Over the course of several decades, the landscape of the video gaming industry has changed immensely. Initially known for easily-coded social arcade games with horrendous pixel counts, gaming has since taken on an immense life of its own and given spawn to a gigantic primary and supplemental market.
eSports Betting
Gone are the days of story-driven epics as popular modern games are online, multiplayer, and visually stunning. The new gaming world is sleek and standardized, an open arena for mental power-struggles and split-second hand-eye coordination. Thus, it seems ever so natural that the ever-popular gambling world has recently seen its market expand to eSports, essentially, pay-for-play professional video gaming.
Betting on eSports
Betting on the result of digitally orchestrated battles is no different from gambling on horses or tangible sports. Sentiments or statistical analysis are used to determine the choice of the risk bearer. Unfortunately, all forms of gambling are susceptible to addiction. Research has shown the gambling addiction is expressed in the brain through the same patterns as drug addiction. Furthermore, the younger the exposure to gambling, the more influence it will have on the developing brain.
However, these faults are not unique to gambling, they are an inescapable flaw of the human genome. There are certain activities that are not meant to be accessed by minors during developmental years such as smoking, drinking, and sex. Gambling is no different. Positive laws to regulate the age of legality are crucial to the development of a wholesome and orderly society.
eSports Betting Industry
There is a pressing need for regulation of the eSports betting industry. Young teenagers that lack contractual capacity and do not understand the associated risks of gambling are growing increasingly involved online communities that encourage and facilitate in-game betting through the use of third-party marketplaces. Getting used to the thrill and instant gratification of high risk and reward based income will drive the unknowing youth to be unmotivated to perform simple tasks. Meanwhile, this altered reward mechanism will create an innate drive for greater satisfaction through greater risk which will lead to anti-social behavior in the physical world at an older age with higher societal exposure.
Parents lack control over what their children are browsing online and what may seem like an innocent video game with friends could potentially be the spark to a life of chasing the thrill.
Fortunately, the first eSports betting firms have been created, and one such firm, Unikrn, understands the dangers behind youth corruption that results from lazy legislature and is exposing the issue for what it is. Founder Rahul Sood started his awareness campaign after hearing his own 13-year old son talking about skin betting (a form of eSports betting used in the popular closed-source game “Counter Strike”) with his friends. To Rahul, and any responsible taxpayer with a base level of integrity, the first step to providing a safe, legal eSports betting environment is the introduction of standardization and regulation in the Electronic Sports League and beyond.