The Rise of eSports in 2020

The Rise of eSports in 2020

The eSports industry continues to rise in 2020, and they have been given a unique opportunity to shine this year. Earlier in 2020, the Coronavirus pandemic brought the sporting world to a standstill.

Bookmakers had very little to offer their customers. They turned to virtual sports, which are not as popular as real-life events but they also turned to eSports, and put that at the heart of their service for a small few weeks.

With eSports being able to continue remotely, we saw some of the best players in the world team up and go head to head in battles from their own homes.

At this point, there was almost nothing else to bet on, so those who did want a wager, did so on the eSports matches that were taking place.

How Can eSports Build on the Additional Interest?

The Coronavirus pandemic put eSports in the spotlight. Bookmakers had pretty much nothing else to offer, so headlining their service was things such as CS:GO tournaments, one-off Dota2 battles and even games like Fifa20.

Now it is up to the industry to try and capitalise on that, and turn these people from being those who watched because there was nothing else available into genuine followers and fans.

Whether it is via social media, actively following teams or events, or by simply searching the web for results, eSports will be hoping that they can somehow track how many new followers they have.

Not all of these will remain interested, and now that many sports are returning, this does make it a lot harder for the eSports industry to stake their claim to these people and call them fans.

Will Bookmakers Remember and Give Something Back?

Many, if not all, bookmakers will have struggled during the Covid-19 period. With no sport, their service almost came to a standstill.

However, what they do need to remember is that without eSports offering something, their situation would have been even worse.

Will they remember this and could we see bookmakers putting money back into eSports as a thank you for their help during the tough times?

This could be in the form of sponsorship. The biggest event on the horizon is the Fortnite World Cup, and while it is probably too late to do anything now, could we see a bookmaker sponsor this event or one similar in the future?

A deal such as this one would work both ways. The bookmaker would be giving back to eSports, and helping to increase the prize money on offer at a big event. However, they would also be gaining valuable exposure themselves, being in front of those who may be tempted to start betting on eSports.

Can Betting and eSports Continue to Grow?

What makes this partnership stand out is that both eSports and the betting industry can benefit from it. For this reason, don’t be surprised to see these two working together for a long time to come.

Bookmakers are hoping for new custom as gamers and those who watch eSports turn to betting on the matches. Websites like the bookies offers show which bookmakers are available, and the vast majority of these have comprehensive eSports sections to their website.

At the other side of this relationship, eSports are hoping to attract new fans by betting.

Some of these have been given a taste of what things are like, and with bookmakers offering live streaming and betting on many of the big matches, there is a chance for gamblers to watch.

The next step has to be keeping these people involved, getting them to interact with the sport via other means aside from betting, and eventually turning them into fans.

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Ibuki


Aspiring ninja.

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