The global gaming industry is worth billions of dollars each year, with everything from game development, retail, supply chains, hardware construction and more contributing.
As well as being a fun and exciting recreational activity, it can also be a lucrative career for the best players.
People have been making money gambling for years, with professional players making a living at casinos. Online and offshore casinos available to US players now provides an excellent, convenient alternative to land-based operations.
Casino expert Andrew O’Malley explains how offshore operations have been perfect for players in states where online casinos are banned.
They give people a safe way to practice and win money at home or on the go.
Online casinos have benefited immensely from technological developments and so has the gaming community.
Players can now stream their gameplay and earn money from followers or participate in competitive gaming events that have gained global fame through live events and huge sponsorship deals.
The US is second only to China in total esports earnings, with Kenya in 149th place.
Kenyan Esports Insights
The Kenyan Esports market is expected to reach $7.6M this year and continues with annual growth of around 5.8%. This growth has been attributed to a number of factors, including support from local and national businesses.
Gaming cafes and small gaming tournaments are helping the Kenyan gaming industry, but it has been the support of telecoms provider Safaricom and partners to create the 2019 Blaze tournament that has kicked things off.
Kenyan games have since seen sponsorship deals from Logitech, Huawei, MSI and ASUS.
Kenya’s 149th place on the earnings list places them between Mozambique at 148th and American Samoa at 150th.
Kenya’s 3 professional players have earned $2,004.94, while this number is a long way from the US, the development of Esports in Kenya should see this number increase significantly in the future.
Kenya’s best esports players
Kenya’s top tournament players include Ian “KingNairobus” Njoroge, Eric “Demon” Ngige and Mawira “DarkTempest” Nyaga, who have competed in 6 tournaments in total.
Ian Njoroge has earned the most played Overwatch and has won $1,482.62. Eric Ngige is next on the list after earning $372.32 on EA Sports FC 24 and Mawira Nyaga has earned $150 on Tekken 7.
Ian “KingNairobus” Njoroge competed in 4 tournaments in total, with his biggest win coming at ASUS GamesFest in 2016 when he won $907.56.
US Esports Insights
Comparing Kenya’s esports industry to the US is a bit of a mismatch with Kenya’s 3 players facing the 27,621 US players. Naturally, having so many competitive players will result in significantly higher earnings, and the $279,264,085.11 earned by American players is a phenomenal figure.
The US esports market is worth more than $1 billion thanks to significant backing that has facilitated the growth of its infrastructure.
The US hosts thousands of Esports tournaments every year and it is estimated that there are more than 212 million players in the country.
Top Esports Players in USA
The top three US players have all earned over $3 million from their games, with Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf earning the most at $3,720,091.72. Saahil “UNIVeRsE” Arora is in second place with $3,057,237.67 and Peter “ppd” Dager has earned $3,029,331.36.
The top earner for US players has been Fortnite with winnings of $48,889,765.73. Dota 2 is second at $18,346,687.37 with Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Rocket League and Apex Legends close behind.
At just 21 years old, Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf is the top earner in the country, with 99% of his $3.7 million coming from playing Fortnite across 137 tournaments. Incredibly, he made the majority of his money when he was just 16, earning $3,080,191.67 from 41 tournaments.
He is currently ranked 22nd in the world rankings, with Danish Dota 2 player Johan Sundstein in first place with earnings of $7,184,163.05.
Conclusion
The US can serve as a good example for Kenya in terms of its gaming infrastructure, but it has a bigger budget to work with. America’s 2022 GDP of $25.44 trillion dwarfs Kenya’s $113.4 billion and has a huge lead.
If Kenya is to improve its global standing in the gaming community, it will need to rely on additional support from industry giants, as well as recognition from the government, which can help by improving connectivity within the country and supporting community projects.
Competitive gaming and online gambling both offer big money earning opportunities for the top players and Kenya has the potential to move up the rankings with one or two good performances.