ESports have seen a meteoric rise to success throughout the past decade, going from small, unprofessional gaming parties, to fully fledged events that are capable of packing out stadiums and are watched by millions.

With this kind of pulling power, it’s no surprise that the eSports industry has been tipped for big things, rapid investment, and aggressive growth. Where there’s an eager audience, there’s an opportunity for marketers, advertisers and product developers to get in front of millions of interested and engaged eyes.

In fact, it has been predicted that the eSports industry will be worth $1bn by 2019, as highlighted by CNN. A big driver of this growth and insatiable consumption is Twitch, the dedicated game streaming platform which rose to prominence in 2011. Twitch has been a dedicated partner to the industry, and has given many e-Sports athletes a platform to showcase their talents.

Serious Money is Being Pumped Into the e-Sports Niche

Twitch was the subject of an Amazon-backed buyout in 2014 worth $970m. But this wasn’t an isolated incident. Since and even before then, we’ve seen a number big money buyouts and sponsorships taking place within the eSports sphere.

Businesses have identified eSports, and their fans, as an extremely lucrative niche, with many companies making moves to be seen within the industry. Take, for example, the online casino Betway. Also offering bookmaker services, they were one of the first betting outlets to take wagers on eSports, giving the category its very own microsite. Following this, Betway went on to be one of the first iGaming brands to directly sponsor an eSports team. They partnered with Ninjas in Pyjamas, in a six-figure deal that gives Betway all content usage rights, as well as providing NiP with branded gear.

In theory, this could lay the groundwork for other big betting platforms to strike similar deals with teams, adding further money into what is already turning into a very lucrative industry. It’s already common for gaming tech and accessory providers to publicly sponsor a team, such as HyperX, who sponsor big hitters like Cloud9 and Echo Fox, but it could soon become commonplace for other non-niche businesses to sponsor teams, just the same as it is in other major sports.

Are gamers the new footballers?

ESports athletes are capable of earning mass exposure from coverage of big tournaments, as well as from their own gaming streams. With that comes potential for sponsorship deals, as well as money from any tournament winnings. Some players are capable of generating millions of dollars a year as a result of their efforts. One of the most successful players to date, UNiVeRsE, is thought to have won nearly $3mil from tournament play so far.

The stats for just how popular major gaming events have become are staggering. In October 2013, 32 million watched the championship of Riot Games’ League of Legends via streaming sites such as YouTube and Twitch. To put this into context, this is more than the viewership of the finales of Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, and 24 combined – all of which are among of the most successful TV shows in recent history.

With this kind of exposure, it’s unsurprising that lots of young people are aspiring to become eSports athletes and are looking to grab the attention of powerful professional eSports teams. For many, it presents an opportunity to do something they love for a living, with the potential of being paid handsomely for it in the process.

And this shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. It appears that the industry is going through a period of greater professionalism, with all of the added perks that brings. In the future, we can expect bigger tournaments, more prize money, and a raft of interesting sponsorship and broadcasting deals.