MENA: forecasted e-sports revenue by country 2027

According to the latest data, the e-sports market in 2021 in the MENA region was led by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which generated around 6.44 million U.S. dollars in revenue. Based on the Statista Market Outlook, it was projected that e-sport revenue in the specified countries would experience growth in the upcoming years.

 E-sports in MENA

E-sports has been gaining significant traction globally, including in the MENA region. The MENA region has seen a substantial increase in the number of e-sports users, with Egypt leading the way in terms of user count in 2021. On the other hand, the UAE achieved the highest average revenue per user of e-sports in the same year. With the increasing popularity of e-sports across the region, the number of users and revenue generated from the industry was expected to increase in the upcoming years continually.

 E-sports in Saudi Arabia 

In recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in the fanbase of e-sports in Saudi Arabia, with a rising number of players and tournaments being organized within the country. The projected growth of the e-sports sector in the country indicates a potential twofold increase between 2022 and 2027. In 2022, the age group of 18 to 24 years old was found to be the most prominent among e-sports gamers in Saudi Arabia. The gender distribution of e-sports gamers in Saudi Arabia is skewed towards males, with a lower representation of females.

Forecasted e-sports revenue of selected countries in the Middle East and North Africa region from 2017 to 2027, by country (in million U.S. dollars)

Characteristic	United Arab Emirates	Saudi Arabia	Egypt
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Supplementary notes

The eSports market encompasses the revenues and users from professional competitive gaming content. Incorporated in this definition are any professional and semi-professional gaming competitions from tournaments or leagues that offer a championship title or prize money. The eSports market covers revenues generated from the segments Sponsorship & Advertising, Merchandise & Ticketing, Streaming, Media Rights, and Publisher Fees.

Not included in the eSports market are amateur competitions, streaming revenues of non-organized competitive gaming, digital and physical sales from video games, revenues from digital tools associated with eSports (e.g. Teamspeak or Discord), and revenues from online gambling and betting on eSport games.

All monetary figures refer to the annual gross revenue.
Detailed definitions can be found in the individual market segments.

All figures are estimates. A detailed methodology can be found on the Statista Market Outlook.

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