How esports and betting on esports events are changing under the influence of COVID-19
Esports and betting on events within Esports disciplines will continue to grow even after COVID-19-related restrictions are reduced or lifted. That is the view of Mark Balch, vice-president of Esports betting at Bayes Esports. However, to do so, betting companies need to consider the risks that come along with the transition to open and the removal of quarantined events.
As Mark Balch points out to SBS News, betting firms divide Esports into two main types: hardcore video game competitions, which include CS: GO, Dota, League of Legends, etc., and sports replacement or so-called crisis content — FIFA, NBA2k, ice hockey, etc.
By pandemic, there was almost no sports replacement, if you compare it to the present. But then COVID-19 came along, which minimized most conventional sporting events. This put esports in the spotlight on betting sites, as esports teams were able to run high-quality competitions as before. As all other content disappeared, sports substitutions also suddenly gained popularity. According to Mark Balch, this type of content underwent the biggest change during 2021. Common examples are FIFA and the NBA. Interest in them has not just risen sharply but continues to hold its own.
At the same time, according to the expert, professional hardcore eSports depends on offline competitions, where the world’s best teams from each region play each other far more than they are used to. This is the pinnacle of the eSports industry, and it is clear that the pandemic has ruined most of the plans for eSports. Many large-scale events have had to be postponed and many new transformations, the creation of lungs, and other important organizations have had to be put on pause.
Of course, this has had a negative impact on the esports industry as a whole. There has been stagnation in many esports disciplines. Without international competition, players from CS: GO and Dota are losing form. At the end of 2021, the competition is just starting to gain momentum, but it is still a long way from the former glory of the competition.
At the end of 2021, there were several live events in front of the audience, but even now it is not always possible. Take, for example, the large-scale tournament The International 10: initially, it was planned to hold the event in Sweden, but due to problems the event had to be moved to Romania. Then the COVID-19 outbreak was registered, and all tickets started to be refunded just a few days before the event with the announcement that the event would have to be held without an audience due to the inability to create a safe environment for the audience.
At the same time, the volume of betting in esports has grown in the last two years like never before. According to Mark Balch, this has greatly increased betting companies’ interest in esports events, as they want to make sure they can then provide customers’ leisure time under all conditions.
The expert believes that esports, like betting on esports events, will continue to grow despite the COVID-19 situation, but there are new risks on the horizon. The last time eSports received such a blow was in 2008, when, as a result of the global financial crisis, many competitions, and with them players’ careers, came to naught, only to be revived in 2010–2011. In 2021, there is again a lack of funds for large-scale events, tournaments, and marketing support.
So today, according to Mark Balch, content that replaces traditional sports is a success with bookmakers and is a popular addition for many betting customers. However, whether the vertical of crisis content from FIFA and the NBA will remain popular following the reinstatement of hardcore eSports competitions and tournaments with CS: GO and Dota is an open question. One thing is clear — bookmakers are interested in developing all areas of the Esports vertical, and it is their sponsorship that can help the industry recover faster from the recent disruptive events
Originally published at https://www.wantedly.com.