The hottest sports ticket in the Asia-Pacific right now is not for a soccer match, an NBA exhibition game or even a swim meet. It is for the medal event debut of competitive video gaming, or e-sports. The milestone moment is taking place at the quadrennial Asian Games – sometimes referred to as an “Asian Olympics”. Leading up to this week’s games, at least five million people applied for the right to buy a pricey ticket to the futuristic purpose-built e-sports arena in Hangzhou, China, the host city. No other event, from basketball to table tennis, had near the demand, much less a ticket lottery.

But so far, the Olympics, the world’s pre-eminent sporting competition, has no intention of following Asia’s lead. That is a mistake. With hundreds of millions of fans and players, e-sports can bring a desperately needed infusion of youth, cultural relevance and money to the lagging and scandal-plagued Olympics.