Will Sports Betting Dictate the Next Move for eSports?
The eSports industry has seen a slow rise over the past decade. There is no doubt that we have more fans, interest and a bigger appeal than what the industry had 10 years ago. But so far, the sport has failed to move into the mainstream and really break through.
This is the long-term aim for the industry, and it is where the money really is, so what needs to happen for eSports to break through and get into the homes of millions of people?
The answer to this may lie with the path the eSports decide to take from here, and that path could be dictated by sports betting. This is something that has already helped the eSports industry over the past few years, but it is also something that could help a lot more in the future if the correct steps are taken.
How Betting Can Help Attract New Fans
The industry of eSports has to find a way to get new fans tuning in and watching the games. While there will be people out there who don’t like betting, there are millions that do and many people watch sport when they have had a bet.
Translate that over to eSports and what we should see is more people tuning into eSports events if we see an increase in the number of people betting on it. The key here though is that these need to be gamblers, not current eSports fans who are turning to betting on games while continuing to watch.
Bookmakers have incentives for people to sign up with them, which will help eSports gain more attention and many of them will match your first cash deposit to get you off to the best start.
Getting Out to a New Audience
The key to getting out to a new audience is having your product as accessible as possible to people. Getting out to gamblers is one way in which they can do that, but this cannot be the only method.
What eSports needs right now is a deal that gives more people the chance to watch, and that points towards being on TV more often.
Right now, many eSports events are streamed on Twitch, which is great for those who are into eSports, they will know about this platform and how to use it.
However, it is a very closed door way of looking at things, what eSports needs is completely new people watching it, they have enough gamers on board so no longer need to cater for them.
There is little doubt that the foundations are in place, TV, or something very similar, is how the next level is built on top of those foundations.
The Future of eSports
If you look at reviews of the latest PC games, there is no doubt that many are angling towards the eSports market. This is good news, it shows that eSports is having an impact on developers, they know games can become popular by being played professionally.
If the eSports industry grows further, and there is some kind of regular TV deal in place to showcase games even further then the likelihood is that this will become even more important.
The kickstart to all of this could well be the betting industry. Further focus from bookmakers will attract new fans. Could we see a bookmaker sponsor something big? This is certainly possible too, and would also make the industry more appealing to TV.
Many moving pieces are in play here, but there is no doubt that the betting industry could dictate the next move, and future moves, for eSports.
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