The changing customer habits and the progression of digital technology created the appearance of a stream of reforms, ranging from virtual reality and data analytics to connected devices. They have new sources of growth for the sports industry sectors.

Authorities point out that Blockchain and cryptocurrencies are at the center of the fourth industrial revolution, besides the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, driverless vehicles, artificial intelligence (AI), intelligent machines, robotics, and others.

Among these industries are sports, one of the world’s most valuable, anticipated to reach over $600 billion by 2022. Blockchain is gradually getting inserted into sports in various ways, which, if prosperous, will help develop not only the industry but also the sports themselves.

 Fans are among the most valuable assets that any club or player, in case of individual sports, can have. Considering this, growth strategies nowadays include enhancing the involvement of the fans and, in some situations, even involving them in making crucial decisions.

Taking soccer as an instance, some of the most prestigious clubs in Europe, including Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, AS Roma, Atlético Madrid, and more, signed alliances with Socios.com. This platform enables fans to purchase tokens to take part in some club decisions, which can involve charity initiatives, jersey design, etc.

Another instance of crypto adoption comes from the Portuguese soccer club ‘Benfica,’ as originating this season is allowing cryptocurrency payments in its official online store, which comprises purchases of match tickets.

Sports are filled with monitoring and sensors to capture every possible detail related to a player. If accurately analyzed, this data provides relevant information that can be used to improve the performance of the team/player, and even foretell several scenarios.

Among those scenarios is injury prevention, which can be a beneficial tool. Injuries are the source of enormous problems when it comes to sports, not only from the team’s perspective but also from other aspects.

For illustration, if a player has severe injuries, insurance firms and lawyers can get into the picture, commencing a lengthy process that can turn to be majorly expensive. Sutliff & Stout, a law firm specialized in the field of personal injury, has an excellent article describing these costs.

For its global audience of digital citizens, used to possessing everything they want on-demand, eSports is for fun what cryptocurrency is for money: the natural order of things. Most fans in this section are too young to remember the former time when games were played offline, and money was almost entirely physical.

Already there are signs of a growing relationship between the eSports and cryptocurrency industries, with an introduction of investment firing the projected wave of crypto assets centered around eSports and Blockchain. For illustration, Dreamteam closed a $5 million seed round with Mangrove Capital Partners and acquired partnerships with significant players in the industry.

“The huge growth in eSports popularity mixed with the fact that gamers eagerly accept the newest types of technology is creating the perfect storm for Blockchain. Using smart contracts for tournament wins, player salaries, and sponsorship money, create the eSports needs for the fraud-proof environment required to sustain their growth.”

David Waroquier, partner of Mangrove Capital Partners Sports are continually getting better, more ambitious, and with good players taking part in them. With the implementation of the right tools and technologies, Blockchain guarantees to have an essential role soon.