The US Esports Betting Market: Still 'Not There Yet' and Lessons for Vietnam

Do you remember that feeling of watching a League of Legends final in a packed internet café? The big screen, the roaring sound, and hundreds of eyes fixed on every single gank. That was 2026, and I, a country boy from Saigon who moved to Seoul, thought: 'Esports will devour the world. And betting will follow like a tsunami.' Seven years later, I sit here writing this article and realize I misread it. Not the potential—that remains intact—but the speed. The speed of a market that, even according to ROLR CEO Seth Young—a former CS2 pro who has been in this industry since its infancy—admits: 'I said the same thing seven years ago, and I'm saying it again now. The market is not there yet.' The backdrop: DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics—the giants of traditional sports betting—have conquered every front, from football to basketball. Kalshi, a tightly regulated futures contracts platform, is experimenting with political and economic events. In between them, ROLR emerges as an outlier. They are not trying to become DraftKings. They don't want to beat Kalshi on its home turf. Instead, they focus on a niche but promising slice: esports prediction markets. A market that, according to Young, is currently a 'small but growing pie.' What do the numbers say? First impression: US esports viewership is massive. Tournaments like the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) or the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) attract millions. But when you look at betting volume, things become oddly modest. A single esports match can generate a trading volume comparable to a mid-tier MLB game—a number far below expectations. This reveals a disconnect: high viewership but low betting monetization. Why? Three main reasons: (1) Regulatory barriers – esports is not yet widely recognized as a mainstream sport, so betting regulations remain vague; (2) Lack of suitable products – traditional betting platforms haven't optimized the experience for esports, where the pace of the game and unpredictable events are very different; (3) Culture – the gaming community is still wary of betting, partly due to past match-fixing scandals. This is the blind spot ROLR wants to exploit. Instead of trying to dominate the whole market, they choose to be 'surgical' in spending. They don't burn money on mass advertising. They don't try to buy celebrities. Instead, they partner with Spike Up Media—a lead generation firm—to ensure every advertising dollar delivers measurable returns. And the result? Over five years, their product High Roller has achieved positive ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) in markets 'much weaker than the US.' They have proven their business model before stepping onto the big stage. But if everything is so smooth, why am I writing this with a skeptical tone? Because I've been wrong before. Mispronouncing Modrić's name three times during the 2026 World Cup taught me that the game doesn't need to be read correctly—it needs to be read deeply. And here, I see an interesting contradiction: Seth Young says the market isn't ripe, yet he still dives in. He calls himself 'patient,' but is that patience enough to wait for a market where even giants like DraftKings are fumbling? And another question: what can Vietnam learn from this story? The truth is, the Vietnamese esports betting market is even more nascent than the US. Laws are ambiguous, the gaming community is large but not accustomed to spending on betting. The culture of 'gaming is entertainment, not moneymaking' is still strong. But that is also the opportunity. If ROLR can be patient with the US market for seven years, then Vietnam could be a fertile ground for those who know how to wait. However, the prerequisites are a suitable product, a 'surgical' strategy, and above all, absolute transparency to avoid scandals that erode trust. I will end with a 'progressive' question—not a summary, but an invitation to reflect. Look at what's happening in the US: a promising industry waiting for a catalyst. But will that catalyst come from a giant like DraftKings, or from an outsider like ROLR? And can Vietnam, with its passionate gaming community but lacking a clear legal framework, become a copy of the US? The answer, I think, will come from how we read deeper, not how we read correctly.