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To many, Esports might sound like something new that sportsbooks are offering now that all the major sports leagues have been suspended, due to the Covid-19 crisis that’s affecting the whole planet. However, electronic sports are not new at all, bookies have been offering these markets for years now, and audiences for these games are counted by millions.
In fact, Esports date all the way back to 1972 for a first reference, when an event was held at Stanford University; a “Spacewar” competition that was called “Intergalactic Spacewar Olympics” and the Prize was a year-long subscription to Rolling Stone Magazine. Space Invaders, Twin Galaxies, Pac-Man and Donkey Kong were other games that had their competition history back in the 80’s; after that, some TV shows aired in America and the UK, that were completely dedicated to console games, while going into the 90’s, of course, internet online games started taking the attention. Long story short, Esports have been around for a while, but from year 2000 until now, they have grown quite a lot, not only in viewership, but in prizes as well; there are professional Esports teams now from many different countries and, of course, sportsbooks have jumped at this big opportunity and tried to make the best of it for a few years now.
Esports are taking the stage during the Covid-19 crisis
It is no surprise that Esports are becoming more and more important these days in the sportsbook industry, considering that, even though all sportsbooks are turning to their casino product, there are many bettors that are and will remain sports players. Casino is always a good option and bookies should have that very clear, but it’s also important to consider different paths, so that everyone can relate to something once they log-in to play at your website.
The traditional big names like League of Legends, DOTA 2 (Defense of the Ancients), Starcraft and Overwatch are getting lots of traffic right now, but there are new options as well, as sports teams and leagues have decided to join and give something back to their fans, mostly soccer fans so far, creating Esoccer leagues like “Ultimate Quaran-team”, or “Bundesliga Home Challenge”, to name a couple. In these cases, star players from different teams have agreed to play FIFA games or tournaments against representatives of other teams, sometimes just for fun, others to raise money for a good cause.
Whatever the case is, sportsbooks from all over the world are offering these markets right now and once you join a good Price per Head operator you will too.
Diversify your markets and give your players what they’re looking for
This is a great time for you to think about the future of your sportsbook operation. Price per Head operators are ready to take on this challenge and make the most out of this crisis for you and your sportsbook. Esports are a great opportunity for you to diversify and test new waters, that can help you create even more volume and revenue, once sports are back. Are you ready to take this big step into success? Give us a call right now!
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