Written by:
Rosalie Gibson
Gambling & Crypto Writer
Cryptocurrencies and esports have been in increasing demand over the past few years, with cryptocurrencies reaching their all-time market high in 2020, reaching a valuation of over $2 trillion. Esports has also been one of the most viewed and followed medium in sports while just being a fledgling in the market.
Appearing on the AffiliateCon Virtually Live event, Gamblineers Owner, Adam Gros opined that the market share of Esports forms 4.5% of the sports betting market, while the market share of cryptocurrencies is 4% of all gambling activities in the world. He made this assessment while discussing how much market share has been taken up by cryptocurrencies and Esports. Gamblineers is one of the biggest online guides for bitcoin casinos and betting sites.
Cryptocurrency casinos are an example of the blending of two innovative technologies: online gambling and cryptocurrencies. The very decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies makes it a fair market. This means that no gambling operator can interfere, fix or cheat with outcomes or when paying out. People who engage in cryptocurrency gambling also present a new, growing customer base, as anyone with an internet connection can partake in it. In 2020, the online gambling market was valued at $66.72 billion.
Data from Fortune Business Insights indicate that the sports betting market has slightly beat the online casino market. According to a study performed on SimilarWeb, Casinos account for 53.7% of online search demand while that for sports betting is 44.3%. With the emergence of COVID-19, the demand for online gambling is expected to grow due to the changing gambling habits of consumers via apps and social gambling. In fact, the increasing adoption of mobile devices and increasing internet penetration is expected to drive the demand for online gambling for 2021 and beyond.
Gamblineers Owner Adam Gros opines that esports forms 4.5% of sports betting while crypto gambling forms 4% of all gambling when it comes to market share. We have to keep in mind that these figures do not represent online gambling market share with respect to revenue, but do so concerning online search demand. Furthermore, there have been increasing reports by casinos regarding how their customers have started using cryptocurrencies instead of fiat currencies in casinos. These reports are echoed by Olle Dickson of BitStarz at the AffiliateCon Virtually live event.
Both cryptocurrency gambling and esports are expected to grow in size in the coming years, with esports viewership projected to grow to $646 million by 2023. This is further supported if we look at Google trends for all market segments. In the last 5 years, Esports has experienced insurmountable growth while cryptocurrency trends have followed Bitcoin’s price.
The online casino market has grown more than any other market segment. Both crypto gambling, as well as esports, are growing rapidly in size despite them accounting for only a small portion of the market. As demand increases because of the pandemic, exciting things are slated for the online casino market in the following year.