Why eSports Betting Is on the Rise in the Time of COVID-19

The Coronavirus pandemic swept the globe in March last year, causing many businesses to close their doors to customers, some temporarily, others permanently. Land based gambling operations suffered a considerable hit due to casino closures worldwide. The sports sector also did not fare well since many major sporting events were either altogether canceled or put on hold indefinitely. 

While land based gambling revenue reached rock bottom globally, many countries reported hikes in eSports viewership, participation, and betting. One prime example comes from the UK whose gambling regulator reported a mind-boggling increase in eSports wagering in recent months. The figures released by the UKGC indicate that while many of the local gambling industry’s sectors were dealt severe blows, eSports betting rates have increased dramatically. 

According to this report about the eSports betting industry, the gross gaming yield from eSports wagering has risen by 2,922% year-on-year, from £50,223 in March 2019 to over £1.9 million in March 2020. Similar trends are observed in other countries as well but how exactly did the pandemic contribute to the rise of the eSports industry?

Necessity Has Propelled eSports to New Heights

Necessity is easily the greatest contributor when it comes to catapulting the eSports industry into the mainstream. With conventional sporting competitions around the world being postponed or entirely canceled, bettors have started to seek alternatives to traditional wagering and have found them in the eSports sector. 

Consumer and business activities have been reduced to the bare minimum due to social distancing. The same is valid for social interaction. People had no other option but to look for a new source of entertainment and social engagement. Many found it in the face of eSports, which explains why there was such a massive surge in viewership and participation rates since the start of the lockdowns in March 2020. 

Bettors Transitioned from Traditional to Virtual Sports Competitions

Esports enabled people to connect without leaving the comfort of their homes. While major eSports contests were also canceled at the beginning of the pandemic, many professional competitions transitioned to the internet and started to take place online. This way people could watch or participate without exposing themselves to risk. 

In the absence of traditional sporting competitions, many sports bettors transitioned to placing wagers on eSports contests. People who would normally punt on conventional sports began to turn their gaze to the world of eSports. This transition has driven the growth of some brands like Unikrn and Luckbox, both of which specialize exclusively in the provision of online eSports wagering. 

LuckBox, in particular, experienced an unprecedented boom performance-wise in the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s Chief Executive of Operations, Quentin Martin, said in May the turnover of LuckBox has grown nearly 13 times, compared to that reported for November 2019. Similar tendencies were observed in deposits which have increased ten-fold since then. The company also reported a rise in the number of registrations and the average wager size of its bettors. 

Online Bookmakers Also Jumped on the eSports Bandwagon

Conventional bookies quickly took notice of the hype eSports have generated. Many of them were eager to grab a slice of the pie so they started to include eSports offerings in their product portfolios. 

Major casino and sports betting brands jumped on the eSports bandwagon, including established names like bet365, DraftKings, and Pinnacle. They started offering eSports-related betting products to regain the action of their existing customer base in the absence of conventional betting opportunities. Such trends could be observed on the other side of the ocean as well. 

In 2020, the Nevada Gaming Control Board granted its approval to licensed bookmakers, allowing them to take bets on popular eSports leagues and events from Call of Duty, League of Legends, FIFA, ESL One: Dota 2, Overwatch, and DreamHack Masters, among others. Punters surely appreciated these developments. 

Popular eSports media eSports Insider conducted a survey among over a thousand punters from the UK and the results were quite encouraging. Around 36% of the survey participants said they wagered on eSports when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its height. Roughly 22% of the non-eSports punters responded they were willing to place a wager on eSports within the next three months. 

New Advertising Opportunities Have Arised

Another factor that may have contributed to the rise of eSports betting amid the coronavirus has to do with advertising. Many brands saw the potential of eSports and the new promotional opportunities it offers. Endemic companies such as Intel and HP cemented multi-year sponsorship partnerships with the likes of Overwatch League. 

Advertising experts report a growing interest in eSports on behalf of non-endemic fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands. Kellogg’s and Coca Cola set the stage by signing lucrative deals with Overwatch League and Major League Soccer as early as 2019. Others preferred to invest in brand ambassadors as was the case with Procter & Gamble. The corporation recruited the Dota 2 player Roman Kushnarev (aka RAMZES666) as its ambassador. 

These trends continued during the pandemic, with Chipotle announcing a partnership with popular skateboarder Tony Hawk in August 2020. Chipotle customers who order Tony Hawk burritos are now granted access to the demo version of the iconic skateboarder’s new video game. 

Earlier this year giant BMW also decided to expand its eSports presence by teaming up with five major League of Legends teams – T1 from South Korea, FunPlus Phoenix from China, Cloud 9 from the United States, G2 eSports from Germany, and the British Fnatic. This increased advertising exposure has naturally driven the eSports industry forward. 

eSports Show No Signs of Slowing Down

While the eSports industry suffered a mild injury from the absence of live stadium tournaments,  as reported by Sporting Pedia, the sector shows no signs of slowing down. The advertising spend in the eSports industry is projected to reach $1 billion over the following two years as more and more companies see its potential. Before the coronavirus, the industry revenue was expected to grow to nearly $1.8 billion by 2023. Today, this figure appears grossly understated.