E-sports and the metaverse - a threat or an opportunity?

As technology leaps forward, services, hobbies and products based on virtual solutions in particular will have to review their position on a regular basis. One of the big questions right now in e-sports is the metaverse: how will it be taken into account in services in the near future or will it be at all?

How, then, could the metaverse affect the style of casino gaming in the future for e-sports? It is very likely that it will somehow show up, but is this a threat or an opportunity?

Metaverse in brief

If you are not yet familiar with the subject, it is of course good to understand the concepts first. The metaverse is not a new idea in itself: it has been talked about in sci-fi literature since the early 1990s. At that time, however, the concept was still unrealistic and was associated mainly with dystopian worldviews.

Now it has become a hot topic again when Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg changed his company name to Meta and announced that he was leaving to develop a metaverse.

In practice, it is an extension of the real world, a kind of virtual extension. We don’t necessarily have to move separately to the metaverse - even if this is possible - but it can overlap with the real world seamlessly. Now that virtual services are used mainly through the screen, the view can live around us in the future.

Metaversum is strongly associated with Web3, which is the next form of the Internet. Central to this is decentralized ownership based on block chains. In distributed ownership, you can sell and buy virtual items whose origin and ownership can always be verified using block chain entries. These certificates of ownership and authenticity are called NFT:iksi (non fungible token).

The objects of the NFT trade can be, for example, virtual plots of land, works of art, concert tickets, avatar characters, membership cards, individual game equipment or the like. Actually, only the imagination is the limit. At this point, things are also becoming interesting for e-sports enthusiasts and online slots.

New earnings models at NFT

Fan culture is an important part of e-sports: in 2022, 29.6 million spectators watched various tournaments and competitions every month. As much as 11.5% of the year before the increase was made. It is noteworthy that a large proportion of e-sports followers are young, high-tech individuals. This means that there is an attractive gap in the market for NFT earnings models.

Big money is already circulating in e-sports, but it is estimated that the market value could even double over the next three years. Until now, professional players have had to make their living mainly from tournament winnings and sponsorship agreements. However, NFTs can create more permanent and sustainable sources of income, which could mean new routes for those dreaming of a profession as well.

The player can create or "sample" the desired NFT and list it for sale with a predetermined amount. Another option is to auction the NFT, where the highest bidder grabs the item for sale. This kind of store could be of interest not only to e-sports fans but also to collectors.

NFTs could be, for example, video clips, tickets to private events, 3D models, or unique accessories. The great thing is that a fan or collector who bought an NFT can resell it at the price they want, because authenticity can always be verified.

The e-athlete metaverse is full of possibilities

If you look at it from the point of view of NFT, the metaverse is a good thing for e-sports enthusiasts as well as professionals. Regular sources of income are vital to a team’s progress and development, so this is definitely an interesting opportunity. Of course, it’s good to remember that NFTs aren’t magic tools that sell on their own - marketing is also needed.

By the way, the metaverse is already partially present in the gaming world and slot games online, and the prices of VR glasses, for example, have reached levels that can be reached by the entire nation. What the future holds remains to be seen. However, it is clear that there are many opportunities to develop, revitalize and earn services.