Sports x metaverse can grow to $80B industry by 2030

Australian Open NFTs, blockchain in sports betting + more top stories

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📲 By the numbers

  • The sporting metaverse industry can become $80B in size by 2030, according to a Web3 Studios report. (Source) 

  • The sports NFT market has doubled from $1.3B to $2.6B in 2022, expected to grow at a CAGR of 36.3% to reach $41.6B by 2032. (Source) 

  • The global sports betting market is anticipated to grow to $182.12B in revenue by 2030, up from $76.75B in 2021. (Source)

đź“« News & trends

As the World Cup in Qatar wraps up, Web3 Studios report reveals key insights into the sporting metaverse sector, indicating its potential to hit $80B in size by 2030. Web3 projects and brands very well made their presence felt at the World Cup, yet challenges still abound: a drastic and fast-paced evolution in consumption pattern, an increasingly demanding and harder-to-engage fan base, and a technological landscape that is impossible to keep track with. 

The sporting community is considered an early adopter of NFTs, web3 apps, and other new digital elements in its attempt to engage and re-engage fans, adds the report as it includes contributions from key players such as Animoca Brands, Facelt, ConsenSys, and Upland, to name a few.

The renowned tennis tournament isn’t one to be left behind in the metaverse as it apes back into NFTs ahead of the 2023 tournament, launching a second collection of artBall NFTs with new web3 collaborators. Following its web3 debut in January, the Australian Open this time teams up with NFT collective NounsDAO, virtual art gallery platform OnCyber, and Gary Vaynerchuk’s Vayner Sports Pass. The new collection involves 2,452 Art Balls minting sometime before the tournament beginning January 16, 2023. The January release, tying physical plots of land on the tournament’s court to generative tennis balls, accrued 1,900 ETH or about $2.3M in resale volume. 

The global sports betting market is expected to grow to $182.12B in revenue by 2030 - up from $76.75B in the previous year, according to Grand View Research. Startups have started flocking to this space: Polymarket, a global information markets platform dedicated to sports betting; BetDEX, a global decentralized sports betting exchange; decentralized betting protocol Divvy; and Super Bowl ads boosting crypto add downloads by a whopping 279%, to name a few. Then you’ve got New York-based decentralized sport prediction marketplace Frontrunner raising $4.75M. Read what makes Frontrunner and these sports betting entities different - or what they’re doing differently to stand out in this burgeoning arena. 

If there’s one litmus test for web3 brands and their power to sell NFTs as digital memorabilia for sports fans, it’s the 2022 FIFA World Cup. NFTs took the global sports affair by storm, with Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi dropping his collection on November 27 - his second following the Messiverse, which raked in $3M. From the NBA Top Shots Platform to NFL All Day (and now FIFA birthing its NFT marketplace), what’s really in store for live collaboration and digital art interactions in the sporting world?

Sports organizations are seen as well-equipped for metaverse success because they are already producing what’s needed to create a compelling, immersive experience. Sports fans also comprise the perfect audience for this type of interactive content, with multiple monetization opportunities that only sports organizations can leverage. Yet how are the immersive experiences likely to evolve and get upgraded? Will traditional monetization strategies such as subscription still cut it? Immersive video is an area of great promise, but still at the mercy of the younger generations and their changing tastes as tomorrow’s main consumers. 

Web3 fantasy sports platform Sorare has reported 585,000 new signups on its platform across football, MLB, and NBA as the World Cup comes to a close, said to be the highest statistic for a web3-based sports gaming firm to date. The new members came in after the launch of its free-to-play World Cup game on November 10, according to Sorare, with the following numbers:

  • World Cup game stats equal more than 608,000+ players playing the game

  • More than 37,000 private leagues were created, of which 27,000 people competed in the largest private league, Fiago’s.

  • The top 3 most drafted players: Messi (in 5.47% of teams), MbappĂ© (in 4.15% of teams), and De Bruyne (in 2.93% of teams)

“NFTs became synonymous with overconfident individuals boasting about their latest purchase of a knackered monkey who was apparently worth $200 because it had a sailor's cap on … International Federations often made up of old men [throw] themselves into an industry they had no clue of, due to the fear of missing out … Football clubs were selling worthless items to their fans, while shirt sponsors started to feature the likes of the not-at-all-suspicious-sounding Sportemon Go. Despite all the mocking, NFTs are useful.” Read on for Michael Houston’s take on NFTs ultimate place in the sports world.

Infinite Reality, which takes companies into the metaverse, has announced plans to go public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). It plans to raise at least $128M at a valuation of $1.85B. According to the company, it is working with big brands such as Warner Bros. Discovery Sports in its aim to foster immersive virtual experiences and monetize web3-enabled showrooms and events. Back in July it also acquired esports entity ReKTGlobal for $470 million in stock, valuing the combined entity at $2.5B. 

The grim ending of FTX and its founder and former CEO’s arrest have raised new questions about the role of celebrity athletes such as Tom Brady, Steph Curry, Naomi Osaka, and other players in lending legitimacy to the crypto landscape, also bringing to the fore the conversation about how costly blind loyalty to favorite players or teams can be for the average sports fan. Crypto and sports has a young marriage, yet studies found that FTX and other crypto firms had spent millions for sponsorship in the NBA’s 2021-22 season alone. In the fallout, the question remains: will people look poorly on the currency, or will they look poorly on Steph Curry or Tom Brady? 

WWE Moonsault is emerging as a potential model for NFT video implementation, an NFT marketplace that enables sports rights holders to monetize their video archives around a live event. Running on Eluvio Content Blockchain, WWE Moonsault provides specially minted NFTs costing $30 for a pack of three “that transform from digital images into exclusive video of specific highlights.” NFT holders can also get VIP access to exclusive live Q&As with WWE Superstars, managed via the NFT or blockchain token.

đź’¸ Finance buzz

  • Frontrunner, a decentralized sports prediction market, raised a $4.75M funding round by Susquehanna Private Equity Investments LLP. (Source)

🗣️ Quote of the week

“Metaverse technologies have the potential to revolutionize sports engagement and raise it to another dimension. Fans will have access to a myriad of ways to engage and interact with their favorite teams and athletes. Traditional monetization channels will grow several-fold. Instead of stadium tickets, they’ll sell virtual tickets; instead of a jersey, they’ll have dozens of virtual collections; video rights won’t be just for traditional broadcast, but for holograms and 360 videos, and sponsors won’t be any more just a logo at the end of a website.” 

Jose Somolinos, Accedo, Solutions Strategist & XR Lead

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