Is There a Place for Esports in the World of Real Sports?

Esports is no longer a marginalized activity that only gaming enthusiasts practice and enjoy. It is slowly but surely starting to look more like real sports, and it is more often regarded as such. However, there are still some milestones that esports need to reach before we can call it a real sport. Therefore, the question we’d like to answer is whether there is a place for esports in the world of real sports.

If we take a look where esports was just ten years ago and where it is now, we have a lot of reasons to be optimistic. Both the viewership and the revenue associated with esports is growing each year exponentially. For example, judging by the info shown in an infographic created by NJ Games, esports had 134 million viewers in 2012 and 335 million in 2017. In 2021, that number is expected to reach 557 million. Moreover, the revenue generated by esports in 2012 amounted to $130 million, whereas in 2017 it reached $468 million. In 2021, we can expect revenue of $1.385 billion!

Esports in the Olympics

Naturally, since esports is becoming more and more recognized, joining the Olympics is an expected progression. Esports fans already have a reason to celebrate since the 2022 Asian games have already included esports as a medal event. Even though there are already numerous medal-earning esports championships each year, this is the first time esports is included in a high-profile sporting event.

Moreover, the IOC committee is about to make a decision whether or not to include esports in 2024 Paris Games as a demonstration sport. There is a high chance that they are going to make a positive decision and that we are going to watch esports matches in the Olympics.

However, some IOC officials are against it, claiming that esports is not a good fit for such an important event. For example, the Olympics president claims that there is too much violence in esports, which is a big problem for him.

Esports and Sports Leagues

Another factor working in favor of esports and proving to us that there is a place for esports in the world of real sports is sports leagues. Namely, some of the biggest sports leagues in the world are investing a lot of money in esports.

One such example is the collaboration between the NBA and Take-Two Interactive who are partnering to create the NBA 2K esports league. Similarly, EA Inc, the NFL, and ESPN have announced the Madden NFL 2019 Championship series, which is going to promote esports significantly and drive even more money into the industry.

Finally, the NHL followed suit and organized the NHL Gaming World Championship event. The first championship was a huge success, so the next step they are planning is to get all 31 NHL teams involved.

Betting on Esports

Betting is a big factor that can show us how popular a certain sport is or how successful a sporting event is. If we consider that around $5.5 billion was wagered on esports in 2016, we can say that esports is a huge success. This number is predicted to more than double by 2020 and reach $12.8 billion.

Even though brands already invest millions of dollars in the esports industry, we can expect these investments to grow even more and reach $694 million. That means that 77% of the total market is going to be generated by brands, which is a huge indicator of success.

Mohsen Daemi
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