Looking at the surface level of video gaming, sports betting, and mobile gaming, it doesn’t appear that there is much connecting these three sectors. However, if we look at the digital glue holding these three sectors together—the internet—then we lay the first building block of what ensures these three sectors are now so closely linked.

All these sectors have made a massive name for themselves in the expanding world of entertainment, buoyed by an ever-changing world that, despite all its advances, continues to rely on the internet and smartphones even more with each passing year. 

Those industries that have identified this and created long-term models that cater to this expanding market have played it shrewdly. It may seem that it’s the obvious play now. Still, as with any innovative market, the idea is to identify the opportunity and get your foot in the door before everybody else piles in and saturates it.

The Rise Of Professional Video Gaming

Without the internet, sports betting, mobile gaming, and video gaming would all be much smaller sectors. Granted, they’d all be generating multi-billion-dollar profits, but without the internet breaking down barriers and bringing together international digital communities working towards the same innovations and goals, many subdivisions wouldn’t exist.

Firstly, let’s look at how professional video gaming, also known as eSports, has expanded since the early 2010s. It’s gone from an industry that was ultimately on the fringes of internet forums and the ideas of big-thinkers in the gaming world to selling out stadiums and having fully functioning betting markets branching off from them. 

Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) is just one of many games that have noticed the growing demand for professional video gaming. Valve has multiple games that have generated standalone multi-million dollar professional video gaming markets. They have created professional video gaming leagues that have brought in a global audience, both on digital streaming sites like YouTube and Twitch and in-person viewing figures. 

Within this, there is a fresh, burgeoning market for those looking to place bets on the outcome of tournaments and individual games. CS2 betting at Bovada works like any other betting market, there are outrights, bets on individual events, and live betting. 

Betting on CS2 is one of the best examples of these three markets interlocking. Millions of eSports fans use their mobiles to watch the tournaments unfold, access the underlying sports betting markets, and stay updated with the latest industry news.

What’s Behind The Appeal?

To put it bluntly, smartphones are an upgrade in both convenience and accessibility. Think of how we use our smartphones to do our banking, connect with friends, or stay in touch with family. Smartphones and mobile games are an upgrade in both convenience and accessibility. 

While these markets obviously existed before the internet, once it became possible for us to place bets on our phones and games on the move, there was going to be a clear shift for gamers looking to seek out this avenue. What many in the gaming industry did not realize is just how sudden and sharp this move would be. We’re seeing similar changes in the modern market thanks to AI, with other creative fields worried about the rise of such disruptive technology. 

Ultimately, the commonality between these two fields is that they make things easier for the mass consumer – if we lump all consumers into the same basket. Who needs humans if robots can do it for cheaper? Well, it was the same for sports betting. Why go to a physical sports betting shop if you can place a wager on the move and it takes minimal time out of your day?

Sports betting was one of the most obvious examples of a sector that would flourish once people started to adopt smartphones and mobile betting en masse. However, even classic games went through a revamp, with sports games like Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 available on modern smartphones. 

Conclusion

These markets used to be distinct, and while they have grown much closer, some elements remain distinct. Plenty of gamers don’t participate in sports betting or betting on eSports. Likewise, some video gamers do not see the appeal of mobile games. 

The top 10 video gamers earn a combined salary of more than $100 million – so they don’t all cater to the vastness of the mobile gaming market and the sports betting industry. It would be foolish to presume they do. They are all standalone entertainment areas and shouldn’t be considered a grey mass, all merging. 

However, they have gravitated much closer together because the internet inspires software developers and game designers to focus holistically on all aspects of gaming. These designers used to focus solely on video gaming. 

Still, as mobile gaming and sports betting markets have exploded, their talents have been requested elsewhere, which has seen all these sectors inevitably grow closer together. This trend is likely to continue as all three sectors continue expanding.