# The Rise and Rise of Competitive Gaming

- Link: https://exclusiveaccess.net/the-rise-and-rise-of-competitive-gaming/
- Published: 2016-01-28T11:09:55-05:00
- Author: EAN

[⌊A team competing in the CTF contest at DEFCON 17 in Las Vegas.⌉⌊A team competing
in the CTF contest at DEFCON 17 in Las Vegas.⌉[For many years, competitive video
gaming has been popular but it seems that the success of eSports has rocketed over
recent years. This gaming has become a popular form of  entertainment and has managed
to create some very wealthy young people into the bargain. From playing and competing
in eSports to taking part in eSports betting to try and make some money, people 
get involved in all sorts of ways.

Competitive gaming fans are on average pretty young, with the [demographic tending to be](http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2015/02/25/new-report-details-how-esports-is-an-effective-engagement-and-marketing-tool)
white males who middle class and aged between 18 and 34. These are young men with
plenty of free time and a decent amount of money. Players tend to be young too with
many still in their teens when they begin to compete and often enjoying great success.
An increase in viewers enjoying eSports A report released last year showed how there
had been a tremendous surge in the number of eSports fans in both Europe and the
United States. Many were enjoying the chance to watch this type of competitive gaming
online while many others were getting to the heart of the action and attending live
tournaments. Some have said that their reason to attend live events is not to actually
start playing themselves but to enjoy the thrill of the tournaments. Some also said
that they attended because they wanted to meet players and other fans that they 
had met online.

There are a number of games that have helped to create this sharp rise in eSports
popularity including ones such as League of Legends and DOTA 2. Another effect that
this rise in popularity has had is on online eSports betting. Bookies such as Betway
have seen a sharp increase in betting activity, [with eSports betting growing rapidly](https://sports.betway.com/ee).
Betway now offers access to a range of eSports betting including the likes of Heroes
of the Storm, CS:GO and World of Tanks.Some have gone as far as to describe pro 
gamers as the athletes of the future such is the popularity of competitive gaming.
In fact, it has been suggested that within the next four or so years, eSports could
be more [popular than sports such as Formula 1](http://futureispodcast.com/episode/esports/)
and the NFL. Of course, nobody can categorically predict what the future of eSports
will be. However, based on the reports and figures that have been released over 
the past few years, it seems that the future is definitely looking bright for the
world of competitive gaming.