U.S. eSports and Sports Betting Market All Set to Enjoy a Meteoric Rise—Projected to Reach USD 17,715.0 Million by 2027

Published | 07 July 2021

A study recently conducted by the strategic consulting and market research firm BlueWeave Consulting revealed that the U.S. eSports and Sports Betting market was worth USD 1,915.6 million in 2020 and is further projected to reach USD 17,715.0 million by 2027 at a CAGR of 27.0% during the forecast period (2021-2027). Several factors are driving the U.S. eSports and Sports Betting market, including the record viewership of sports amid the pandemic across the US, an increase in live streaming of games and eSports, temporary closure of casinos, and expanding interest in betting across the US. These factors are expected to drive the growth of the U.S. eSports and Sports Betting market during the forecast period.

Record Viewership of Sports amid the Pandemic across the U.S. favoring the Growth of U.S. eSports and Sports Betting Market

As a result of the coronavirus-induced pandemic, sports fans had difficulty watching their favorite events in the stadiums, which in turn affected the U.S. eSports and sports betting market in the United States. However, it has helped in the viewership of sports across the television and other online platforms which have even registered record levels of viewership. According to Athletic Panda Sports Editors Report, the NFL (National Football League) draft that took place in the year 2020 amid COVID-19 was viewed by a record 15.6 million people across various platforms.

When NASCAR became the first sport to reappear on TV after the lockdown in mid-May, 2020, the viewership increased by almost 38% compared to the last event and reached 6.32 million. A broadcast of the final day of the PGA Tour’s Charles Schwab Open in Texas towards the end of June 2020, garnered 3.091 million viewers, the tournament's highest viewership in 16 years. The viewership was up more than 50% from the previous year. eSports also registered a viewership increase of almost 70% in the U.S. in 2020. A rise in viewership of eSports, along with the legalization of eSports and sports betting, has resulted in more customers joining the betting scene than ever before, causing the U.S. eSports and Sports betting market to flourish.

The Rising interest in betting across the U.S. is expected to propel the growth of the U.S. eSports and Sports Betting market

According to the American Gaming Association, in 2020, an estimated 33.1 million adults in the US, which amounts to approximately 10% of the population, had planned to place a bet on NFL games. Of these people, 34% were expected to make a bet over legal and illegal online platforms, an increase of 28% from 2019. Meanwhile, 20% of them stated they had wagered at legal sportsbooks, an 18% increase over 2019. Even though people have access to a much safer and regulated legal setup for sports betting, 18% of the bettors had planned to make bets with the help of a bookie, showcasing a jump of 12% from 2019. Statistics indicate a rising trend in the interest for betting across the U.S. Moreover, with the government easing regulations on sports and eSports betting platforms, the trend is set to attract even more customers, which will drive demand for eSports and sports betting during the forecast period.

Increasing Skepticism around Illegal Bookies may Hinder the Growth of the U.S. eSports and Sports Betting market

Until a few years ago, the U.S. eSports and Sports betting market was dominated by illegal betting. With the advent of the internet, illegal betting and bookies have taken advantage of lax or non-existent gambling laws in many countries like Costa Rica, Panama and Latvia, by setting up online sportsbooks for American customers. It's illegal for sportsbooks to operate in the United States as they prey on unwary Americans despite claims of regulations and licensing in their home countries. Despite the Supreme Court's decision to legalize sports betting in nearly half of US states, these operators are still operating and taking advantage of the unsuspecting public, which has been a bottleneck for the market. These factors are expected to impede the growth of the U.S. eSports and Sports betting market during the forecast period.

The sports betting segment accounted for the largest share in the U.S. eSports and Sports Betting market in 2020

The U.S. eSports and Sports betting market is segmented into Sports betting and eSports betting, with the sports betting segment holding the majority of the market share in 2020. A sports bet is a wager placed on the outcome of an event that takes place within a specific sport. Bettors place their bets on specific sports events via mobile apps or sportsbooks and attempt to predict the possibility that an event will take place. In 2016, Leicester City won the English Premier League in England with odds of 5,000 to 1. With such odds, a wager of USD 5 would have returned USD 25,000 to the winning bettor.

In the U.S., people prefer to bet on football, basketball, baseball, hockey, horse racing, tennis, soccer, and many other sports. Moreover, some states allow wagering on university sports, while others prohibit it. With Tokyo Olympics, Premier League 2021-2022, Champions League 2021-2022, t-20 cricket world cup 2021, Football World Cup 20222, and many other major sporting events approaching, the sports segment in U.S. eSports and Sports Betting market is expected to register significant growth in upcoming years.

U.S. eSports and Sports Betting Market: Regional Insights

The U.S. eSports and Sports Betting market is grouped into the following states—New Jersey, Nevada, Colorado, Tennessee, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Mississippi, Iowa, and others for sports betting. For eSports betting, the market is categorized into the following states—New Jersey, Nevada, Colorado, Tennessee, West Virginia, Arizona, Wyoming, and others. New Jersey dominated the U.S. eSports and Sports Betting market in 2020 and accounted for the largest market share. New Jersey sports betting alone exceeded USD 4.5 billion New Jersey is quickly moving to widely legalize eSports betting with Bill A637. This bill allows New Jersey sportsbooks to offer eSports wagering on most college and professional events and tournaments. Aside from that, the Division of Gaming Enforcement in the state of New Jersey has granted special permissions to operators of eSports in the state, such as iNASCAR during the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic.

COVID-19 Impact on U.S. eSports and Sports Betting Market

The majority of the industries have been negatively impacted by COVID-19. While some have started to recover, others are still trying to figure a way out. COVID-19 wreaked havoc on the eSports and sports betting industries, with all sporting and eSporting events throughout the world being canceled or halted. It started with the suspension of the soccer league (Seria A) in Italy, followed by the suspension of all major soccer leagues (Bundesliga in Germany, Ligue 1 in France, La Liga in Spain, English Premier League in England, and others) and other sports. This started a domino effect and consequently, other countries also ended up suspending all sporting activities to control the rampaging pandemic. The lockdown restrictions also resulted in the closure of casinos and other offline sports betting platforms.

However, as governments began to relax their lockdown restrictions and sports leagues were permitted to resume under stringent conditions, the number of viewers and bettors increased dramatically. To take advantage of the scenario, many states in the United States authorized online betting, resulting in some of the largest eSports and Sports betting revenues in history. As things return to normal slowly, the surge in the growth of the U.S. eSports and Sports betting market is expected to slow down a bit, however, it is still expected to maintain a high growth rate with several states looking to legalize eSports and Sports betting. This is expected to attract more sports betters and propel the growth of the U.S. eSports and Sports Betting market in upcoming years.

The Leading Players operating in the U.S. eSports and Sports Betting market are 888 Holdings, Entain PLC, William Hill, Kindred Group PLC, Draftkings Inc., Flutter Entertainment PLC, Fubotv Inc., Elys Game Technology Corp., Score Media Ventures Inc, Real Luck Group Ltd., and others.  The key market players are entering into collaborations, partnerships and engaging in mergers & acquisitions to capture a more significant market share. Furthermore, the market participants are focused on improving their product quality to attain a competitive edge over other players.

Recent Developments

On March 22, 2021, BetMGM, a brand of Entain announced the launch of its BetMGM Poker in Michigan. Michigan would be the 2^nd state in the U.S. to introduce BetMGM Poker, the company’s primary online poker offering powered by the partypoker US network.

On February 03, 2021, William Hill US collaborated with Caesars Entertainment to launch its mobile and online sportsbook in Virginia. The app, which is based on William Hill's proprietary platform, provides a wide range of markets and betting options, including live InPlay wagering. The app has a simple and secure registration process as well as a variety of deposit and withdrawal methods.

Don’t miss the business opportunity of the U.S. eSports and Sports Betting market. Consult our analysts to gain crucial insights and facilitate your business growth.

The in-depth analysis of the report provides information about growth potential, upcoming trends, and statistics of the U.S. eSports and Sports Betting market. It also highlights the factors driving forecasts of total market size. The report promises to provide recent technology trends, along with industry insights to help decision-makers make sound strategic decisions. Furthermore, the report also analyzes the growth drivers, challenges, and competitive dynamics of the market.

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