Fast forward over forty years and the fan base of esports has grown tremendously. This year, the total audience size grew to 496 million, consisting of 272 million occasional viewers and 223 million enthusiasts. By 2023, it's predicted that the total audience size will rise to 646 million, with approximately 295 million esports enthusiasts.
The market might be growing, but there are many areas of esports that continue to be in their infancy, including optimising opportunities for betting, revenue streams and influence. In theory, however, esports should have the upper hand over physical sports when it comes to betting. The digital nature of esports means that it's easier to monitor player behaviour and easier to capture the vast amounts of data needed to inform betting decisions.
However, a key ingredient is missing: trust. Currently, betting enthusiasts don't have enough information or knowledge about esports to make informed decisions, holding them back from making bets in the same way they would with physical sports such as football or horse racing. By making better use of technology, esports has the opportunity to cross over into the mainstream, but the question is: is that what esports wants to do?
Creating a story with data
Compared to physical sports, whether it's rugby, football, horse racing or Formula 1, the reach of esports is much larger, capturing the attention of millions of fans across the world. The difference is that esports hasn't yet taken the opportunity to monetise it in the same way that physical sports have; there isn't the same media or fan coverage of esports that physical sports have already mastered over the years. Consider a football or rugby World Cup or the Grand National - with these sports, the results of the matches, tournaments or races will often be broadcast on national television, with people being aware of the winners regardless of if they follow the sport.
Despite a huge 'underground' following, esports hasn't hit the mainstream in the same way; if you don't follow esports, the likelihood is that you won't know too much, if anything, about the players, winners or tournaments. It is for this reason that esports betting has not yet risen in popularity, but by changing the perception of esports and creating a story with the vast volume of data esports is able to gather and analyse, there is an opportunity for the sport to break through the world of betting - if it chooses to do so.
Consider the process of a football fan placing a bet on a match in the Premier League. They know the players, they discuss it with their friends, they've followed the matches throughout the whole tournament. They're presented with data on the number of successful passes, attempted goals, opposition stats and previous injuries, all of which they can use to make an informed decision on the bet they're going to place.
Esports can mimic this journey, after all, the digital world can access this wealth of data far easier than the physical sports world can. Fortnite, for example, can use data to show potential betters the win rates of players, the success and length of time of previous tournaments, and intricacies such as specific player combat moves or weapons used.
It is with this large pool of data that greater trust can be instilled. With the help of machine learning, betting companies can assess the data in real-time and find anomalies to ensure no fraudulent or mishandled data can slip through the net. With this insight and the reduction of error, it will be far easier for potential betters to put their faith in these data-driven odds, increasing engagement as a result.
Focusing on the user experience
It's clear that, alongside esports telling a better story with its data, habits need to change in order for betting to gain popularity in esports. The changes experienced across a range of industries this year show that change is possible - and fast - and the long and successful history of esports is on its side. But the audience demographic plays a key part here; esports fans may typically be younger with less disposable income, and therefore be less inclined to place a bet. However, by instilling trust in the data and showing potential betters that they can have faith in the odds, this demographic may be more willing to join the world of betting.
The user experience is also important here and is extremely different in esports compared to physical sports. In physical sports, a bet for a horse race or football match might be placed whilst in the pub with a group of fellow fans, increasing engagement and competition and immersing betting into the entire experience of watching the sport. With esports, however, there is less comradery, with tournaments often taking place late at night or in the early hours in the morning, live-streamed over the internet. Despite knowing that millions of other fans are also tuned in to the same stream and group/community chat functions being available, esports is considered less of a group sport compared to physical sports, therefore presenting fewer opportunities for engagement to be increased and an atmosphere to be created.
With this in mind, if esports did want to cross over into the mainstream world, considering how communities can be created or enhanced will be crucial in order to mirror the comradery seen in physical sports.
Trusting the source
So is trust the missing ingredient in esports betting? The question remains over whether the esports industry wants to become mainstream, or if part of its appeal is, in fact, its 'underground' nature and exclusivity. If the latter remains the preferred option, betting can still play a part. By truly understanding the esports audience and the appeal of each tournament, betting companies can use data to create a story that really engages esports fans and gives them a reason to not just watch, but join in by using data to get to know each player, each tactic and each opponent, and place a bet on the outcome.
"Compared to physical sports, whether it's rugby, football, horse racing or Formula 1, the reach of esports is much larger, capturing the attention of millions of fans across the world. The difference is that esports hasn't yet taken the opportunity to monetise it in the same way that physical sports have; there isn't the same media or fan coverage of esports that physical sports have already mastered over the years."
In reality, esports has the tools at its disposal to join the world of betting and monetise not just a sport, but a movement that continues to gain popularity with many different audiences. With huge pools of data and technology such as machine learning to instil trust and honesty in this data just ready to be tapped into, only the industry itself can decide the next move.
