eSports Plan for Legalized Sports Betting in States

Following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that dictates individuals states can offer legalized sports betting, the eSports firms are widely expected to embrace a healthy (and growing) gambling ecosystem, according to the Hollywood Reporter. SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE

“It’s another way to engage in the matches,” explains Tobias Sherman, founder of e-sports consultancy Foundry IV and former head of e-sports for WME|IMG. “How much more invested can you be than literally putting cash behind who you think is going to win? It’s something I think every publisher wants.”

The Hollywood Reporter noted that Riot Games, the company behind the popular online battle arena game League of Legends, is monitoring the climate closely,

“The Supreme Court ruling will have profound impact across all of sports, including League of Legends.”

International Web gambling sites have already thrust eSports betting center stage.  Many feature prominent links on their entry pages that stand out from other sports options such as Football and Basketball.

On any given day, Pinnacle Sports will offer lines on several dozen eSports matchups while BetDSI.com, a Gambling911.com-endorsed brand, has boost its eSports futures markets dramatically over the past two months.

Traditional sports owners with a vested interest in esports, such as Cuban, stand to gain doubly from relaxed wagering rules in the U.S, writes Jen Booten of SportsTechie.

“I think it’ll double the value of professional sports franchises in a second,” Cuban told ESPN shortly before the court announced its landmark sports betting decision in early May. “It’ll increase interest, it’ll add to what happens in our arena and in stadiums, it will increase the viewership for our biggest customers online and on TV. You start betting on 2K, and prop bets on 2K, and it just explodes.”

Benton writes:

Given the worldwide popularity of esports, the esports betting market might end up being its own animal entirely. The global esports betting market is expected to reach $6.7 billion in 2018 and could double to $13 billion by 2020 as esports maintain their meteoric growth and the U.S. eases restrictions on wagering, wrote Eilers & Krejcik, an esports gambling research company, in an April report.

The Supreme Court decision has also had a positive impact on gaming company stocks.

Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) is likely to introduce a gambling component to the Overwatch League shortly, and with that Morgan Stanley’s Brian Nowack thinks that given a bull scenario where 30% of viewers wager $37 annually, Blizzard could bring in $13 million in 2020.

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com