The mass appeal of a sport can often be gauged
by the politicians associating themselves with it. Political
leaders, especially today, often use the great leveller of
competitive sports to connect with people.
By this measure, eSports - the sport of competitive
video gaming - is right up there with football, tennis and
basketball.
Last December, the White House invited some eSports
champions to take part in a tournament that was broadcast live to
viewers across the globe.
The political interest in eSports is a direct result of
its rapid growth in recent years.
eSports is now a global phenomenon, with its growth
unmatched by any other sport. The industry has been growing at 42
per cent per year and is forecast to be worth US$1.9 billion (S$2.7
billion) by next year.
The level of engagement among eSports fans, by minutes
spent watching, trounces many traditional sports.
And they are not a small group of fans - about 300
million tune in to watch tournaments of games such as League Of
Legends and World Of Warcraft.
What makes the sector even more attractive for
politicians, event organisers, sponsors and broadcasters is that
the majority of its fans are millennials, a highly sought-after
demographic.
Its growing popularity opens up major commercial
opportunities for events organisers, brands, broadcasters and, of
course, the players themselves.
In 2014, some 40,000 eSports fans crammed into the
Seoul World Cup Stadium to watch an eSports tournament. Football
matches held there have an average attendance of 20,000.
Fan engagement also drives up the value of media
rights, which are often the most valuable property for any sport -
just ask the English Premier League.
eSports looks set to be no different, and online
streaming platforms are already among the big winners. Twitch, one
of the most popular streaming platforms, was bought over by Amazon
for US$1 billion in 2014.
Singapore's Garena, which is also popular, is
reportedly preparing for a US$1 billion initial public offering in
the US.
Where the fans go, the sponsors will follow,
particularly when they are a well-defined millennial demographic
made up of a majority (but by no means exclusively) of young and
affluent males.
Major global brands, such as Samsung, Red Bull and
Gillette, have inked sponsorship deals with eSports teams and
players in recent years.
The broadcast and sponsorship investments have, in
turn, inflated tournament prize pools at the top tier of the sport
- players themselves are starting to make serious money.
According to esportsearnings.com, the top 25 players in
the world all made more than US$1 million each this year.
Singapore has a unique opportunity to position itself
as a global leader in eSports.
Firstly, it can leverage its growing pool of technical
talent to build the games that drive eSports.
The launch of Pixel Studios by the Infocomm Media
Development Authority last November is a clear statement of intent
in this regard - Singapore is building a video games ecosystem for
developers, publishers and broadcasters.
Secondly, Singapore can become a global eSports dispute
resolution hub.
The massive revenue opportunity in the sport, coupled
with the regulatory challenges outlined above, creates the perfect
storm of potential disputes.
The Court of Arbitration for Sports is the official
home of eSports dispute resolution but that is still largely
untested.
Since Asia has the lion's share of the eSports
audience, there is a clear opportunity for a dispute resolution hub
in the region.
Having already established itself as a credible global
arbitration hub, Singapore can take the lead on this front and
become the eSports dispute resolution hub.
Given the reputation of its legal and justice system,
and the efficiency and speed with which it operates, Singapore
would surely go down well as a choice with all stakeholders.
Finally, there is an opportunity to invest in
developing world-class players and leagues.
Singapore's Daryl Koh Pei Xiang, who uses "iceiceice"
as his online moniker, is 23rd on the international earnings list,
making nearly US$1.1 million, mostly from Dota 2.
While national competitions are still few and far
between, it may only be a matter of time before the World Cup or
Olympics of eSports emerges on the scene.
With a well-connected and tech-savvy population,
Singapore could develop a global league, and perhaps even build one
of the world's leading international eSports teams.
At this point, as eSports moves from the domain of the
early adopters into the mainstream, all of these opportunities are
still up for grabs.
The writer is a partner at Olswang
Asia LLP. This is an abridged version of the article that appeared
in The Business Times yesterday.