Joshua Robinson is a writer and a huge gaming enthusiast. He closely follows news related to the biggest gaming companies, eSports, and hot new releases. Joshua also enjoys betting on gaming events and sharing his insight with new eSports fans.

UK Gambling Industry: Learn How British Residents Gamble on Esports

Source: Pixabay

Slowly but surely eSports betting made its way to popular sportsbook operators in the UK and across the world. This is not too surprising given how betting operators always look for ways to make their products more appealing to a wider audience. If you recall, people were allowed to place wagers on who will die and who will survive in the Game of Thrones series.

The reason why eSports wagering is more prevalent in the UK compared to other countries is due to societal habits. Brits have a well-established gambling industry, a lot of them play the national lottery and online casino games. Moreover, the proceeds of gambling go to charity, so it’s a good way to collect funds for good causes. However, they also allocate over a billion pounds to combat gambling addictions, so it does come with its fair share of problems. Here we will examine the state of eSports gambling in the UK and showcase how Brits gamble on these events.

Issues with eSports Betting

It’s worth mentioning that there are certain issues that the eSports betting scene is struggling with. First of all, there are issues that pretty much any other sport is combating and that is match-fixing. Back in 2016 and 2017, regulators had a hard time with criminals trying to fix the eSports matches, and there was a big incident that happened in South Korea during a StarCraft II tournament. As a result, Lee Seung-Hyun AKA Life was arrested and prosecuted for throwing a few matches. Of course, other popular games like CS: GO, League of Legends, and Overwatch all had their fair shares of match-fixing troubles.

Another issue with eSports betting is the odds. As we all know the odds are based on historic data or previous outcomes. However, the teams change and evolve frequently along with the game they are playing. Each game is regularly updated with new content, ability balancing, etc. This makes it difficult to accurately gauge the odds for the outcomes once the new season starts.

Gambling in Casinos

Much like betting operators, casinos are also looking for ways to attract a more diverse audience.  ESports are mainly followed by a younger audience and that’s the demographic casino UK platforms struggle with and want to attract. You can see that a lot of low wagering casino UK sites also offer sports betting options and that they advertise their services on betting sites. Moreover, some of the best gambling sites also have arcade slots, in an attempt to make these slots more appealing for British players who love video games.

This also contributes to the growth of eSports wagering as other casino-goers or regular sports bettors are more likely to give it a shot. The trend will likely continue and evolve much as it has in the US, where gaming events are being held in land-based casinos.

More Betting Options with Dragoni

Source: Pixabay

Another let’s call it drawback of eSports betting is that it is not realizing its full potential with regular providers like sportsbooks and casinos. That’s why it has a better chance of booming if handled by people who are actually playing the games. One of the newly licensed UK operators, Dragoni aims to go in-depth on the odds and offer way more options for players compared to what’s currently available. As of now, the only games available are CS: GO and League of Legends, but that is likely to expand down the line.

One thing that makes the whole wagering experience more engaging is live betting, and without the right data analytics tools, those types of wagers are difficult to facilitate. Now the viewers will more actively follow what’s going on, the live odds will be affected if the player has their summoner spells and ultimate ability off cooldown.  

Conclusion

Clearly, eSports wagering has a lot of room for growth and improvement and that requires more subject matter experts pioneering these endeavors. Hardcore spectators want an operator that allows them to truly rely on their knowledge of the game and analytical skills, and speculating on who will win the match gets boring really quick. Live odds can revolutionize the hobby and make gaming events more attractive to other betting enthusiasts. There is no doubt that Dragoni is a step in the right direction but adding new games like DOTA, WoW Arenas, and Fortnite will take time.