As online sports betting grows among global markets, new YouGov data released by the UK government reveals how placing bets on esports is gaining momentum in different markets and within certain age groups.
According to YouGov’s Global Gambling tool, 15% of respondents from Australia note interest in betting on esports, a significant proportion of the country’s population, compared to the US (10%), Canada (10%), Germany (7%), and the UK (4%).
eSports enjoyed a surge in popularity throughout the pandemic, coupled with new legislative changes, esports betting is predicted by many industry experts to see several years of growth with new dedicated esports brands such as Luckbox and traditional sports betting sites such as betonline.ag leading the pack.
USA
The US is experiencing huge growth in online betting in popular American sports, thanks to recent law changes in several US states and Canadian provinces.
United States gamblers are nearly six times as likely as their UK counterparts to have placed a bet on esports fixtures in the last 12 months (11%). This can be seen as the result of higher interest in competitive gaming in the states of late.
United Kingdom
In the UK, which is the soccer betting powerhouse of the world and considered to be a very mature betting market, only 2% of gamblers reported placing a bet on esports during the last year. While esports, in general, aren’t as popular in the UK compared with other markets, this does present an opportunity for esports companies to use the UK public’s interest and knowledge of sports betting to increase esports revenues.
Age group insight is always interesting and everything here is as one would expect with few surprises -
One in five consumers aged 18-24 in the US, UK, Australia, India, Germany, and Canada view betting on esports as an area of interest. That number increases to 22% among those 25-34 and fades the higher we go up the generational groups: 35-44 (18%), 45-54 (12%), and 55+ (4%). Nothing massively to report regarding the age group figures according to YouGov eSports and gaming stats.
Summary
Overall, esports betting presents an alluring prospect for both the video gaming industry, which can further increase its profile among mainstream sports and the online gambling industry, which can use esports to communicate with a younger crowd and expand its customer base in general.
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Methodology: The data is based on the interviews of adults aged 18 and over in six markets with sample sizes varying between 3,930 and 24,358 for each market. The YouGov interviews were conducted online between April 2021 and March 2022. Market data uses a nationally representative sample.