Global Esports Betting Revenue to Reach $2.8B – What This Means for Online Gambling

While it might seem to be a relatively recent phenomenon the origins of esports go back a long, long way. In actual fact, the first ever event was held in October 1972 at Stanford University.

The game was called Space War and the first prize for the lucky winner was a year’s subscription to Rolling Stone magazine. The game itself was similar to that old arcade favourite Asteroids, and the eventual winner was a certain Bruce Baumgart.

Fast forward to 2026 and esports has grown to become a huge and phenomenal success. With teams, sponsors, seven figure prize funds and global reach, it has millions of followers worldwide. For many of them there’s nothing that they’d like more than to be able to compete in the tournaments themselves. However, competition is fierce and the standards punishingly high. So they are left with the next-best alternative: the chance to bet on their gaming heroes instead.

Gambling on the outcome of matches and tournaments may be a relatively new activity, but it’s already showing all the signs of becoming as big a global entity as esports itself.

A snapshot of the esports gaming market

In its early days this was a distinctly niche activity solely for the hardcore fans. But in the five or so years that it’s become a thing, the annual revenue it’s raised has become $2.8 billion. Project figures for 2026 suggest that by 31st December it should have topped $3 billion.

This growth is also being matched by the number of people who are getting involved. Back in 2017 the total audience numbered 21.9. Today the corresponding figure is approaching 75 million. Many of these in the US where sports betting has been allowed in law ever since the Supreme Court’s historic 2018 decision.

It comes as no great surprise that the individuals betting on esports are predominantly aged between 18 and 27, coinciding with the age group most interested in the games themselves. There is also a certain delineation when it comes to which age groups are betting on different age groups. League of legends bettors tend to be younger at around 27 than those who like to put their money on their Counter Strike-playing heroes wo are aged 29 to 30. As well as increasing numbers of bettors, the amount they are willing to wager, known as average revenue per user, has also been on a steady rise. By 2024 this had reached $33.59 and in 2025 it increased to $34.90.

Gambling in general is on the rise in Canada, with streams people opting to discover the new Canadian casinos entering the market, they are independently reviewed by Casino.ca, ensuring standards remain high. A big part of this ongoing growth comes from the work of trusted review and affiliate sites, which help readers make sense of an increasingly crowded landscape by comparing bonuses, assessing platform safety, and offering clear, independent guidance on where to play. Their insights give players the confidence to explore new operators while avoiding those that fall short of industry standards.

However there are some more subtle links between the worlds of esports and online casinos. The main one of these is the increasing gamification to be found in the latter. These techniques are generally used to increase engagement and encourage loyalty. For example, some casino games include distinct stages to be completed and regular players can earn virtual rewards and bonuses just as games can offer extra lives.

How esports betting differs from standard sports betting

Obviously, there are also many similarities, as well as plenty of differences, between betting on esports and actual sports. The first of these is that odds are set for every outcome. It’s up to the bettor to judge whether these are attractive enough to actually place a bet.

In traditional sports it can be a more clear-cut decision on whether a team will win or lose or what the points spread might be. In esports there are many additional elements to bet on from how many lives will be lost in a round to whether a game is destined to go into overtime. In esports matches the size of the wagers also tends to be considerably higher. Research has found that the average tends to be almost six times higher than bets placed on games like football. Along with this there is the suggestion that the esports fan may place fewer bets, but they are all of higher value.

The cultural and economic effects of esports gambling

There’s considerable evidence that esports betting is far more than a financial point of interest. It’s actually helping to alter the cultures of both game playing and gambling. By betting on events, it’s deepening fans’ investment and increasing engagement.

The huge figures involved mean that it is creating an even more economically significant activity which then has a roll-on effect into esports by encouraging higher stakes and even bigger prize funds for tournaments. Most importantly of all, it is helping to bring the esports world together like never before, and in an increasingly divided world that could literally be priceless.