When the Covid-19 pandemic wiped out athletic competition around much of the world, esports continued almost unabated. Participants played League of Legends, Dota 2, Counter Strike Global Offensive, Fortnite, and even sports-related games such as FIFA and NHL. These games did not escape the attention of bettors, according to the Toronto Star.
“Covid-19 propelled esports betting two to three years ahead,” said Charlie Watson, CEO of Tidal Gaming, a Toronto-based esports online gaming company. “It accelerated more areas to recognize the betting opportunities and to legitimize esports.”
Watson, who has Canada’s first esports team, Lazarus Esports, hopes to do well with the legalization of single-event sports betting.
“I am bullish on esports, and the video game industry more broadly, as I view the space as a confluence of media, data, technology, and the next generation of customer with a large helping of pop culture,” said Jeff Harris, of Deloitte.
According to a study conducted by Deloitte’s global center for media, technology and telecommunications, the top activity among those 14 and 38 is playing video games, with 87 per cent of Gen Z and 83 per cent of millennials participating at least once a week.
Esports presence on social media has driven awareness as well as business. Professional gamer and streamer Tyler (Ninja) Blevins earns as much as $500,000 a month playing Fortnite on Twitch. Blevins has 24.2-million subscribers on YouTube and 14 million Instagram followers, right up there with NBA stars Russell Westbrook and Kyrie Irving.
Score Media and Gaming Inc. says its esports platforms had 86.5-million total video views for the second quarter.
“We have a dedicated esports newsroom that talks to the audience as a whole,” said Aubrey Levy, senior vice-president of marketing and content for theScore.
Another Canadian firm, Overactive Media, plans to build a $500 million theatre-style entertainment venue and hotel complex to be completed in 2025. The venue will host esports competition with two of Toronto’s two professional teams the Toronto Ultra of the Call of Duty League and Toronto Defiant of the Overwatch League.
