The South by Southwest (SXSW) Music, Film and Interactive Festival is in full swing, and on Friday, a special panel interrogates the place of pay-to-play products within the burgeoning eSports industry.

Gambling.

There’s something about it that turns a sporting event from peanuts to Brazil nuts. Scratch that. It doesn’t even have to be a sporting event. When I was gambling, I would offer odds on which raindrop would reach the end of the windowpane first.

Competition + Invested Interest = Excitement.