The world of sport has taken a huge hit in 2020. We have seen many changes to the way sports are played, and those changes are not over with yet.
The Covid-19 pandemic has hit hard, cancellations, suspensions, changing of dates and much more has happened to disrupt things.
One industry that has kept the ability to keep their show on the road has been the eSports industry. Although we’ve not seen arena battles and fans in attendance, we have seen some of the best in the world take each other remotely, and some great matchups have taken place.
This has left eSports is one of the few events taking place, and that has led to additional focus and attention on the matches, with little in the way of competition going against them.
Bookmakers Rely Heavily on eSports at Peak of Pandemic
The betting industry has been working with eSports for a number of years. Their relationship has grown, and more people bet on eSports than ever before.
However, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the reliance on eSports from bookmakers reached a new high.
With little else to bet on, eSports became the center of their service for a short period of time, but it was a period that gave eSports center stage to shine. Bookmakers started to offer eSports bonuses to new players, the big names can be compared on this eSports bonus comparison page.
When bookmakers needed something, it was eSports that came to the fore. This helped bookmakers keep going, and the hope is that it will also pay dividends for the entire eSports industry, who got exposure from betting partners that they have never seen before.
Casual Sports Fans Become New eSports Fans?
Not only did bookmakers find themselves looking around for something to offer, but sports fans were also desperate to watch any kind of action.
Fans of the Premier League and other football leagues were left with no action. There was no other football, and little else in terms of any other sport, so the fans were left looking at things that were taking place such as eSports.
For most of these people, they will forget about eSports when things return to normal, but the eSports industry will be hoping that just a few of them keep in touch and up to date.
This may be by watching big events, following on social media, or something else, but any form of interaction from new players is positive.
eSports were given a unique opportunity during 2020, and they will be hoping that just a small number of those who took an interest will remain interested and keep in touch with the industry.
What Does the Future Hold?
The more that eSports grow, the more chance we have that the latest game releases will be tailored to that market. The growth will force people to change how they think and how they plan the games they are releasing, so keep an eye on this.
The future may also hold changes in the way that bookmakers and eSports work together.
We have seen a little cooperation in the past, with sponsorship and other deals, but could we see this on a larger scale moving forward?
Hopefully, the bookmakers that were helped by the continuation of eSports during 2020 will not forget what happened. Then, in the future when they are thinking about sponsoring sporting events, eSports will be something they consider.
It would be no surprise to see bookmakers put some of their profit back into eSports as a thank you and also to try and grow their names further.
