Esports' Remarkable Growth | SOFTSWISS about this consistent upward trend

Esport has experienced rapid growth over the years with millions of fans around the world watching the exciting competitions both online and in person.

In 2023, Esport continued to gain popularity and it strengthened its position among top sports bets! SOFTSWISS, one of the most popular companies in the iGaming industry, reflected on this topic last year.

Unstoppable surge to the top

For the last three years, the top three sports by bets are undisputed football, tennis and basketball. However, Esport has witnessed lightning-fast expansion; moved from seventh position in 2021 to fourth in 2023! The most popular Esports event is, of course, Counter-Strike, which is even sixth in the top ten disciplines by the number of bets.

Alexander Kamenetskyi, Head of SOFTSWISS Sportsbook, comments: “Considering the rise of esports, we guide our partners to focus on cyber disciplines, engaging audiences beyond traditional betting demographics. Highlighting the cybersports potential for operators, Newzoo’s report projects 640 million viewers by 2025.”

Another interesting thing in this rapidly-grown trend is increased playing via smartphones. Over the last couple of years, more and more punters prefer playing on the go, so the increase in Esport bets from mobile devices is somewhat expected.

According to the SOFTSWISS Sportsbook, even 80% of wagers in the last year were placed via mobile devices. If we compare 2022 (70%) and 2021 (68%), we can notice a steady increase in the dominance of playing via smartphones.

Kamenetskyiadds: “Mobile betting is one of our main focuses in product development. We put a lot of effort into improving our mobile application and mobile website. It is specifically important for locations facing challenges with internet connectivity and regions like LatAm and Africa where internet coverage is still growing.”

The SOFSWISS Sportsbook team noticed something interesting in the way players behave during major sporting events. Namely, a drop of 10 to 20 percent was recorded in online casino games during the World Cup in 2022, which means that a large part of players are redirecting their focus to sports betting. Considering the preferences of the audience, ‘changing’ casinos for sports betting is a logical step.

Kamenetskyi also said: “This pattern underscores the strategic imperative for iGaming stakeholders to recognize the synergistic relationship between casino ventures and sportsbooks. Combining these options not only enhances casino appeal but also maintains player engagement, especially during sports events. In this context, it is worth mentioning that the SOFTSWISS Sportsbook is compatible with any casino platform on the market.”

About the company

SOFTSWISS is one of the most experienced companies in the iGaming industry, which was born in July 2009, meaning that it celebrates its 15th birthday this year.

It is an international technology company that specializes in supplying software solutions for the iGaming industry. The company has headquarters in Poland, Malta, and Georgia and has a global presence while the expert team counts more than 2,000 employees.

It holds several gaming licenses and its product portfolio includes the Online Casino Platform, the Game Aggregator with thousands of casino games, the Affilka platform, the Sportsbook Platform and the Jackpot Aggregator. It has 5 offices worldwide and 860+ websites are using its software!

It is one of the most innovative brands in the iGaming industry, which was proven in 2013 since it was the first company around the globe to introduce a Bitcoin-optimized online casino solution.

Source:

”Esports to Beat Football? SOFTSWISS Shares Sports Betting Trends 2024”, softswiss.com, February 23, 2024.