Guest post
The esports craze shows no signs of slowing down. There has been a massive shift in the gambling industry to meet the demand of esports betting. However, as yet the casino industry has not completely accepted esports betting as an equal to their main lineups.
It is still seen as a niche event, and the limited amount of markets and odds reflect upon this. However, 2019 looks to be the year that the casino industry can no longer constrain the impact of esports betting. We take a look ahead to what appears to be a very promising year for esports betting.
As you will all know, esports tournaments can be huge events watched by millions across the globe. This presents a fantastic and new gambling opportunity. The audience is there, and demand is ripe for an esports betting revolution.
The UK, in particular, has been very receptive to esports, with a recent report stating they sent out more esports related tweets than anyone in Europe in 2018. Traditional bookmakers have often looked at the industry with derision. However, they have been forced to include esports in their lineup; although up until now the inclusion has been rather limited.
You can have a look at the list of online casinos which currently support esports betting on bestonlinecasino.uk. Esports provide an opportunity to offer odds in a number of markets and also to offer odds on in-play markets. In this manner, they are very similar to traditional sports betting.
The esports betting market itself is already huge and projected to grow even more in the coming years. One estimation points to an eye-watering sum of $12.9 billion wagered by 2020. These statistics are being carefully analyzed by the casino industry, who will want to take full advantage of these trends.
One issue for bookmakers has been the availability of data. They base odds on an incredibly detailed amount of data. Accurate odds cannot be given without a large amount of data available. This has limited the number of games that mainstream bookmakers can cover and restricted the market choices.
If data is difficult to obtain for a bookmaker, then they will usually abstain from offering the market on the event. However, many esports developers and major companies are beginning to introduce clearer data practices. Data science teams are working hard at developing models and APIs that allow the simple extraction of data for bookmakers to use.
The availability of real-time match data will entice bookmakers to offer more markets for in-play betting. It is clear that the greater availability of detailed data will give esports betting a more prominent role in the 2019 casino industry.
Many events are watched by viewers through live streams. This is particularly appealing to bookmakers who already offer live streams as part of their main betting experiences. The technology behind live streaming has improved massively, which has allowed smooth and stable high-quality streams to be seen on a range of devices. This is appealing to bookies since they already have the infrastructure to include these live streams on their applications and web interfaces.
They can merge these live streams with their own betting options, and even offer a range of exclusive features alongside the live streams to make the betting experience more enjoyable. Esports betting can therefore become a big part of the casino industry, because this industry already has the experience and infrastructure to facilitate esports live streams into their interfaces.
Regional casinos are also starting to take note of the growth of esports. One study showed that 82% of commercial casino owners believed that casinos should start hosting esports events sooner than later. This shows how the mainstream gambling community has become ready to embrace and accept esports fully. Both physical and online casinos appear willing to cash in on the monumental hype train of esports.
More bookmakers and more online casinos will begin to expand on the esports games they offer and improve the markets. This will allow them to provide a more an in-depth esports betting experience, and as the casino industry expands its esports coverage, it will also grow the number of betting opportunities available.
Conclusion
The future of esports, in general, appears to be very bright. The trends show that the popularity will only continue to increase and this will be met with an increased demand for substantial esports betting services.
There is a major gap in the market for the casino industry to fill. It seems like 2019 will be the year that the industry as a whole starts to take esports betting seriously and begins to add it as part of its mainstay lineups.
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