The Connections Between Esports and Casinos
Esports has grown into a multi-billion-dollar industry in recent years. It is almost unrecognisable from the humble origins when the first recorded esports match was held at Stanford University in 1972 for the prize of a year’s subscription to Rolling Stone Magazine. Jump forward 50 years, and esports has a viewer base of over 496 million in 2020 and prizes of up to $3 million.
With its almost insane growth in the last couple of years, the gambling industry is not outdone. The internet has done the same for online gambling as it did for esports, with the global online gambling market estimated to stand at a whopping $57.54 billion in 2021. It is no wonder that the online gambling industry is growing at breakneck speed; developers have new slot titles released daily, with a considerable collection of slot games available at Amazon Slots.
But this is not where to correlation and interconnectivity of these two past times end. These two forms of entertainment are much more entwined than just growing up with the internet.
What Is Good For One Is Good For The Other
Few industries have an impact on sports as the gambling industry. As soon as casinos and bookmakers start getting an interest in a sport, you can usually see the growth that they cause. Esports is no different.
As wagering on esports become more popular, so has the interest and the prize money increased. Lately, it seems that bookmakers and casinos are jumping head over heels into forming alliances with esports heavyweights. Esports Entertainment (ESE) made inroads into the Latin American market by partnering with Vie.bet by sponsoring the Dota 2 team Movistar Liga Pro Gaming from Peru.
Of course, you have to mention cryptocurrencies when you talk about the recent growth in these sectors, with many online casinos now accepting this form of payment. This has had a tremendous impact on the ability of casinos to reach previously locked markets. With these new markets come a more tech-savvy user base more inclined to support their favourite pastime, gaming and esports.
Recent Esports News
Recently 1xBet has become a sponsor of the famous Tundra Esports to have their logo on the Dota 2 roster and the team’s jerseys. In addition, they are planning several crossover activities for both the 1xBet website and the Tundra platform.
The Dubai Esports Festival will be held from 11 to 20 November this year, as announced by Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, which will partner with VSPN. DEF 2022 will further cement Dubai as a hub for entertainment by bringing esports experts and stars together.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board will again meet this month to determine if the current rules that govern sports betting could be modified to cover betting on esports. They agreed in a previous meeting that betting on esports is very similar to wagering on traditional sports, but whether a new regulation could encompass both.