From traditional video games that are limited to connected players, online video games have gone viral with the form of competition it can bring to players since the 2000’s. Esports this word itself, describes the world of competitive video gaming where numerous players come into a competition, leagues, and tournaments with great numbers of viewership. Esports have started being exposed into the eyes of the public in recent years with the rise of mobile gaming.
Esports Betting in Online Casino
Betting in esports has become one of the major categories in many of the online casinos. The growth of the esports betting market is so explosive that it is predicted to reach $30 billion in 2020.
Especially during the period when global pandemic, Covid-19 hits, esports betting undoubtedly see its chances in this darkest period of other businesses. As almost all sports matches being delayed and canceled, the attention has shifted from traditional sports betting to esports betting. Bookmakers start to push and explore esports books to break the ice.
It is said by the Co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of Roundhills Investments, Tim Maloney, thatwith China as the lead, Asia will most likely to be the major driving force in this growing popularity of esports.
The Esports Industry in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam that has rapid growth in the online betting market, is said to have great potential. Online casinos in these ASEAN countries, such as WinClub88 Situs Judi Online have a big growing opportunity.
Online Video Games Culture Stimulate Esports Growth
Over the years, increased popularity of mobile gaming has generalized the video games among youngsters and adults. It involves a great amount of skills and strategies for a player to master in an esports game. Video games are then growing to be more social with multiplayer mode and it’s capability of going online. This video games culture can be entertaining while at the same time, in the form of competing. This is where esports (electronic sports) trend started to evolve.
Among the video game genres, the most common type of esports are multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) such as Dota2, real-time strategy (RTS) such as League of Legend, first-person shooter(FPS) such as Counter-Strike, and battle royales such as PUBG. Among them, the noteworthy tournaments held are The International (Dota2), World Electronic Sports Games & ELEAGUE (Counter-Strike), LoL World Championship (League of Legend), and PUBG Global Championship, The gamers’ base of these games are so huge that there are more than a billion of them from all over the world.
Online Streaming of Esports Tournaments
The popularisation of online live streaming media platforms has also contributed to the growth of Esports. Live Esports Events are no longer limited to offline audiences. Esports are held just like sports matches in big stadiums with audiences. Live streaming on the internet and TV has brought this to a new level where these tournaments are watched by millions of gamers and fans.
Online Streaming of Esports not only promoted the esports competitions but had also turned these professional esports teams and players to be like stars/celebrities. They built up their fandoms, and got great brand endorsements. Esports players earned more than you could imagine! The latest prize pool for The International 2019 sits at $30.2M!
Not everyone owns gaming PC devices that are enough to support eSports games but it is more common that we all own mobile devices. Smartphone usage continues to grow where businesses cannot neglect. Thus, mobile gaming plays a major role in the esports ecosystem. Moving forward, we are expected to see mobile esports to go more mainstream than before.