Esports are a rapidly growing industry, with many games available today accessible for players of all age, location, and hardware capabilities. With the rising popularity in competitions and tournaments within games, esports provide another excellent event to bet on.
With the ban on sports betting lifted, states within the US have slowly started passing legislation to make sports betting legal within their state. As a result, the sports betting industry is growing and gaining more popularity, with easier and less stressful avenues to place bets through.
At the same time that sports betting is on the rise, a new division of sports related to video games known as esports has surfaced. Esports are quite literally professional and competitive video gaming. This doesn’t just mean one game in particular, it can be anything from actual sports games like NBA 2K, shooter style games like Counterstrike, or strategic team games like League of Legends.
Esports have exploded into an industry that is now worth more than a billion dollars. While it might seem odd to think about, the competitive nature that can be brought out through playing a video game can rival the entertainment provided from a traditional sport like football or basketball.
Many video games featured in esports include matches where one team or player wins and the other loses. This gives purpose to the competition, and also provides an outcome that bettors can try and predict the outcome of. This can also help people who enjoy the video game themselves add another level of enjoyment and engagement to watching, with financial gain if a certain team wins.
Many big names and celebrities have noticed esports as a growing form of entertainment, and have smartly invested in esports teams. NBA legend Shaquille O’neal is a perfect example, having invested in a group known as NRG Esports in early 2016. That was more than three years ago, and Shaq surely is glad he invested when he did considering the the NRG Esports brand has teams in more than 10 different video games.
The fact is that there is a growing demand and market for competitive video games. Now that sports betting has been legalized, esports are surely next to be targeted by sports betting. Just recently hip hop icon Drake realized that, and decided to invest with an esports related betting startup company. Shaq has done it, Drake is doing it, and more are sure to follow. Esports are definitely on their way to the gambling industry!
