On the heels of the performance enhancing drug (PED) debate in eSports, another potential scandal lurks around the corner. This time it’s not about what the pros are taking, instead the focus is the trend of underage gambling. The context for this issue brings the wide open nature of competitive gaming into question as well as the lack of oversight for the digital worlds created by massively popular eSports titles. However, interspersed with the legal perspective, there is valuable insight into the role how wagering plays fits into eSports communities.
It starts with community
eSports, with its multi-player game titles played over the web, has increased scope of activities that are shared by a digital community. Video game players can now compete, play on teams, and communicate in real-time from their home PCs and laptops. In addition to playing, gamers can watch matches or stream their own individual play or view the play of others, free of cost. As a result, there is a high level of engagement across eSports communities, driven by a host of zero-cost entertainment outlets.
These communities consist of enthusiasts drawn together by passion for an individual game title. In other words, the eSports marketplace is segmented into pockets of interest for game titles like League of Legends, DoTA 2, or Counter Strike:Global Offensive (CS:GO); each with a unique composition. The community is the primary nexus of an individual eSport; serving as the source of everything from the pro players, experts and personalities that characterize its competitive scene. This reality affects the complexion of tournaments, fan/viewer support and even gambling.
No one eSport to rule them all
Unregulated/underage/illegal gambling is not one and the same across the entire eSports universe. While a global eSports marketplace and industry does exist, true insight isn’t possible without consideration of the details. The aforementioned Bloomberg article highlights an underage gambling problem in eSports as a whole, yet it only mentions CS:GO and does little to illuminate the entire eSports story. So while CS:GO is fast growing as an eSport (see image below, courtesy of Gamoloco), and holds valid parallels for its contemporaries, it’s difficult to liberally apply everything to the general industry and marketplace.
Gambling as outgrowth of engagement
As independently formed groups, eSports communities make no distinction for the age or legality of its participants. Gamers of all stripes are welcome to join and participate; this holds for community affiliated sites like those that permit gambling. The wagering of digital items, which hold real world monetary value, isn’t just a shade of grey. It is a logical outgrowth of a high degree of gameplay and spectator engagement.
The gambling of skins is a bridge between playing and watching games played at a professional level. CS:GO publisher, Valve, knows this and must act accordingly. While the legality of such must be taken seriously, the best solution for eliminating these shades of grey is to create commercially viable, better regulated outlets. Currently, the CS:GO community is organically satisfying the demand for skin trading, which is creating a breeding ground for underage gambling not the other way around.
If game publishers, like Valve, are serious about cutting out underage gambling, they must actively collaborate with gambling operators to make sure legal, regulated alternatives exist. The only other alternative is to pretend the problem does not exist. Granted, there are potential drawbacks to embracing gambling activity of any sort; namely, implications for the perception of integrity. However, given the highly engaged nature of eSports communities wagering will continue to flourish, in one form or another.
eSports Group monitors hundreds of trending signals to keep you “in the game” of the global eSports industry. Join our free mailing list and stay connected to the business side of eSports – http://tinyletter.com/afletcher
Alex Fletcher is founder & president at eSports Group, where he helps customers meet their eSports advisory & consulting needs. When Alex isn’t glued to a screen, he spends time with his wife, their two dogs, and pretends to learn Polish. Feel free to stalk him on Twitter – @FletchUnleashed