Sports & Social Media Have Ruled Pop Culture

Sports and video games have gone together since the beginning of the video game industry. From the early days of Atari to NBA2K, a game that looks real has always been a staple of the gaming industry. Electronic Art’s Sports’ “in the game” can still be heard in the deepest part of all our minds. 

Among headliners, the Madden 21 Club Championship returned with a prize pool of $750,000. The Madden Championship Series has run from November 10 to February 5. Players had eight weeks to compete and to represent one of the 32 NFL teams. Online games were played on Tuesday nights and Pizza Hut is the overall sponsor. A strong legion of fans is all over the world. Sports games aren’t going anywhere and are playing a huge role in pop culture. 

The engaging world of electronic sports

Across the world, millions of people love to gamble, especially with online sports betting. The sports industry generates nearly 70% of global gambling revenue, which is more than what lotteries, poker, casinos, and other forms of gambling produce combined. Since 2017, the global sports betting market has surpassed $150 billion consistently. 

Taken from Pixabay

However, times have changed for the year 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has locked-down countless casinos, live venues, and sports altogether. In some states, such as New Jersey, wagers at sports bookmakers fell over 60%. Esports and online gambling are starting to become the next trend. While nobody can predict when the pandemic will slow down, the numbers support that online gameplay and gambling are a perfect match in heaven. 

The popularity

Most that keep up with pop culture love basketball. Guys like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Kawhi Leonard are among the top conversations because fans love to know what is happening in their lives. Keeping up with social media has sports fans glued to their phones, which is how the video game industry has boomed. 

Since the launch of Twitch, gamers have found a safe space to watch some of their favorite video games. Just like sports blogs that offer tips about Draftkings and FanDuel, Twitch is where gamers can learn tips to improve their gaming technique. Games like Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege have taken over Twitch and even TikTok. 

The trend will rise in 2021

In 2019, we saw the beginning of online gaming and gambling when League of Legends became the first championships to allow wagers. The first major competitive season that was highly wagered on was Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Vegas allowed sportsbooks to take wagers on Counter-Strike after the NBA shut down. 

Sports and social media have taken over this generation. As it continues to build, we will see more users drawn to all of these games and platforms. Twitch is very young, so it will be interesting to see how the service improves over time.