Punters are expected to flock to esports betting markets as global sport comes to a standstill off the back of coronavirus fears.
Earlier this week Coin Rivet reported on the impact of coronavirus on betting companies, with William Hill and GVC effectively suspending dividend payments to shareholders as a result.
With the vast majority of sport being postponed people are turning their attention to more obscure sporting events like the Russian table tennis championships.
But one of the markets that has picked up the most attention has been esports, with matches being able to be played online.
Luckbox CEO , Quentin Martin, believes that esports tournaments can be successful if live streamed as it will have hundreds of thousands of viewers at any one time.
“While having fans live in an arena generates a great atmosphere, it doesn’t make too much difference to the hundreds of thousands of fans watching via live stream.” He said.
Flutter estimating the near-complete sporting shutdown will wipe £110m off its revenue by end-August, potentially rising to £260m if horse racing is knocked on the head and shops have to close. pic.twitter.com/ewe9nOBMjP
— Peter O' Dwyer (@peterodwyer1) March 16, 2020
“So far, the early indications are that esports betting volumes will increase – we’ve seen a 54 per cent increase in new player registrations in the past week – since it was announced the English Premier League would be postponed”.
“It figures that players who enjoy sports betting are more inclined to give esports a try, with little else to bet on”.
“Many sports fans are self-isolating or in lockdown and esports is pretty much the only show in town at the moment.”
Sporting bodies are expected to make further decisions on postponing events in the coming days in response to UEFA’s decision to postpone EURO 2020 until 2021.
A lack of sports betting markets is expected to cause another ‘online poker boom’ that will see an increase of activity on platforms like Pokerstars, partypoker and 888Poker.
This theory has been reinforced by the cancellation of a number of live poker events, with suggestion that the majority of them will be moved online.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. We do not give advice on financial products.