eSports gambling has been one of the biggest trends in the online gambling world. Although eSports have been around for a long time, they became popular recently when the COVID-19 pandemic stopped all other sports events.
eSports is also popular on gambling websites, using Bitcoins as a payment method. Using cryptocurrency as a payment method provides various additional benefits for eSports wagers. For instance, it allows for live bets, cashback bonuses, and the ability to make wagers anonymously.
With the new popularity of eSports, there are many business opportunities and unique challenges that entrepreneurs will face and overcome.
eSports Analysis
With the growth of eSports, there’s an increased need for in-depth analysis. Analyzing traditional sports will work the same way, as the analysts will use the previous games the teams have had to come up with the odds and statistics.
The games take much less in eSport –with an average match never exceeding ten minutes in sports simulations. This allows the analysts to access a broader data set and make better predictions. Companies that provide that service already exist and are growing in size and abilities.
eSports Consultancy
eSports consulting agencies aren’t oriented towards the players but the eSports wagering establishments and streaming production companies. They work in betting compliance, risk management, and market entry strategies.
These fields are fluid and tend to change based on various factors, including government actions, popular attitudes, and heavy competition. The experts in these businesses usually come from marketing agencies, regulatory agencies, and risk-assessment companies such as insurance and the stock market.
Affiliate Marketing
eSports is a competitive market with many establishments, content creators, content agencies, and other supporting jobs. That’s why it needs to market heavily and look for new viewers, players, and subscribers. Affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to get that target audience. Affiliate marketers are the ones who are familiar with the subject matter and already have a foothold within the demographic.
Affiliate marketing is also one of the least expensive forms of marketing for those who practice it, as it’s based on trust and simple forms such as text or videos. New influencers have emerged in the last few years and signed lucrative deals with esports companies.
Social Network and Communities
eSports is very communal, just like the traditional sports. Groups and communities of fans are a crucial part of the experience. The fans watch the games together, and they often place wagers together. There are often ways to copy the wagers made by other fans and learn from their experience and mistakes.
Business opportunities are emerging for those who manage and run these communities. This job is similar to that of a social media manager, but it’s more responsible as it involves wagers and potential losses.
Data Aggregation
Reliable and accurate data is the key to making predictions in the eSports industry, and the amount of data available grows each day as new matches are played. Aggregation platforms can collect, analyze, and distribute eSports-related data, including player statistics, match results, and live event updates.
The most significant investment required to start such a business is in data collection—cloud-based systems that aggregate data are costly—at least much more so than the analysts needed to make sense of it. Some businesses are already in motion and have a growing relationship with fans, teams, and betting sites.
Challenges for eSports Entrepreneurs
Setting up a business in the new fields around the eSports industry presents some challenges. Some are due to the industry’s uniqueness, and others are common to other companies in the IT industry.
Regulatory Challenges
The eSports industry is relatively new compared to most other wagering options, and the tech it uses—such as blockchain, augmented reality, and data collection—is innovative. This presents a regulatory challenge for both the players and the industry itself.
Setting up a business to support the industry can be challenging as the regulations that govern it are still new and can change at any time. This is especially the case now, when crypto adoption has skyrocketed, as has interest in eSports. With more users and more profits within the industry, the government will look for ways to regulate the field further.
Integrity Concerns
eSports betting is vulnerable to match-fixing scandals and integrity issues. This undermines the trust in the industry and the betting sites that provide the service. There have been talks about match-fixing, even by big eSports teams, and the industry is always working on IT solutions to solve this problem.
The same can be said for traditional sports, or it happened when those fields were as young as eSports are today. However, since eSports are still, in essence, video games, the risks are higher in this regard.
Crowded Market and Saturation
The eSports market is much larger and more crowded than traditional sports. That’s because there’s much less of a barrier to setting up an eSports team, match, or even a league. There’s also much less interest in it than in the traditional market, and the industry is fighting for a much smaller piece of the pie.
Some fear that even though the market is currently on the rise, it won’t last long as there’s a limit to the market, and it’s closer than it seems. On the other hand, as younger viewers and players mature and access more disposable income.
Technological Complexity
For some entrepreneurs, the technical side of the business of working in the eSports industry may be a challenge on its own. The sector includes using blockchain, live bets, and cashback bonuses, as well as diving into complex data gathered by the industry.
This means that the investment needed to set up and run such a business is very high, and a lot of infrastructure must be set up. It’s a costly initial step that many companies don’t want to take.
Community Perception
The public often scrutinizes eSports for their negative impact on society and individuals who follow and wager on them. This is the case for any game of chance, but it is more so for eSports, as these are often seen as games with less-than-clear outcomes.
It’s also mostly a game for the young; therefore, parts of the business and marketing world still misunderstand that middle-aged people run at the top of their professional field. Public attitudes regarding eSports can change fast and are changing in real-time, but they are still a disadvantage.
The eSports industry and the businesses involved in it are also rising. There are many benefits for businesses working in the field, including unique services that they can provide. However, the very novelty of the field also has downsides.