The Impact of Major eSports Tournaments on eSports Betting

 

When it comes to sports betting, major events matter enormously. For example, just consider the amount of betting revenue generated by major sports meets such as the Soccer World Cup or Olympic Games. Some didn’t think it could ever happen, but it is quickly becoming apparent that esports is going to be no different from any other sporting discipline that came before it.

Bigger tournaments mean more spectators, higher prize money, and more interest from the mainstream media. This creates a feedback loop that continues to grow year upon year, attracting further gamers into a sport – a sport which, more so than perhaps any other – is open to vast swathes of the general population.

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Becoming a professional esports player doesn’t require you to be in good physical shape; it doesn’t require you to find the discipline to commit to endless grueling physical training; of course, you still have to practice, be dedicated, and have a strong desire to be the best. But being short, fat, or even somewhat unhealthy won’t automatically disqualify you from partaking in esports in the same way it might from the NBA, NFL, or NHL.

In many ways, esports is the sport for the rest of us.

Why is Betting So Important to Sport?

For many, heading over to their favorite esports betting site and placing a bet or two on their favorite team, player, or both, has an identical psychological effect on the brain as betting on a traditional sporting event; betting on the outcome of a game you are about to witness – whether at home or in person – gives viewers a much stronger sense of attachment to the game.

And, much as in many other areas of life, if you already have a strong sense of emotional attachment to your favorite teams or players, they really can’t lose in many bettors’ eyes no matter how they do. When your bets come back as winners it servers to further reinforce your belief in the player or team, ensuring you are likely to bet on them again in the future. If they suffer a defeat, you probably won’t be too harsh on them, instead, they will make excuses such as “everyone has a rough day every once in a while” or “nobody could have beaten <opponent> on that day – they were on fire….”. It’s a strange quirk of human psychology, but it’s undoubtedly true.

How many people do you know who have ever changed their favorite football or basketball team simply because they happened to lose a bet one time?

The Huge Attention Esports Betting is Bringing to the Pastime

Three games continue to stand out in the world of esports, despite years of remaining at the top of the list of most popular and most played titles – Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO), League of Legends, and Dota 2.

Whilst CS: GO is a traditional first-person shooter of the kind that will be instantly familiar to anybody who has played the Call of Duty games (or any FPS title ranging back to 1995’s iconic DOOM – the inspiration for almost every such game on the market today), League of Legends and Dota 2 are both what is known as MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) titles which require teams of players to form an effective fighting force by combining the strengths and weaknesses of several of the games  “champions”.

The huge prize money that is now being associated with tournaments being arranged around these three games is receiving massive media attention, which is extremely important as far as betting revenues are concerned because the very young tend to bet much less money than their older counterparts – this is only natural, after all, young people have less disposable income for a start.

The issue is, Esports is still very much a primary interest of the very young, so mainstream media attention is a critical assistive element in enhancing the amount of interest in this new form of sporting activity with older bettors who are already betting on many other types of sports, and may never have any exposure to Esports if it were not for the mainstream media attention that the increasingly huge, stadium-filling contests that are now taking place worldwide are bringing to what looks as if it will become the largest new sporting phenomenon to appear out of nowhere in decades if not hundreds of years.

Massive, worldwide sports betting brands such as Unibet are getting behind Esports as a legitimate form of competition, and if that doesn’t convince you that this movement must surely have legs, I don’t know what could.

Get ready for it: the Esports revolution has only just begun.