In August it was revealed Entain had agreed to acquire Unikrn for a rumoured £50m. Justin Dellaraio, former VP, Global Esports at Twitch, was promptly announced as Entain's Managing Director & Head of Esports.

Come September, and the Fall Frenzy saw rumours of a move by DraftKings to acquire Entain ($20 billion anyone?), just months after a bid by MGM was turned down. Flutter Entertainment, the group behind FanDuel, Paddy Power, Betfair and more, appointed former F1 Head of Esports Julian Tan as Global Director of Commercial Strategy.  Elsewhere William Hill International was acquired by 888 Holdings for £2.2 billion, though William Hill US is to remain owned by Caesar's Entertainment, which took control in April for a cool £2.9 billion. 

The long and short of it is; there's big money in betting. With the US continuing to open itself up for regulated sports betting, the race for who will take the biggest slices of pie is heating up. Even Jay-Z is looking to get in on the action via Roc Nation and Fanatics. As a 'new & emerging market' in betting, esports is sure to play a significant role in proceedings, and the impact on the wider esports ecosystem will be noticable.