Three billion-dollar sports industries you need to watch this decade
By Jackie Reau
If you’re looking for billion-dollar businesses that are expected to grow in this new decade, look no further than the world of sports. Sports betting in the United States, esports and World Cup 2026 to be held in North America will create billions of dollars of new business, bringing a new class of employment opportunities and new platforms to engage with diverse segments of consumers.
Sports betting will see more action in 2020 in several more states, potentially including Ohio, with a new revenue stream for these states. After the federal ban was lifted in 2018, 13 U.S. states now have some form of active sports betting while another handful of states could open sports books soon.
Ohio has two competing bills, one in the House and one in the Senate, to legalize sports betting and Gov. Mike DeWine is an advocate.
According to a Morgan Stanley report, U.S. sports gambling revenues are expected to surpass $800 million this year from $249 million in 2017 and $7 billion by 2025.
Esports, or video gaming at a competitive level, is on pace to become a billion-dollar industry this decade with a global audience of more than 440 million. To put this in perspective, consider the viewing battle between the popular video game League of Legends World Championships vs. the Super Bowl. In November, 100 million viewers watched League of Legends while 103 million tuned in to watch last year’s Super Bowl.
According to Statista, the esports industry is expected to generate close to $1.8 billion in revenue by 2022 with the revenue coming from a variety of source from sponsorships and advertising, along with esports betting, prize pools, tournaments, merchandise and ticket sales.
Our firm, Game Day, is helping brands enter this industry in an authentic and strategic manner, ranging from esport athlete endorsements, sponsorship activations and/or event management.
In the next year, you will continue to see more about esports in mainstream media and marketing as many local colleges and universities are creating varsity teams and curriculum to support the industry. Ohio University, Mount Saint Joseph University and Miami University are all creating esports programs on their campuses to train the next generation of talent.
The largest sporting event on the planet, men’s World Cup 2026, will be held in North America. In the last World Cup, FIFA (the governing body) recorded worldwide viewership north of three billion with more than 7.5 billion engagements across all digital platforms and over 580 million interactions on social media, a record. Broadcasting rights alone were worth $3 billion.
Cincinnati is still on the short list to be a host city for World Cup 2026. Reportedly, the selection process of host cities will be finalized by next year.
If Cincinnati were to be selected as the host city, the impact would be enormous. A study done by the Boston Consulting Group showed that being the host of the 2026 FIFA World Cup could generate more than $5 billion in short-term economic activity, including supporting approximately 40,000 jobs and more than $1 billion in incremental worker earnings across North America.
Whether on the pitch, at a gaming controller or at a sportsbook, these three industries are expected to be the next big growth opportunities in sports for the next 10 years. Sponsors with a futuristic vision and the creativity to come up with unique partnerships are likely to see major returns on their investments as these three businesses grow.