Esports has seen a sharp rise in recent times. Their gambling value on esports contests has dramatically improved as competitive video gaming has been much less affected by the COVID-19 lockdown than its traditional counterpart – sports. With this in mind, investing in esports shares might be more tempting than ever, according to an analysis from This Money.

Even Huge Operators Can’t Turn Their Back on Esports Anymore

The analysis begins by pointing out that the global esports gambling market is expected to hit $200 billion by 2027, making it especially worthy of investing early. Investing demands less dedication than betting as it doesn’t require the investor to be as familiar with the esports scene. 

Sports betting operator Entain’s CEO, Jette Nygaard-Andersen, used to play Counter-Strike, one of the most prominent esports games. Despite not competing currently, she still sees the opportunities that esports gambling presents, and her firm recently acquired Seattle-based esports betting platform Unikrn. 

On a different note, this new acquisition sparked discussion on whether MGM will continue its efforts to acquire Entain. Earlier this year, the former party proposed a $10 million acquisition deal that ended up being refused.

Etain’s acquisition of Unikrn, on the other hand, isn’t an exception, but a tendency as other betting operators and various other companies have also been on the lookout to acquire an esports company or partner with one. For example, a few days ago, the cryptocurrency exchange Bybit struck deal with the Ukrainian esports team Natus Vincere in order to slowly carve its way into esports. Other deals between gambling or crypto bodies and esports organizations or gambling operators have also seen a rise. 

The Uncertainties of the Industry

Some of the concerns people have when wondering whether to invest in esports gambling is the fact the industry is still on a bit of shaky ground because of its novelty. In some countries, the regulations are still being figured out and might tighten as gambling laws modernize to better suit contemporary technology.

This Money observantly points out that smartphones have changed gambling forever as now everyone has a “portable casino in their pocket.” Moreover, the COVID quarantine boosted not only esports betting but betting as a whole which has led to many anti-gambling activists voicing their concerns. 

However, these concerns don’t mean one should throw the possibility of investing into esports gambling shares altogether. Despite the possibility of new gambling laws reshaping the market, the tendency is that there is some serious work put into expanding the esports betting ecosystem. 

Nevada, for example, is still settling on what exactly esports regulations should be. Senate Bill 165 proposed to create an esports regulatory body which was later toned down to an esports advisory committee. Yet, despite that, esports events and esports gambling have been booming, and there have been some major efforts in keeping it such. 

Investing can be risky, especially when it comes to an industry as new as esports gambling. Furthermore, betting has always been somewhat of a controversial matter, and sometimes, whole countries have shut down their respective gambling ecosystems. Things are always subject to change, and there is rarely full certainty. 

Despite all of this, with the tendencies being what they are, it might be good to at least be aware of the options and opportunities that investing in the esports gambling market presents.