Esports Gaming and Betting Online

Posted on | June 17, 2016 | No Comments

Have you ever heard of eSports? If you are a traditional gambler, chances are you may have no idea what eSports are, although you’ve probably seen a number of betting sites, like Pinnacle Sports and Bet365, who offer gamers the chance to make wagers on this pastime. How can you even begin to make money on something that didn’t exist just a few years ago? Something that wouldn’t be possible were it not for the invention of the wondrous internet?

Interesting in learning the answers to the aforementioned questions? To help you gain a better understanding, we offer this basic guide.

What are eSports?

To put it simply, eSports are electronic sports, or video gaming competitions. Although it seems to be relatively new, it has been around for decades. Based on information from the Daily Dot, the first foray involved and tournaments and leagues for first person shooter games like Unreal.

As of right now, the games that most eSports fans bet on are Call of Duty, League of Legends, Starcraft 2, and DOTA 2. Obviously, none of these are truly sports games , but watching the best gamers in the world go head to head against one another can be just as thrilling as watching a football match.

Who’s Watching eSports?

Millions of people all over the world are watching eSports both online (on YouTube and Twitch) and in person. In fact, about a year ago, a four-day video tournament garnered an averaged 7 million viewers a day for the entire event. Its peak number of viewers reached 9 million on Saturday. Furthermore, the 2014 League of Legends World Championship tourney in South Korea was attended by almost 50,000 fans. What’s more? The DOTA 2 championship held in the United States attracted almost 20,000 fans. While it may not be that much to you, consider what eSports are to fully realize what this means.

Why would anybody want to bet on eSports?

If you look at it from an objective standpoint, there really is that much difference betting in teams playing football or League of Legends. Consider this- both teams use their skills to defeat their opponents. Furthermore, at the end of the match, they expect to profit from their mastery.

At the end of the day, eSports are excellent for someone who is looking for a little more action in their gaming. If the concept intrigues, you wouldn’t be alone. Experts are saying eSports fans from around the world bet over 200 million dollars on these events in 2015 alone. You can’t argue that this indeed is a lot of money but it’s just a drop in the bucket when you consider the projections for this industry. Based on information from Eilers Research firm, over 20 billion in wagers will be placed on eSports tourneys by 2020, that’s just four years away.

Financials

There are some who say, there’s no money in eSports – a phrase that couldn’t be further from the truth. As of right now, there are approximately 10,000 professional eGamers operating around the world. The highest paid of them nets approximately 1.5 million dollars a year. While this may not compare to the outrageous salaries of NFL, NBA, and other professional athletes, that’s still not bad for playing games: not bad at all.

The Bottom Line

Whether eSports sticks around for the next fifty years is anyone’s guess. But, one thing’s for sure – it’s entertainment value, continuing popularity, and potential for growth cannot be denied.

What do you think about eSports? Have you ever watched a game or participated in a tourney? Do you think that its popularity will continue to grow? Why or why not? Please share your thoughts/experiences in the comment section below. We look forward to hearing what you have to say!

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