The world’s fastest-expanding eSports market is in Latin America. The kind of electronic sport has skyrocketed in popularity since arriving in these areas.
With the population’s increased access to technology, the widespread availability of fast Internet access, and the increase in revenue from nearby sports betting, eSports have developed in the continent. Websites that list, evaluate games, and connect visitors to bookies, like those at bookmaker-expert.com/country/mexico/, have contributed to the growth of this burgeoning entertainment sector.
What Counts as eSports?
It’s critical to understand the nature of this new sport and its appeal. The Business School of Innovation and Entrepreneurs (IEBS) defines eSports, often known as electronic sports, as professionally run video game competitions. Every eSport has its own set of regulations and may be accessed both online and offline from a variety of devices or platforms.
Although video games are the emphasis of eSports, not all of them can always be categorized as sports, and in order to do so, the following criteria must be met:
- The game permits a face-off between two or more players who compete on an even playing field; each player’s success is based on his or her tactical or strategic prowess.
- Existence of regulated leagues and events with qualified teams, players, and teams.
- Thousands of followers watch the competitions via broadcasts or by physically attending the events.
- Media that made the competitions available for viewing by millions of participants.
- The industry is supported by a parallel advertising sector, which also funds teams and events.
Hispanics Are Becoming Gamers in Increasing Numbers
Around 10% of all computer game gamers worldwide at the moment are Hispanics. Leading eSports organizations like Riot Games, LVP, and GGTech established operations in Latin America after recognizing the immense potential of this market. Nowadays, there are competitions for players of all skill levels, from professionals to beginners. Similar to how it’s with traditional sports, a full show has developed around the contests, with live broadcasts, commentators, and programs devoted to dissecting the top plays from well-known titles like League of Legends, Rainbow 6, and Valorant.
The rate of expansion was noticeably boosted by the Covid-19 epidemic. For instance, the Twitch platform had a global audience increase of double in 2021, and polls have shown that, on average, people in Brazil, Chile, and Mexico spent almost twice as much time playing video games during the pandemic. News and information about this kind of sport are currently consumed much more voraciously, and South America is leading this expansion.
In contrast to what occurs in mature markets like those in Europe or North America, there’s a lot of space for growth and investment in Latin America. The number of eSports viewers surpassed 70 million last year, with Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and Argentina ranking as the top five markets.
Electronic Sport Is Close to Being a Passion in Latin America
Latin American teams are becoming more competitive, despite the fact that there have long been examples of Hispanics who are true masters of videogames (such as the case of the Mexican MK Leo, the world champion of the game Super Smash Bros.) at the worldwide eSports event. A landmark for the entire region was reached in 2019 when a Peruvian team finished eighth in a very competitive Dota 2 match at The International event.
Genuine rivalries in the eSports realm have also sparked. Matches between the Argentine clubs Isurus and Furious can be compared to the iconic Boca versus River football derby.
The South American eSports Awards
Latin American eSports have advanced to the point where they now even have their own “Oscars” ceremony. In this regard, the first “Premios Crack” (Crack Awards) event, which honored the region’s top electronic sports talent, was held in Buenos Aires last March.
Awards were given to the top players in CS: GO, Valorant, Fornite, and many more games, as well as esports squad of the year, the best caster (rapporteur), and the best analyst of the year.
The Advent of eSports in Mexico
According to Statista statistics, the market for eSports in Mexico has risen significantly, hitting a volume of 988 million dollars, and is expected to continue growing at an annualized rate of growth of 8% until 2024, when it’s anticipated to reach a value of over 1,340 million dollars.
Esports has a huge potential to advance to that level in Mexico even though it’s not yet regarded as a vocation, for instance: as per Diario AS in China, these contestants are already considered professionals with a high reputation and status; however, even though Mexico is a developing nation in this area, it doesn’t imply that its citizenry is small because the country has a gaming crowd of 72 million people who play on a variety of platforms, the most popular of which is mobile, where battle royale games like Fortnite, Call of Duty: Mobile, and Free Fire are the most popular.
The General Law of Physical Culture and Sports asserts that the Mexican Esports Federation (FEMES) was awarded the Unique Sport Registry by the National Sports Commission (CONADE) in 2018, and as a result, an entity can even strive to take part in the creation, infrastructure, and financial assistance programs of the agency reliant on the Ministry of Public Education (SEP). Esports is now formally acknowledged as a form of mental exercise, much like dominoes and chess.
Although the hardware requirements that gaming may demand today make it a sport that requires a significant initial investment. The expense of a team doesn’t constitute a game, and several factors need to be considered, such as:
- A professional computer with a price tag of at least 50,000 pesos.
- A 200-megabyte Internet line, which can cost as much as 1,000 pesos each month (200 megabytes download and upload).
Although it may seem showy, Mexican players may find that making this initial expenditure will pay off in the long run. A professional eSports player in Mexican territory makes far more money than a professional, according to a study done by the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness. A professional athlete can expect to make between 20,000 and 30,000 pesos a month, which is significantly more money than the ordinary individual can get from a regular job.
It becomes a fantastic choice for Mexican gamers who are just getting started in the video game industry when you consider that eSports careers can begin for persons as young as 10 years old.
Mexico’s Most-Played Video Games and Their Economic Effect
Info on the most well-liked games was recently made public, and it’s even clearer that video games in Latin America have seen exponential development in recent years, particularly in Mexico.
In addition to Twitch, Facebook is another platform that has successfully garnered attention in computer games in Mexico and throughout the world. Throughout its Facebook Gaming platform, social media has given video game content creators a strong opportunity to stay in touch with their audience and revitalize the entertainment sector.
According to data from Facebook Gaming, Call of Duty: Warzone, Free Fire, Fortnite, Call of Duty: Mobile, and Minecraft had the most players in Mexico throughout 2022.
Being one of the most well-known gaming franchises, Call of Duty was able to unite all of its players in Call of Duty: Warzone, a game of the Battle Royale subgenre that has gained popularity in recent years and peaked during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Four of the most popular titles in the region are playable on mobile devices, demonstrating how popular gaming on mobile devices has become.
Consolidated rankings put Free Fire in a close second place to Call of Duty: Warzone.
Even if the Minecraft phenomenon launched more than ten years ago, it’s still one of the most widely used choices not only in Mexico but also around the world, drawing players of all ages.
There are already more than 70 million players in Mexico, and 41% of them are female. Up to 1.8 million dollars have been poured in thanks to eSports.
The research company Newzoo’s Global Esports Market Report 2020 states that earnings that year were 1.1 billion dollars, an increase of 15.7% over 2019.
