There is a reason why online sportsbooks, at least those catering to the North American market and Asia, have been promoting eSports wagering over the likes of Hockey, Basketball and even the NFL.  It's now a billion dollar industry and gamers are easily converted into gamblers.

BetDSI.com now accepting many forms of cryptocurrencies

The Guadian.com features an excellent piece on the mostly male dominated arena style competitions:

As the scene has become increasingly professionalised, competitive eSports has begun to resemble traditional sport far more than the old cliche of nerdy kids playing in a basement. Like any other sport, it has its own doping scandals, injuries and pay and contract disputes.

Teams are increasingly joining the World eSports Association, a peak body designed to standardise pay, conditions, rights and regulations across the industry. The major brands – Fnatic, Cloud9, Legacy – attract the same loyalty and fanaticism of elite sports teams. Their uniforms are adorned with the logos of hefty sponsors like Audi, Dr Pepper and Vodafone, and they scout lower pool-stage tournaments for talented players to sign.

Our friends at BetDSI.com now feature wagering on eSports, both daily and futures.  They have added a new section to their betting site specific to eSports.

2018 will be the year eSports and cryptocurrency change the face of online gambling sites like BetDSI believe and they are investing
hundreds of thousands of dollars in building and promoting their eSports platforms

As the Guardian notes, the major eSports brands – Fnatic, Cloud9, Legacy – attract the same loyalty and fanaticism of elite sports teams, with new teams constantly joining the eSports fold. They have little trouble attracting big name sponsors.

But the Guardian also points out that up until now eSports has been mostly male dominated (and segregated) despite there being little edge between the sexes.

SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE

The fact that eSports are gender segregated at all points more to the sexism present in the wider gaming scene than any disparity in ability. The 2014 Gamergate scandal, which saw female gaming journalists and critics of gaming culture’s more boorish aspects targeted by waves of online abuse, was the first rumbling of what would become the weaponised misogyny of the Trump campaign and the violent “incel” movement.

Nicole Constantine is the Sydney Saints’ manager, handling their schedules and day-to-day logistics. She thinks that while gender equality in eSports is a way off, the “step-by-step” work of women like the Saints is wearing down the barriers.

“If you give girls the opportunity, they will perform”, Constantine says. “Constantly criticising and comparing them to the boys’ leagues is useless, because they stand on their own.”

- Alistair Prescott, Gambling911.com