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eSports Will Dominate Gaming Industry by 2020, But How?

Technological improvement is inevitable, and that’s what’s propelling the gaming industry into greater heights. Never before has there been this many people who are into eSports — 323 million to be exact.

And take note that eSports have arrived late on the scene, with its popularity starting to rise as late as 2005. Because of this, eSports betting became a thing, together with online casinos and virtual slots.

But because of the rapid pace of technological growth, eSports betting has now become a multi-million-dollar industry. To prove this, there are now a lot of major betting bookmakers that acknowledge the magnitude of eSports’ popularity. This is the reason why most of them decided to put it alongside traditional games like sports betting and online casinos.

eSports is Forecasted to Become a Billion-Dollar Industry

It’s already surprising to know that eSports is currently a multi-million-dollar industry. But what’s even more surprising is that it’s forecasted to become a billion-dollar industry soon (regulated revenues). A statistical report claims that the industry alone has accumulated more than $300 million in revenue. And that’s way back in 2015.

With a current rate of 15.4% growth per year, the eSports industry will reach a staggering $1.5 billion by the year 2020. That statistic alone proves that the growth is exponentially increasing annually. The things that constitute this revenue come from media rights, merchandise, advertising, prize money, and tickets.

As what we’ve said earlier, technology is constantly improving. This means better connectivity for players around the world. In simpler terms, it makes real-time online gaming smoother and better. So what’s the result of this? Simple — more people will be hooked to playing video games.

And as online video game competitions grow in popularity, so does eSports betting. It’s all about gaining a solid foothold on the market. By having a huge fan base of avid gamers, betting on well-known video gamers (who are now called as professionals) will become mainstream.

It’d be just like betting on the Cleveland Cavaliers during NBA Finals. It might sound a bit off if you were to hear it in this year, 2017. But it most likely won’t sound odd by 2020.

Another study conducted by Eilers & Krejcik Gaming states that eSports betting is already a billion-dollar industry. It claims that unregulated bets account for more than $7 billion in betting turnover last year.

What’s more striking to know is that the marketing research firm forecasts that the eSports betting industry will total to $23 billion in revenue by the year 2020. This means that operators will generate revenues close to $2 billion, which is arguably close and would even be higher than some sports betting sites and online casinos.

Take for example Dota 2…

As of now, Dota 2 remains on the top spot of eSports games. A proof of this is its much-anticipated annual tournament that’s attended by thousands of people from around the world. The International (TI) has just kicked off its 7th season, TI7, last Aug. 2 to Aug. 12.

Its jackpot prize pool amounts to a whopping $24,787,916 — a testament to how big of a video game/eSports event this is. This tournament is played by 18 teams hailing from different countries. And this year’s winner is Team Liquid.

With 6.14 betting odds, it sure is a surprise to know that they’ve reigned supreme in the contest. Newbee was given by the latest UK eSport betting offers from Freebets.co.uk 11.4 odds. This led them to take the 2nd runner-up position after being beaten by Team Liquid 3-0.

Meanwhile, the 14.5 underdog, LGD Forever Young, is the 3rd runner-up. Then there are LGD Gaming and Virtus.pro that both managed to hang by the thread with their 4th and 5th place finish having 11.1 and 4.7 odds.

All five teams will divide the more than $20 million pool prize, with the champion getting $10.8 million, the 2nd runner-up getting $3.9 million, while the 3rd, 4th, and 5th place finishers get $2.5 million, $1.7 million, and $1.1 million respectively.

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