Sports betting has gone through radical changes over the last two months, as a near total lack of live sports has meant operators have had to rely on alternatives. XLMedia has been watching the trends in the market, and we reached out to Stuart Simms, CEO of XLMedia to learn more about them.

Surprising stars like Table Tennis and Belarussian Football have taken over the sports betting scene, and XLMedia reports a 42% increase in the amount of bets alternative sports like these have seen. “These markets were almost non-existent under ‘normal’ sports betting circumstances,” Simms said. “Due to the lack of betting options, some bettors are looking for other areas to bet on. Two specific niches have remained unscathed, and that is eSports – which can be played from the home in isolation – and computer-generated virtual sports.”

While there is some pent up demand for live sports betting, don’t expect it to all rush back at once. “It will depend on which sports are returning and when,” they said. “For example, the UFC returned over the weekend of May 9.This brought significantly more traffic than usual during coronavirus, but obviously not nearly as close to the amount of traffic we are expecting when major European football leagues return to action, such as the German Bundesliga on May 16.”

So the big question is, with esports traffic up 690%, and virtuals up 1534%, will we see these levels of activity continue once live sports return? “There will likely be a small portion of bettors who really enjoyed the experience of eSports betting and virtual sports and will continue in this space, even when traditional sports return,” Simms said. “These bettors may also revisit these options during ‘dryer’ sports periods like the summer; but, ultimately, most bettors will most probably return to actual sports betting and their traditional betting options”