Italy: an eSports betting hub
Italy has the third biggest eSports reach in Europe, after Spain and Poland. This means that it has the third largest share of both paying and regular eSports viewers in the total European spectatorship. Esports are very huge in the country, with Italian consumers reporting a generic interest in participating in eSports, playing eSports, watching eSports and betting on eSports. Particularly for eSports betting in Italy, the figures are just following upward trends just as popularity of eSports is skyrocketing.
Despite the fact that the entire eSports market -and the eSports betting market subsequently- came upside down after the complaints that triggered government interventions for the development of a regulatory framework, industry specialists explain that we have yet to see the real magnitude of eSports unfold.
After the Customs and Monopolies Agency closing down various LAN rooms and digital entertainment venues across the country, under the premise of lack of conformance to the relevant policies and laws, the Italian government has sought to introduce specific legislation for the eSports and their operations in order to promote their regulation.
Such an intention of regulating eSports is projected by the government to have meaningful results both for the safety of viewers, players and for the safety and profitability of the companies themselves. But what about betting on eSports?
The growth of eSports betting
Betting on eSports in Italy rose sharply in the days of lockdowns early in the pandemic. But this growth has been sustained up to now and according to estimates, it is expected to be further sustained and spurred in the future. Today, the betting culture in Italy has joined with the growing eSports culture, bringing into life the eSports betting, in full form and shape.
The Italian government foresees the establishment of an official organizing body for eSports, a federation, which will further contribute to the development and launch of formal, widespread, organized tournaments. Such tournaments are essentially what typically attract bettors to place wagers on eSports.
Esports growth goes hand in hand with eSports betting growth. As eSports is turning into an ecosystem, the growth in competitions, tournaments, organizations and promotions will imprint on the growth of other constituents of this ecosystem, such as betting. But why is this?
How eSports betting works in conjunction with other factors
One basic answer has to do with the eSports demographics and betting demographics/
Esports viewers in Italy are predominantly males, aged under 40, tech-savvy, heavy internet users. And guess what! Bettors in Italy are predominantly males, aged under 40 (more particularly nearly more than 65% of the punters are under 40), tech-savvy, heavy internet users! Not such a big surprise, if we consider that those who generally enjoy eSports, also enjoy wagering on eSports.
One other thing has to do with the increased attention that eSports are gaining from the media. Now, eSports is a buzz topic, everyone is talking about it on social media, on articles, newspapers and it is literally everywhere. This means that bettors that want to experiment with eSports are exposed to loads of information and as such they can develop more knowledge and understanding of how they work.
And yet another answer has to do with the growth of cryptocurrencies. As Italy’ s crypto market is fairly legal and the penetration of cryptocurrencies is getting bigger, more and more Italians own bitcoin or other digital assets. And again guess what! The demographics of crypto users are pretty much the same demographics of eSports and sports bettors! Gambling with cryptos offers so many benefits to punters and becomes so easy for them, that it is only physical to expect a parallel growth!
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