Sports and gambling have always had a symbiotic relationship, especially with the invention of the radio and TV. The digital age in which we live has also seen the rise of a new kind of sport – eSports. It, too, has quickly risen to become a lucrative industry with an interesting relationship with betting. The latest statistics published in the Newzoo claims in a report about the esports industry, the global Esports revenues are expected to exceed $1.1 billion this year. Grand View Research estimates that the esports market value will reach $6.82 billion by 2027.
The most interesting fact, however, is that there has been a major spike of esports fans and players in the first half of 2020, in emerging markets. These include South East Asia countries, Brazil, and India. While the pandemic may have played a role in forcing people to turn to sports during the lockdown, it is likely that the popularity of esports will keep rising. As a result, esports betting is at an all-time high, which raises the question, what is the future of esports after the traditional sports resume?
The Legality of Esports Betting and the Age Problem
Traditional sports betting has been a controversial issue in almost every country. The main reason for this is that betting carries the negative stigma associated with any form of gambling and the potential of cheating through match-fixing. With the rise of the popularity of esports in the late 2000s and early 2010s, it was only a matter of time before esports gambling became a thing.
Considering that most players and fanatics of esports are often children below the legal age of gambling, betting in esports brought to the forefront the issue of age as a gambling issue. As the esports industry takes shape in the face of sports betting, the age issue remains one of the greatest impediments to its full bloom.
Most professional sports leagues have put in place some kind of age requirements on competitors. This is to ensure compliance with legal gambling requirements that vary from state to state. As local legislative bodies struggle to pass laws that will favor the players and fans while accommodating gamblers, the esports arena continues to attract players, fans, and the purely curious.
Management and Types of Esports Events
All traditional games and major sports leagues available for gamblers to bet on got started long ago – some as early as the 19th century. They all have globally accepted rules and governing bodies. Esports, however, is presently at an impasse where fragmented governing bodies cannot agree on a single body to govern the games. The deadlock between the eSports Integrity Coalition and the International Centre for Sport Security is the stumbling block in the way of globalization of eSports as a real sport.
The gaming events offered by the largest esports leagues can be categorized into five:
- Sports games: The most popular category of esports games, sports games include digitized versions of the traditional sporting games. Examples include FIFA football series that are often designed to mirror actual sporting events such as the World Cup and the English Premier League.
- Fighting games: These are gaming events that involve individual combat. The best examples are Tekken, Street Fighter, Killer Instinct, and Super Smash Bros. These games can be played professionally.
- Racing games: As the name suggests, these are games that involve vehicular racing. They are typically organized seasonally or annually. Racing was one of the first categories of esports to become competitive. The most popular events are iRacing which was started in 2010 and Gran Turismo Sport.
- First-person shooter games: FPS games can be played individually or as teams. The games often involve the simulation of a battlefield or firefight in the player’s first-person perspective. Classic games in this category include Doom, the Counter-Strike series, the Call of Duty series, Overwatch, and Team Fortress 2.
- Multiplayer online battle arena: Initially classified as real-time strategy games, this genre of esports is played by teams consisting of between 3 and 5 people. This is also the genre that so far rewards the players with the highest win prizes. The most popular esports in this category include League of Legends, Dota 2, Heroes of the Storm, and Arena of Valor.
There is a list of other games that do not necessarily fit into any of these categories. Some of these games are Hearthstone, Pokémon, Tetris, and Clash Royale.
The Future of Esports
With every ‘expert’ predicting an upsurge in the number of people taking interest in it, the future of esports has never been brighter. The world is settling into a new reality of social distancing, it is only natural that people will turn to the safest forms of sports. Esports offers anyone an opportunity to enjoy a live game, discover new genres of activities, and even make money betting on them. Even if traditional sports return soon, they will not undo the strides the esports industry has made in the meanwhile.
