How is e-Sports Doing Now that Live Sports are Back? Bookmakers Want to Know..
Published July 29, 2020 by Lee R
The data for the sustainability of the enlarged e-Sports betting market is good, except for one obvious set of verticals.
Virtual event e-Sports understandably won increased bet attention as well as patronage during the Covid shutdowns.
Tempering Accelerated Growth
The e-Sports betting market's upswing in percentage and volume saw some titles reaching a 40x increase in volumes.
The Live Sport Question
Of course, now the ebb is challenging those figures with the return of live sports.
Sportsbook experts are now trying to assess the new hold e-Sports on the sports betting market established during the Covid shutdowns, with the impact of the live play return.
Luckbox Expert's Data
Luckbox Sportsbook Head Metodi Zaburtov's examination of growth rates has led him to the belief while that live sports will cut into e-Sports betting, overall e-Sports has gained a stronger foothold that is sustainable in the sports betting market:
“Data shows that resumption of traditional sports did not have a negative impact on e-Sports betting, especially on traditional e-Sports titles. We see a continuous growth of betting volumes on a weekly and monthly basis in excess of 15 per cent.”
Bursts to New Position
Zaburtov acknowledged that “crazy” growth rates such as 155% during Covid could no longer be expected, but that the industry had done well to “lock up” the gains made in that period.
The New e-Sports Data Model
Zaburtov pointed to a general e-Sports ebb in May with the change of season, which has given way to an understanding of the new look e-Sports has statistically in the sports betting landscape, using two of e-Sports biggest names to illustrate:
“League of Legends volumes were also affected by the break between spring and summer splits but, with the return of LCS and LEC in particular, there’s been a 93% growth in volumes and 75% growth in the number of bets in June compared to May.”
The Obvious Drop
The drop-off in e-Sports betting is relegated, predictably to one vertical: the sports-centric titles. Simulated games such as FIFA, NBA and Formula 1 by simple subtraction lose the patronage they had during the Covid shutdowns.
Outlook Overall
Despite the obvious losses that e-Sports would sustain with the return of live sports, the general interest stoked in e-Sports as a virtual gaming event during the shutdowns has resulted in a more robust space for betting on virtual events.
