Singapore Becoming Global Center for Esports Competition
Esports is quickly becoming a global phenomenon. Out of the many metropolises across the world that engage in these activities, Singapore is quickly establishing itself as the headquarters for enthusiasts of all varieties. Given the relatively rapid timeframe that this status has evolved, it’s no surprise that the current situation is considered to be highly dynamic and evolving constantly. As things stand at the beginning of 2022, Singapore has positioned itself incredibly well to take control of the Esports industry.
The quality of the gaming experiences being designed for players in Singapore is rapidly improving in quality. It is sure an exciting time to be a consumer in this space.
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Trying to pin down the root cause of this remarkable success is by no means an easy feat. Looking closely at the numbers is the only way to derive exactly how popular Esports are in any given region, and by total gamers, Asia is leading the continent’s league table with a massive 1.5 billion players.
Within the city of Singapore, there are a reported 1.4 million gamers residing in Singapore, demonstrating the immense pull and attraction of the city when drawing in new players to the Esports space. There have been tremendous advancements in Esports betting over the past 12 months, so this is incredibly welcomed news for Singapore’s entrepreneurs.
Statistics are the essence of any analysis of a market’s health, and in the case of Esports in Singapore, it is no different. In 2019, the players across Singapore made over $320 million of investments into video game purchases, and on average a gamer spent over 7 hours per week in Singapore playing their favorite Esports. The Singapore Games Association investigating the size of the market has anticipated a major rise in fortunes for the sector, with a compounding annual growth rate soaring to 195%.
The city saw a major Esports tournament take place in the city this year, with 18 teams drawn from 11 different regions. The peak viewership for this tournament was 5.4 million per match, which for a gaming event taking place outside of China was a new record. On top of the strong performance in the raw gaming numbers, Singapore will be cementing its relevance as an Esports hotspot when they host a Gamescon style event named Global Esports Games.
Esports Betting and Technological Infrastructure
Only a few years ago gambling in Singapore was completely forbidden but given the rapid ascent of gambling appropriate activities in the city, it made legalizing the act of gambling a logical choice for local politicians in the region. With the onset of new opportunities in gaming at both the casino and the horse track, Singapore has quickly become the epicenter of gambling and one of the most important cities for the iGaming sector in Asia.
There are many betting opportunities opening up for gamblers interested in Esports. With the competitive nature of top titles such as CS:GO and Starcraft, bookmakers are finding it incredibly easy to create a compelling landscape for oddsmakers to work in experiences for gamblers. Considering the relatively small population of Singapore compared to other countries, it remains unlikely that they will make any major contribution to the global impact of Esports on the gambling industry. But the proportions of the population playing and contributing to the growth of the Esports sector in Singapore is incredibly impressive.
The development of technological infrastructure in Singapore made the process for building out the new industry a lot more streamlined than it would have been elsewhere. But the future of Esports looks promising in any case, building on the speed of the internet offered across the city and creating a culture that allows Esports to flourish will be the focus of the new organizers in the space.
Expanding their global strategy to include Singapore as a destination for more trade shows, conventions, and conferences will be the main focus to drive the growth of the country’s gaming industry. With Esports becoming a central piece of the modern gambling story, it will remain to be seen where and how the gaming sector in Singapore will capitalize on the new trend.
