{"id":3926,"date":"2017-08-16T15:49:12","date_gmt":"2017-08-16T15:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blnebeuk.serveur04.com\/blog\/?p=3926"},"modified":"2017-08-17T13:45:59","modified_gmt":"2017-08-17T13:45:59","slug":"could-video-gaming-be-the-next-olympic-sport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.netbet.co.uk\/blog\/2017\/08\/16\/could-video-gaming-be-the-next-olympic-sport\/","title":{"rendered":"Could Video Gaming be the Next Olympic Sport?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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They\u2019re used to\u00a0pocketing\u00a0coins and\u00a0scoring experience points, but could video gamers soon be picking up Olympic Golds?<\/p>\n

The answer is yes, according to Tony Estanguet, co-president of the successful Paris bid committee, who says eSports could be included in the 2024 Olympic games, and has pencilled in a meeting with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and eSports representatives to discuss the inclusion of\u00a0video games alongside other “genuine”\u00a0sports in the French capital.<\/p>\n

The IOC will start discussions over the Paris event in 2019 and will make a final decision on which new sports can take part after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.<\/p>\n

Even if\u00a0it doesn\u2019t make the Olympic cut, eSports\u00a0is already\u00a0moving into the sporting mainstream,\u00a0notching up\u00a0a major success\u00a0earlier this year when\u00a0the Olympic Council of Asia\u00a0– responding to\u00a0the video sports’\u00a0cult following in China, South Korea and Taiwan – announced it will\u00a0be included as a “demonstration game” in the 2018 Asian Games. By 2022 it will be a medal sport.<\/p>\n

This is good news for eSports\u00a0as the Asian Games is\u00a0the largest multi-sport\u00a0competition after the Olympic Games, featuring 484 events in 42 sports.<\/p>\n

But what exactly\u00a0is eSports and does the game have what it takes to become an officially recognised sport on an equal footing with, say,\u00a0football\u00a0and tennis, that have achieved Olympic status?<\/p>\n

For the uninitiated, eSports is basically competitive video gaming where players compete against each other in front of spectators to win tournaments. And if you thought it was limited to the confines of teenage boys\u2019 bedrooms, think again. Each year, eSports tournaments draw in huge crowds from all corners of the globe, filling\u00a0massive stadiums and concert venues to watch – and bet on – the events.<\/p>\n

And the numbers keep on rising,\u00a0with global eSports\u00a0spectator figures set to hit 385 million this year, according to market researcher Newzoo.<\/p>\n

To put the figures into context, this year’s\u00a0Intel Masters World Championship in Katowice, Poland,\u00a0attracted over 46 million online viewers – more than the number of people who tuned in to watch Donald Trump\u2019s presidential inauguration.\u00a0And last year,\u00a0viewer figures for the League of Legends video game championship topped those of the NBA Finals, according to sports channel ESPN.<\/p>\n

Alongside\u00a0YouTube and other social media channels, eSports tournaments\u00a0have their own dedicated streaming channel, Twitch, which pulls in millions of viewers every day,\u00a0spurring Amazon\u00a0to splash out almost $1 billion acquire the channel\u00a0in 2014.<\/p>\n

eSports\u2019 surging spectator success\u00a0is\u00a0also pulling in investors, attracted by\u00a0Newzoo\u2019s forecast that\u00a0global revenues will reach $696 million this year,\u00a0up from $130 million in 2012.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0campaign to “legitimise” eSports won\u2019t be easy though,\u00a0with critics claiming gaming cannot be classified as a physical sport and\u00a0its\u00a0participants are not real athletes. And\u00a0a recent remark by\u00a0Thomas Bach, President of the IOC, that eSports goes against \u201cOlympic rules and values of sport\u201d has made the going even tougher.<\/p>\n

However, Bach did concede that the would-be sport does enjoy \u201chigh engagement from the youth\u201d – something the IOC is focussing heavily on in upcoming games –\u00a0and this could finally tip the balance in eSports\u2019 favour.<\/p>\n

Is it time for the Olympic Video Games? Watch this space.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, why not see what all the fuss is about by heading over to NetBet. The sports betting platform offers a wide range of bets on all the big eSports tournaments. Check out the odds\u00a0<\/span><\/span>here\u00a0<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> It\u2019s definitely worth a punt, and there\u2019s still time to put money on Astralis at 3\/1 to win at Counter-Strike in Malmo!<\/p>\n

Words by Georgina Barnard<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

They\u2019re used to\u00a0pocketing\u00a0coins and\u00a0scoring experience points, but could video gamers soon be picking up Olympic Golds? The answer is yes, according to Tony Estanguet, co-president of the successful Paris bid committee, who says eSports could be included in the 2024 Olympic games, and has pencilled in a meeting with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3930,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[212,1],"tags":[65,1195,440],"class_list":["post-3926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casino-poker","category-uncategorized","tag-betting","tag-e-sports","tag-gambling"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nE-Sports: Could Video Gaming be the Next Olympic Sport?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"E-Sports: They\u2019re used to\u00a0pocketing\u00a0coins and\u00a0scoring experience points, but could video gamers soon be picking up 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