There was a time when betting on events was something of a pipedream. However, this is not the case so much anymore. Today, esports enjoys the backing of the gambling industry and major game companies all while continuing to attract plenty of wagers.
Sportsbooks don’t just include any event on their sites. Their aim is to attract customers who will bet on events. There needs to be evidence those bets will be plentiful rather than just a few here and there. With esports growing in popularity, in no small part to Covid, it will be a pilot event at the Commonwealth Games in 2022.
Esports heads to Commonwealth Games in Birmingham
For those who do not know the Commonwealth Games is an international multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. Evidently, Sportsbooks have been keeping a close eye on the progression of esports with intent to add events to their coverage. The number of people playing esports has been a huge positive.
The fact esports have become a worldwide success is another reason for sportsbooks to show more interest. Gradually, sportsbooks decided to start offering some odds on major tournaments. These proved to be successful and esports finally had its foot inside the Sportsbook’s door. Then came an event that no one could have foreseen.
Demand during pandemic
Sportsbooks rely on major sports such as football, tennis, basketball, and horse racing for its 24/7 offering of odds. The thought something other than a world war could massively disrupt sports simply was not considered. Then came the pandemic.
Suddenly, major sports leagues found themselves on hold, decreasing the number of live events to almost zero. Sportsbooks were looking for football leagues to cover and games in Belarus suddenly became extremely important to them.
There were still massive gaps in their coverage, though many gambling sites switched their emphasis to casino games. The sportsbooks still needed events to cover and esports became an increasingly important element. It’s not too surprising really. For many years, sites have been including virtual sports as part of their coverage. Sports like horse racing, football, speedway, motor racing and greyhound racing feature rather consistently.
Such virtual events gained a reputation as viable stand-ins events cancelled due to weather. It was just a case of producing something to offer their customers and keep them placing bets.
With the pandemic suspending activities indefinitely, it no longer acted as a case waiting for major tournaments to return. Odds were now offered on the regular for esporting events featuring Counter Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, and Call of Duty events.
Customers weren’t just able to place bets on the esports events. They were able to enjoy live coverage too. Even major news sites such as the BBC were beginning to show an interest. Bets were able to be placed before the esports events took place and in-play too. With the odds fluctuating depending on what was happening, this soon grabbed the interest of the customers who were looking for something to replace betting on their regular events.
The popularity for esports has gone global, with many tournaments entering into realm most notably reserved for traditional sports.
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