Esports betting is a booming segment of the sports betting business, with a youth-driven push making professional video gaming betting a regular activity. Although there are no legal sports betting markets in Singapore, there are many bookmaker sites situated in other countries that will accept signups from within the country and cater to the Singaporean currency.
Why Singapore is leaning towards Esports
Betting businesses are always seeking innovative methods to entertain their customers while still providing them with the opportunity to win significant sums of money. As a result, numerous well-known betting companies have recently begun to delve into the field of Esports.
Competitive electronic sports, sometimes known as e-sports, have gotten a lot of attention recently, thanks to platforms like Twitch, which allow professional gamers to stream their gameplay to a live audience.
It is because of this attention that betting companies have decided to cash in on the quickly developing sector. As a result, the concept of Esports betting was born. It entails betting on gamers who compete in competitive video gaming.
This relatively new kind of betting has garnered such positive feedback from gamblers throughout the world that it is expected to be worth $30 billion by the end of 2021. Despite the fact that this is fantastic news for gamblers all over the world, Esports betting Singapore aficionados still have a lot of questions about the matter.
The state of the Esports market in Singapore
In terms of gambling, the country has a bit of a shady history. Gambling addiction was formerly so widespread in the country that it was referred to as an epidemic; people would lose significant sums of money, with some going bankrupt in a single day.
This is why the government has outlawed all types of internet gambling unless done through a licensed operator. The Singapore government, on the other hand, has no objections to Esports. In reality, it has made significant contributions to the industry’s growth and advancements in order to establish it as a respectable sports section.
Singapore’s esports industry has benefited greatly from government support. It has gradually developed a lot of popularity among the country’s gaming community, to the point where the Singapore Sports Hub built a state-of-the-art facility to help local gamers prepare for contests.
This demonstrates how Esports has been regarded as a legitimate sport in the country. FIFA, League of Legends, DOTA 2, Call of Duty, Fortnite, and Overwatch are just a few of the games available in the Esports online games portfolio.
Betting on Esports
Even though it is still relatively new, betting on Esports has seen a significant surge. The market has grown to the point where wagering on video game competitions is now a multibillion-dollar business. Esports is already a competitive activity in and of itself; however, when money is involved, things can get extremely serious.
Esports betting isn’t precisely legal in Singapore when it comes to gambling. As a result, Singaporeans have no way of accessing online Esports betting sites without being discovered by authorities. Gamblers who are caught may face a fine or a jail sentence if they are caught.
Not only that but the website that provides the gaming services will also be prosecuted. Thousands of gamblers use VPNs to access Esports betting sites from different countries.
One important point to remember is that in order for Esports betting to be authorized in Singapore, one of the country’s exemption businesses must first provide it. A trustworthy corporation that is licensed by the government to conduct online betting Singapore services is an exception.
This was prompted by a 2016 legislation that saw the country’s online gaming industry become regulated.