eSports is on the rise and as digital technology takes more control of modern life, it seems the only way is up for this sporting segment. Steve Bornstein, a key player here is former CEO of ESPN and NFL Network posits that eSports has the potential to rival the biggest traditional sports leagues in terms of future opportunities. This potential for growth exists in advertising, ticket sales, licensing, sponsorships, and merchandising.
In the UK, this sector has continued an upward trajectory enjoying 8.5 percent annual growth between 2016 and 2019. So influential is this category of sport that the biggest sportsbooks now include eSport categories in their markets. You can find eSports betting markets and the new UK betting offers for eSports here.
Growing Sponsorship Deals in eSports
Globally eSports is now a billion-dollar industry with leagues coming up across the world. As more people look for gaming fun online, eSport fills a gap that traditional sports couldn’t. Sponsors injected money into the sports and as the leagues get more competitive, more brands have come in to cash in on the marketing opportunities.
Some notable sponsorship deals that point to the growing influence of eSport include Olympique de Marseille’s collaboration with Grizi Esport, ESforce, and with online university Skillbox, Tokidoki, and Team Liquid. Casio has also unveiled the FaZe Clan G-SHOCK watch, which shows how keen the brand is to tap into the growing popularity of the sport.
Other notable moves in the eSports world include Vindex’s move to join World Economic Forum’s Global Innovators Community. The partnership between Danish eSports organization Astralis Group and market research firm Userneeds is another notable deal in eSports.
New Brands Emerging in eSports
For the last two decades, some brands have emerged to rise to the top of the chain and they control the largest share of the eSports market. Top eSport brands include Los Angeles-based TSM, Cloud 9, 100 Thieves, FaZe Clan, and Immortals Gaming Club.
However, new brands continue to emerge, which highlights more growth in the industry. Levi’s, Duracell, BMW, IBM, Getty Images, Rothman Orthopaedics, United States Navy are examples of new or expanding brands in eSport.
Player Unions in eSport
As eSport continues to grow, more players have joined the ranks and new leagues have come up. There’s a need for better organization across the board and this includes player contracts. As new brands join the sport, players need a more harmonized structure for contract negotiations.
This is where the calls for unionization in eSports arise. When players come together in a union like in other professional sports, they gain collective bargaining power. They can negotiate for better contracts and create foundations for all contracts.
At the moment, there are no legally recognized player unions in the eSports industry. This leaves players at the mercy of their representatives during contract negotiations. Unionisation offers protection or restrictions, and this boosts the quality of contracts. However, the complex eSport ecosystem has continued hindering the structuring of player unions.
That game developers control much of the sport makes it hard for players to gain independence. With time, however, all stakeholders in the industry will realize the benefits of having a union for players.
eSport Meets Politics
The influence of big-name eSport players has created cult-following similar to those in other professional sports. Just like football stars have an influence in the UK, eSport celebrities have made an impact in their societies.
A good example is in Hong Kong, where popular gamer Blitzchung actual name Ng Wai Chun supported the pro-democracy movement during the Hearthstone Grandmasters tournament. With more people now following this sport, gamers will discover the critical platform they have to influence social change in their countries.
Scandal as Part of the Game
There’s no denying that scandal is part of every sport. For eSport, one would expect that the digital nature of the game would minimize scandals, but this is not so. Scandal spices the sport and draws in even more fans.
Some of the biggest scandals include the 2019 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive match-fixing by Australian players and the StarCraft 2 cheating scandal. There’s also the legal drama involving Tfue’s Lawsuit and FaZe Clan.
More FaZe drama came with Jarvis’ Permanent ban from Fortnite. Byung Hyun’s lifetime ban by the Korea eSport Association (KeSPA) in 2015 made for juicy industry news. As the money in eSport grows and players turn into celebrities, you can expect even more scandal in the sport.
There’s so much happening in eSport and whether you’re a player, betting enthusiast, fan, or investor, stay up-to-date with all these developments. It’s the only way to make the right moves and has more fun in eSport.