Recent findings reveal the gender pay gap across the globe in male-dominated eSports

Accumulated data from BesteOnlineCasinos has identified the disparity between male and female earnings in the world of eSports. The eSports industry is dominated by male players, with them earning considerably more than their female counterparts.

The eSports space is currently a lucrative industry, with Statista reporting the global market valued at $1.38 billion as of last year - and by 2025 it is forecasted to be worth over $1.86 billion. Large sums continue to be on offer in prize money as a record-breaking $45 million prize pool was recently announced for the Gamers8 event in Saudi Arabia.

BesteOnlineCasinos identified the average annual earnings for both male and female players in different countries around the world. Then the difference in percentage for earnings was found by working out how much a female player earned in a country for every $100 a male player made.

According to BesteOnlineCasinos, the country with the biggest gender pay gap in eSports is Finland. On average female Finnish players earn $332 annually, which is overwhelmingly less than the $459,925 figure earned by male players. This means female players in Finland earn just seven cents to every $100 a male player makes, equating to a 99.93 per cent difference in salaries between the genders.

This difference comes amidst Finland being a major force in the eSports landscape as three of the top 10 highest earners in the industry are from there. These include male players' Jesse "JerAx" Vainikka, Topias, "Topson" Taavitsainen and Lasse "Matumbaman" Urpalainen.

The second highest pay gap comes from Peru with female gamers' average annual salary being $312. On the other hand, male players earn much more with $81,767 collected on average annually.

The Peruvian female players earn 99.62 per cent less than their male counterparts as a result of earning 38 cents for every $100 the male Peruvian players make.

Malaysia has the third highest pay gap, with the nation's female gamers earning $965 on average annually, which is still considerably more than female players from Finland and Peru. However, this is still much less than their male counterparts, given that Malaysian male gamers earn $242,565 annually on average.

There is a 99.6 per cent difference as a result of the female Malaysian players earning $0.40 for every $100 earned by male players.

Denmark came fourth on the list, with average annual earnings of $2,448, despite female players earning much more than the other countries that ranked above them. Although their salaries are relatively high in comparison to Malaysia and Vietnam, the nation came in fourth place because male players in Denmark earn the most out of any other country in the top 10, earning an annual average of $504,893.

Part of Denmark's male contingent includes the highest-earning eSports player in the world, Johan "N0tail" Sundstein who has made over $7 million in his eSports career. The Danish female players earn 48 cents for every $100 a male player earns equating to a 99.52 per cent difference.

Norway comes in at the fifth highest, with female players earning $754 on average annually compared to $154,956 by male Norwegian players. Female players earn $0.49 for every $100 a male player earns - meaning there is a 99.51 per cent difference between the two gender's earnings.

Vietnam and Germany come in at sixth and seventh respectively. Vietnam's female players earn 99.46 per cent less than their male counterparts, whilst German female gamers earn 99.37 per cent less than males. This is despite Germany having the second-highest average annual earnings for male players in the top 10 with $280,574.

Japan has a 99.30 per cent difference and is the eighth highest nation whilst the Czech Republic and Austria round out the top 10 in joint ninth place with female players earning just 73 cents for every $100 a male player makes. This equates to a 99.27 per cent difference between male and female players in the Czech Republic and Austria.

Considering gaming in Southeast Asia is highly regarded and has very popular female players, it might come as a surprise that Malaysia and Vietnam ranked the highest in countries with gender pay gaps in eSports.

In looking at the UK's situation with gender pay gaps in eSports, the research showed them as the 24^th highest nation for the gender pay gap.

British female players earn 97.91 per cent less than male players in the UK as a result of females earning $2.09 for every $100 a male player earns. On average a male player in the UK will earn $204,956 a year compared to just $4,290 for female players.

Currently, the UK is estimated to have the highest user penetration within gaming by 2027, according to a report by Statista, about 70 per cent of the country's population is expected to be qualified players by that time.