Esports and casinos do not come in one sentence usually. But the tables have been turning lately. Casinos in Las Vegas have been opening esports betting arenas, and online casinos games have been mushrooming on the esports betting sites. Now, the lines between the two forms have become so blur that if you are playing judi online terpercaya on a betting site, it will not raise someone’s eyebrows.
The lockdown induced by the pandemic compelled traditional casinos to go hybrid and launch their online avatars. Bookmakers and big players in the casino industry recognised the hidden opportunity in esports where revenue generation is perennial. They have now joined forces to provide technology to take the legacy forward.
Why are casinos moving towards esports?
The Esports industry has been witnessing a steep rise in revenue generation. Its fan base is growing fast. In 2020, statistics show that esports viewers, casual or bettors, rose to a whopping 496 million. Experts predict that the industry would grow at an annual CAGR of 10% to cross 646 million viewers by 2023.
How casinos are embracing this trend
This started in 2017 when Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas opened a HyperX Esports Arena to attract the young crowd and cash in the industry. The complex spans 2800m2 to host guests to enjoy a live esports betting experience.
Game Co is one of America’s biggest video gaming companies planning to launch the first physical esports exclusive sportsbook. The venue for this is chosen to be the premises of Sky Ute Casino Resorts in Colorado.
Game Co’s is planning another venture with GRID, a data and analytics firm. They are working together on a vision to optimise Game Co’s VGM or Video Game Gambling Machine into GRID’s esports data and analytics solutions.
Complexity Gaming is the North American Esports Organisation. It opened the floodgates for all when the WinStar World Casino and Resort officially sponsored its events. The organisation also recognised the casino as an exclusive status among its ranks.
Casinos are seeing green with esports betting organisations. The benefits are mutual. Esports Entertainment Group launched an application for facilitating mobile betting in the state of New Jersey. They partnered with Twin River, which is planning to acquire Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, one of the noteworthy casinos in New Jersey.
Casinos and esports share a symbiotic relationship
Casinos are facing difficulty accepting esports. This is mainly because they do not know whether esports betting is legitimate or not. Laws in America doesn’t cover esports as they did not exist then. Casinos cannot afford to have anyone inside their premises compared to betting sites that are open to all.
Most of the esports bettors are susceptible to this union too. Sports and esports bettors operate from ambiguous and remote locations away from the glamour that comes with casinos. Now, starting an infrastructure for spectators is adding up to the business’s operational costs, where it seems unnecessary. So, casinos who are thinking that installing an esports arena next to slot machines will attract the bettors from online options have to think twice. They have to come up with ways that make people come to casinos to enjoy esports betting.
Casinos have to identify the problem underlying the existing structure and address them. For instance, they will have to hire a data analytics expert and a tech-savvy bookmaker for making the correct odds. It is not practical for them to host events like World spanning weeks as it is unlikely for bettors to frequent the casinos physically for that.
Esports have evolved digitally. Things happening in physical space are going online. No one knows whether the other way round may be as lucrative as the online version. But, esports fans like to gather around for an event. For example, Dota 2 organises Pubstomps at different locations. Fans entertain themselves with the high of the International Live event. They would like to have an opportunity to socialise and find like-minded people for fun. League of Legends and CS: GO fans also host parties to watch their events. These watch parties prove that casinos treading on esports would eventually get high returns in what they are investing.
However, casinos would not want to mix sports and esports bettors. As video games have been hosting big international events globally, it is high time for casinos to tap the potential of these competitions. They can start by sponsoring events that, in turn, would promote their models, spreading word of mouth and attracting visitors.
