Latest News
Esports Exposure Exploding During COVID-19 Outbreak

 Reading Time:  4 minutes
Reading Time:  4 minutes
Esports was already a booming business coming into 2020. Last year, Esports topped $1 billion in revenue for the first time. That was a 26.7% increase from 2018.
A sure sign of the growth in the popularity of Esports is shown by the fact that its highest-grossing revenue stream in 2019 was in the area of sponsorship. According to a published report, there was nearly $457 million generated in sponsor money by Esports last year.
Esports leagues and tournaments are drawing huge audience numbers. Estimates were that almost 454 million took in an Esport event last year. Those are the kinds of numbers that encourage major corporate sponsorship of the events.
COVID-19 Impact
The outbreak of the coronavirus has led to another spike in popularity among Esports. In North America, the NHL, NBA and MLB halted their seasons. The NCAA men’s basketball tournament was canceled. Golf and tennis also stopped playing. The launch of NFL and NCAA football seasons in the fall remain uncertain.
Around the globe, almost of the world soccer shut down. The European Champions League and the English Premier League took a hiatus. Euro 2020 and the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics were postponed.
With all of the major sporting leagues forced to shut down due to the COVID-19 virus and the accompanying bans on large gatherings, there’s little in the way of sports to entertain the masses. Sports fans were left desperate for an outlet. Sports networks sought out programming. Sportsbooks looking for other forms of betting turned their attention to writing more wagers around Esports events.
Esports are stepping up and proving capable of filling the void. While not completely bereft from feeling the impact of COVID-19 – the large tournament events held in halls filled with spectators watching video game team competitions such as Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Call of Duty and Dota 2 are currently not permitted.
The Overwatch League is playing its entire 2020 season online. Play! Pokémon canceled its North American International Championship and World Championship.
However, the ability of Esports to adapt and be played by players under quarantine is giving them a leg up on actual sports.
Industry estimates are that the demand for Esports has increased by 300% since the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Big League Sports Entering The Fray
Virtual sports are also a big part of the Esports explosion. Competition in soccer, basketball, tennis, horse and greyhound racing are among the many virtual sports on offer.
There are events built around tournaments in such popular sports-themed video games as Madden NFL, NBA 2K20, FIFA, and NHL 20.
The major sports leagues already recognized the potential for virtual spots as a revenue growth stream. Both the NBA and NHL began holding tryouts to pick players to form virtual versions of their actual teams that would eventually compete in simulated leagues.
During the COVID-19 outbreak, the big leagues are looking to get in on the Esports explosion and keep their sports going at the same time.
NASCAR has been holding the eNASCAR Pro Invitational iRacing Series, where actual NASCAR drivers compete in races as their virtual selves. The simulations are carried live by Fox Sports and are proving to be a big hit with racing fans.
 
NascarPro Invitational iRacing Series (Photo by: YouTube.com screenshot).
The Nielsen ratings for the first event of the iRacing Series came in at an average of 638,000 households and 903,000 viewers, making it the most-watched Esports event of all-time.
By comparison, live NASCAR racing during the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series averaged 2.1 million viewers per race. NASCAR’s iRacing ratings are almost on par with the 2019 numbers for viewers of their second-tier racing competition, the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Those races averaged 725,000 homes and 948,000 viewers.
Formula One is also contesting virtual Grand Prix races, with its drivers racing as their virtual selves. Australian SuperCars competition is doing likewise.
Other sports also are holding Esports competitions to give their fans a regular fix during the coronavirus quarantine. The NFL organized a Madden tournament featuring eight current NFL players. The NBA put together an NBA 2K20 tournament with 16 current players in action.
The most ambitious of these virtual sports simulations is currently being undertaken by Major League Baseball. An MLB The Show competition is pitting 30 of today’s MLB players, each representing their own team.
They are playing a 29-game regular season, facing each other player once. The top eight players will qualify for postseason play, which will lead to a virtual World Series champion being crowned.
Other sports have opted to take their Esports competitions in an entirely different direction. With the Australian National Rugby League season on hold, instead of their slated match, members of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Wests Tigers competed in a game of Fortnite that was live-streamed on both team’s Facebook pages.
Esports Future Bright
During the 2004-05 lockout that wiped out the entire NHL season, poker utilized that opportunity to fill the broadcasting void left by no hockey and became a television staple.
COVID-19 has created a similar opportunity for Esports to grow exponentially and gain a foothold with a mainstream sports audience that might not have given it a second thought otherwise.
Esports was growing rapidly regardless. As one of the few sports still currently playing, its already bright future is blossoming with significantly more glow.
Source: Latest News on European Gaming Media Network
This is a Syndicated News piece. Photo credits or photo sources can be found on the source article: Esports Exposure Exploding During COVID-19 Outbreak
 
																	
																															Latest News
WorldMatch Partners with Aristocrat Interactive to Offer Full Portfolio on its Aggregation Platform
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WorldMatch has announced that its full portfolio of games is now available via Aristocrat Interactive’s aggregation platform. This landmark relationship represents a significant milestone in WorldMatch’s ongoing international expansion, and solidifies its presence in regulated markets through a collaboration with one of the industry’s most respected and innovative forces.
As part of the deal, WorldMatch’s acclaimed suite of slots, table games and instant games will be seamlessly integrated into Aristocrat Interactive’s state-of-the-art aggregation platform. This ensures that operators working with Aristocrat Interactive can now access and deliver WorldMatch’s high-performance, feature-rich titles to their players, boosting engagement and enhancing retention across key regulated territories.
“We are incredibly proud to bring our games to Aristocrat Interactive’s powerful iGaming ecosystem. Aristocrat Interactive is synonymous with excellence and innovation in gaming, and this relationship is a testament to the quality, creativity, and technical precision that define our content. We’re excited to reach new audiences and strengthen our global footprint alongside a partner that shares our vision for the future of digital entertainment,” said Xhuljana Demerxhiu, Head of Sales at WorldMatch.
WorldMatch’s games are built with a mobile-first approach, ensuring superior performance across devices and delivering immersive experiences with captivating visuals, dynamic mechanics and localised features. By joining the Aristocrat Interactive platform, WorldMatch gains a valuable distribution channel with access to leading operators and a robust, scalable infrastructure designed to support growth and regulatory compliance across multiple jurisdictions.
The post WorldMatch Partners with Aristocrat Interactive to Offer Full Portfolio on its Aggregation Platform appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Latest News
Belgian Regulator Supports New Law for Tougher Player Protection and Increased Oversight
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The Belgian gaming regulator Kansspelcommissie (KSC) has issued an endorsement of a proposed legislative bill aimed at strengthening player protection and enhancing regulatory oversight over gambling in Belgium.
The draft legislation’s key provisions include a proposed weekly deposit cap of €200 ($232.85) per gambling platform, a prohibition on gambling with credit, restrictions on the number of betting licences issued to newsagents and an extension of the national gambling self-exclusion register to include bars. The bill also proposes limits on the number of slot machines permitted in bar settings.
The bill also seeks to address the regulator’s concerns about its own operational capability and staff shortages. It proposes that the regulator must have at least 10 full-time members of staff, and it would also increase the maximum number of police officers that can be seconded to the commission be from four to eight.
While the KSC has broadly endorsed the bill’s objectives, it has recommended a phased rollout for certain measures, particularly the expansion of the exclusion system, which is expected to be fully implemented by May 2026. The commission also expressed some reservations about a total ban on credit card gambling.
The post Belgian Regulator Supports New Law for Tougher Player Protection and Increased Oversight appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Latest News
Superbet Appoints Sacha Dragic as Sole CEO
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Starting January 1, 2026, Sacha Dragic will become sole CEO of Superbet, while Jimmy Maymann will return to the Board of Directors. As part of the new leadership structure and also effective as of January 1, 2026, Albert S., current Group COO, will take on the role of Deputy CEO, aligning strategy and driving execution across the organisation.
At the same time, Eamonn O’Loughlin, current CCO International, will take on the role of Chief Operating Officer, expanding his responsibilities to lead customer Operations and Partnerships across the Group, while retaining commercial leadership for markets outside CEE.
Sacha Dragic, Founder and incoming CEO of Superbet Group, said: “I want to recognize Jimmy Maymann, whose leadership and partnership have shaped much of our progress to date. Over the past couple of years, we have achieved remarkable results, advancing our product and technology capabilities, strengthening our position in key markets, and building a culture of financial discipline and accountability. This planned evolution of our leadership team marks a natural step in our growth journey. It reflects the maturity of our organization and our ambition to push forward, positioning Superbet for the next phase of sustainable global expansion.”
Jimmy Maymann, incoming Member of the Board, Superbet Group, said: “When Sacha first asked me to join the Board three years ago, our ambition was made clear: to transform Superbet into a global challenger built on world-class product and technology platform. It was necessary to accelerate that change from within, and I took the lead on that chapter of transformation.
“Together, we have achieved a lot: launching Brazil, growing our actives, revenue and EBITDA while strengthening our product and tech stack, and now, with the migration of Romania to our own platform, we are nearing completion of our first phase of transformation. As we prepare for the next phase, simplifying how we operate will help us move even faster, with a single-threaded leader, our founder, Sacha Dragic.
“It’s been a privilege to work with Sacha and the whole Superbet team and I’ll continue to do so as an advisor and as part of the Group’s Board. This is a great company with a huge potential ahead and I’ll stay engaged and help see it materialize.”
The post Superbet Appoints Sacha Dragic as Sole CEO appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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