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The esports betting industry is on course to continue its incredible growth rates. The industry was reported to be valued at $1 billion in 2019 and it is showing no sign of slowing down. Even the most conservative estimates have the esports betting industry set to reach a value of $3 billion by 2025. So what is it about esports that has caused such a betting revolution?
Huge viewing figures
It took many years for esports to become seen as a serious alternative to traditional sports. But the sheer popularity of esports has seen it become a viable form of entertainment, with many traditional broadcasters such as ESPN and the BBC showing major esports tournaments.
Such efforts have been made to harness the many millions of esports fans who watch major events like LoL Worlds and The International on streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube Gaming.
With such a large viewing audience, it was only a matter of time before betting sites got involved. While traditional bookmakers were understandably sceptical about the rise of esports, there has now been a wave of fully licensed esports betting sites that now give people an easy way to bet on massive games like LoL, CSGO and Dota 2. Such a large number of esports betting sites have helped many people enjoy a legal and safe way to bet on competitive gaming as a form of entertainment.
Increased legitimacy
Some early incarnations of esports were fairly amateurish affairs. In some instances, this led to match-fixing in games like Counter-Strike. Thankfully, such examples are becoming increasingly rare, and there has been the development of regulatory bodies like the Esports Integrity Commission to oversee the standards of competitive gaming.
Plus, the fact that esports betting sites only accept real money bets rather than permitting skin gambling has helped the activity enjoy more legitimacy. Skin betting blighted esports betting for many years as it was commonly linked with underage gambling. But with the widespread use of licensed real money betting sites offering esports odds, it is hoped that skin gambling will soon become a thing of the past.
Esports betting on a global scale
The rise of esports betting has gone hand in hand with the widespread deregulation of online betting all over the world. At the moment online esports betting is legal in a relatively small number of countries like the UK, Germany, Sweden and so on. Countries like Australia still don’t allow you to bet live on esports over the internet.
But it looks like the tide is turning as growing numbers of US states are starting to legalise betting on regular sports and esports. Such moves will dramatically increase the potential revenue streams for esports betting sites and it’s understandable why so many bookmakers are keen to move into the fledgling US markets. This suggests a bright future for the esports betting industry.
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