esports fans in US report finds 52% likely to gamble on matches

Post published:February 3, 2021
Post category:esports / News

A new survey from Interpret – a consumer research firm – discovered that 52% of esports fans are likely to gamble on tournaments. Meanwhile, 21% of participants had no opinion and 28% were unlikely to place bets.

The study began with a sample size of 9,000 US citizens between the ages of 13-65. Of those 9,000, only 521 were identified as esports fans. They were then asked about betting habits when it came to major tournaments – non-monetary bets and skin betting were left out of the equation. Despite those exclusions, over half of the fans said they were likely to gamble.

Those numbers are much higher than reports for other, traditional sports. A 2018 study found that only 19% of NFL fans were likely to place a bet on an upcoming game, although that number jumped to 31% if sports betting was legalized in their home state. Regardless, both those numbers are significantly lower than the new numbers from Interpret – indicating there might be an esports betting boom in the coming years.

The report then goes on to discuss esports betting in Las Vegas, and the Philadelphia Eagles’ recent partnership with Esports Entertainment Group to hold Madden tournaments. No doubt esports has seen incredible growth over the years and – if people decide to funnel even more money into the industry through betting – it’ll likely grow faster in the years to come.