Valorant, Mobile Gaming, And The Shake-Up Coming To Esports Gambling – Forbes

'Valorant' may become the new number-one game in esports betting.

Its no surprise that League of Legends, CS:GO, and Dota 2 are the kings of esports betting; theyve all been at the forefront of the young business for a decade or more. However, an industry expert believes these titans of competitive gaming will lose their foothold on the market in the coming years, in favor of new gamesand platforms.

Steven Salz, the co-founder and CEO of Rivalrythe Canadian esports betting firm currently valued at around $150 million, which plans to list itself on the Toronto Stock Exchange later this yearis making bold predictions for his industry, even if a familiar face will continue to reap a lot of the benefits.

Salz explains that LoL, CS:GO, and Dota 2 currently account for over 90% of esports betting with his companyand, he suspects, nearly every bookmaker globallybut he believes Riot Games enduring success with League will transfer to its latest release, Valorant, which will claim a top spot in the coming years.

The Rivalry CEO says the 2020 first-person shooters popularity continues to aggregate millions of players and viewers, and the biggest esports organizations in the world are now fielding competitive rosters to match this huge increase in interest.

This is evident from even newcomers like Guild Esports, a team that has eschewed the current big three, instead favoring competition in Valorant alongside more traditional sports games, such as FIFA and the soccer-inspired Rocket League.

Steven Salz, CEO and co-founder of Rivalry.

A lot of Valorants predicted future success is down to its creators existing network. The events being held are run by Riot Games and seeing massive viewership, says Salz. Where viewership of a sport growsesports or notbetting follows. Itll inevitably result in a sports betting ecosystem around it.

However, Valorant and esports current big three may face stiff competition from an ever-growing mobile game audienceand Salz is making an even more bold prediction for a wider industry shift, where PC-based games begin to feel the threat of a platform much more prevalent.

Our prediction is that in two to three years from now, the top five esports in gambling will include at least two mobile esports titles, Salz continues. We see a significant opportunity in betting around mobile esports such as Mobile Legends, Garena Free Fire, and PUBG.

The Rivalry CEO thinks mobile games will break through due to two simple factors: distribution and access, especially in those regions and nations where most players and fans dont own a console or personal computer. Many people in, say, Asia may go to PC centers to play, he explains, but they all have a mobile phone.

In certain places in south-east Asia, you already have stadiums being filled with fans watching professional mobile esports. Its inevitable, just given the numbers at play here, that a top mobile esports game will become a top betting opportunity.

While Salz cant see esports betting ever matching traditional sports gambling, but even baseball, hockey, and basketball may struggle to compete. He concludes: On a dollar basis, the top three esports games will exceed all other individual sportsother than probably soccer in Europe and football in the U.S.within the next ten years.

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Valorant, Mobile Gaming, And The Shake-Up Coming To Esports Gambling - Forbes