How Esports Turned Video Games into Big Money

On the 28th of July 2019, history was made as one of the youngest esports competitors in the world claimed a $3 million prize – all while playing a computer game.

If those same words had been uttered even 20 years ago, the world would’ve laughed. And yet here we are. We find ourselves in a time where the very landscape of gaming and winning big money is changing.

Gambling and online casinos pride themselves as being on the cusp of every new trend and every new technology. Esports is one of those trends that offers mind-blowing prize pools for those who play and the opportunity to cash in on massive payouts if you place your bet on the correct gamer. Are you ready?

 The History of Esports

Video games have been a household norm for many years. Believe it or not, so have esports and tournaments focused on these games.

The very first “esports” event can be traced back to 1972, where students at Stamford University competed on the Spacewar video game. The winner received a one-year subscription to the Rolling Stones magazine!

 Soon thereafter, in the 1980s, Space Invaders was the game of the hour and more than 10,000 participants competed against each other in the world’s first gaming tournament.

Before the rise of the internet, gamers still managed to come together to play via LAN parties. It meant transporting entire machines from venue to venue in order to compete while playing multiplayer games.

Now that the internet is in every house and can be accessed from just about anywhere on the planet, esports has become king. Connecting players from all over the world, esports tournaments have grown to humungous proportions, drawing media attention, sponsorships and viewers by the millions.

 Geeks Rake in the Big Bucks

Fast forward to the end of July 2019 and suddenly it’s clear just how much the world has changed.

During the first-ever Fortnite World Cup, an online multiplayer first-shooter video game, 16-year-old Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf claimed a $3 million prize.

Beating the top 100 players the game has to offer, Kyle proved that playing games can change your life. But he doesn’t treat his love for Fortnite as a hobby. The gamer practices for at least 6 hours every day and his skills show.

Fortnite may one of the most recent additions to the esports arena, but it’s definitely not the first. Many other games, such as Dota, have been drawing crowds and massive prize pools for years. Millions upon millions of dollars are paid to the top teams each year and these tournaments draw crowds that would rival any football match.

Esports is in every sense of the word a true sport. It has fans, teams which train for hours every day, managers that push those teams to their best, prize money that blows away any day job, and best of all, you can probably bet on it at your favourite online sports betting site.

 How Esports Affects Online Gambling

It’s easy to see why esports has grown the way it has over the last few years. Advertisers and sponsors are after one thing – eyes on their product. Esports draws crowds of viewers of all ages, all walks of life, and all countries.

As esports has grown, the online gambling world has started to take notice of this growth and realised that there’s an untapped market.

Many online sports betting sites have now opened their doors to the world of esports and you can place bets on your favourite teams from your PC or mobile. And it’s proving to be a lucrative decision.

Set to hit the $8 billion mark in total wagers in 2019, esports has proven to be one of the fastest-growing categories in online gambling history!

While it may be difficult to truly pinpoint a winning team, based on the random factors that occur with esports players, it hasn’t stopped online gamblers from staking their claim on a portion of the winnings up for grabs.

 Where to from Here for Esports?

Only a few short years ago, Fortnite was an unknown game with nothing to its name. Now it boasts one of the youngest winners of its tournament first prize.

Thanks to this sort of intense growth and expansion of technology, esports is a very exciting industry to follow. While many of the old favourites such as Dota and League of Legends will live on, it’s plain to see that a newcomer on the scene can change the landscape of esports in an instant.

It’s for this reason alone that we recommend keeping a close eye on what’s to come for esports in the future as it is bound to be exciting!