The weather can make for a fascinating sporting spectacle. Higher winds, even just a slight breeze, or drier or more moist surfaces can change the way any outdoor sporting events plays out. Unfortunately, the weather can also reap havoc on outdoor sports. One of the most frustrating things in sport is when a match is building up to an enthralling climax, either on the cricket field, tennis court, or just playing in the local park, and the weather grinds the play to a halt. For cricket and tennis in particularly, prolonged spells of rain or worse can bring the play to a complete standstill.
While major tennis arenas are now equipped to deal with bad weather with retractable roofs, the same cannot be said for cricket pitches. Bad weather is the judge, jury, and executioner. Other sports such as football, rugby, Formula One and American Football compete unless life-threatening conditions are present, with baseball players also putting up with light rain. But for those that are constantly frustrated by the weather factor, there is a raft of emerging entertainment options in the digital world that are removed from the influence of rain, wind, or snow.
Esports
The emerging Esports market is garnering more followers by the year, as the industry begins to take more advantage of the outreach and capabilities provided by advancements in technology and software. With a full event and tournament calendar all year around, Esports has cemented its position amongst the line of mainstreams sports like those mentioned above.
The fully indoor nature of Esports competition involving titles such as Call of Duty, Counter-Strike, and DOTA 2 means only technology can ruin an Esports fans day. And such are the capabilities nowadays, there is a greater element of control over the digital servers that are gaining a stronger grip on our lives than the weather. With more Esports athletes emerging in the industry to challenge the current champions and bringing more followers on streaming platforms with them, there is certainly more to come from these virtual sports.
Online Gambling
Another phenomenon to establish itself in the entertainment mainstream is online gambling. Classic casino games on an online casino resource like Cloudbet are changing the face not only of casino play, but entertainment as we currently see it. A trip to a land-based casino could even be interrupted by bad weather, but a trip to the virtual casino floor can be made whenever, wherever.
Games such as blackjack, roulette, poker, and slots are animated into life with improved graphics, sounds, and game features contributing massively to the rise in popularity of online gambling. And for those sports that we love to watch and follow, weather-permitting, the growing online sports betting world is offering more ways to place wagers on sporting events, including live betting concurrent with the event.
Future Tech
Esports and online gambling platforms are two examples of alternative entertainment options, but also of the shifting landscape of the entertainment industry itself. Live sports will always remain popular, when it can be played, but with greater online capabilities, there are more options to be discovered that also replicate real-life activities such as sports or casino play. With the full arrival of Virtual (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) expected in the very near future, which can further elevate game play to a higher level, the options are expected to expand with virtual reality already offering realistic replications of skiing experiences and tennis.
Weather can be a blessing or a curse, but one thing we do not have is control over it. In the digital world, new parameters are being created to ensure the optimum conditions are provided for new, emerging sporting options. The sunglasses might have to be traded out for virtual reality goggles though.
