger in some cases than traditional sports leagues, is creating lucrative opportunities for betting.

As the industry progresses, we’re seeing a lot of big changes in how the big companies meet the needs of players. Unfortunately, this is being felt by price hikes by brands like EA, but this is just to cover the costs of the heavy investments that developers have been pushing into the industry. With more features, technology, and support than there’s ever been before, the growth of the industry is definitely something you want to keep an eye on.

Furthermore, e-sports is drawing in a new audience of ‘net natives’ more comfortable with online staking. As new frameworks of law emerge and the social taboos erode, e-sports betting will become an altogether more mainstream form of entertainment.

Innovation at the Forefront: Tech Advancements and New Markets

Technological developments are enabling the change towards digital-first esports. All bets can now be placed in play (live) which transforms what was once a single-session experience into a dynamic and varied one with cast-iron guarantees for keeping spectators and viewers hooked throughout. 

Data crunching, too, is becoming more crucial over time. It’s therefore becoming much easier to feed bettors with all sorts of invaluable slices of data: developers use sophisticated formulas and algorithms to help inform bets. We’re even starting to see the use of technologies like AI estimating how a player’s skill level typically affects team performance, player performance at various time intervals, or any other data that can be fed into the system and provide more information to observers.

There’s also growing potential for emerging technologies to reimagine the experience of esports betting, for example, through virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR). Using this technology, a watcher can feel like they have a virtual seat at their favorite team’s e-table, placing their bets in real-time, from wherever they may be in the world. This is opening up esports to a huge range of new markets, making it more accessible (and profitable) for everyone.

The Final Score: A Thriving Future Awaits

The future of esports betting is bright. Viewership is booming and will continue to increase and technology is only just now beginning to catch up to the possibilities of fan engagement.

The future of esports betting is bright – but it won’t get there without attention to some of the issues that may currently be holding the industry back. Match-fixing and trust in online betting providers are two key considerations that have simple solutions.

Whatever happens, it’s going to be an interesting journey to see where esports is in a few years time.