Why esports betting on the rise during COVID-19 (Part 2)

Bettors have transitioned from traditional sports competitions to virtual

Esports allows people to stay connected without leaving their homes. While major esports competitions were also canceled at the start of the pandemic, many professional competitions have turned to the internet and have begun to take place online. This way, everyone can watch or participate at no risk.

In the absence of traditional sports competitions, many sports bettors have turned to betting on esports competitions. Regular players of casual sports began to turn their gaze to the esports world. This transition has spurred the growth of several brands, such as Unikrn and Luckbox, both of which offer online esports betting.

In particular, LuckBox had an unprecedented explosive performance in the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s chief operating officer, Quentin Martin, said in May that LuckBox’s revenue had increased by almost 13 times, compared with figures reported in November 2019. Similar trends were observed. seen in deposits has increased 10-fold since then. The company also reported an increase in the number of registrations and the average bet size of the bettors.

Online bookmakers are also participating in Bandwagon eSports

Conventional bookmakers quickly noticed the newly created esports games. Many of them were eager to grab a piece of delicious cake and began to include esports services in their product portfolio.

Major sports betting and casino brands have jumped into the esports race, including established names like bet365, DraftKings and Pinnacle. They started offering esports-related betting products to regain their base of operations alongside their existing customer base in the absence of regular betting opportunities. Such trends can also be observed on the other side of the ocean.

In 2020, the Nevada Game Controllers Committee approved licensed bookmakers, allowing them to bet on popular esports tournaments and events from Call of Duty, League of Legends, FIFA, ESL One: Dota 2, Overwatch and DreamHack Masters, among others. Punters certainly appreciated these developments.

Famous esports media outlet Esports Insider conducted a survey of more than a thousand betting players from the UK and the results are quite encouraging. About 36% of survey participants said they were betting on esports when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak. About 22% of non-esports players responded that they are willing to bet on esports within the next 3 months.