If you haven’t heard of Game of Thrones you must be living under a rock … or perhaps on the wrong side of the wall.

Game of Thrones is HBO’s biggest success breaking rating records with every new season. And the 9.5 rating on IMDb says just how great the show is. Last season of Game of Thrones attracted an average of 18.6 million viewers per episode in America making it the most popular HBO TV show. Its success means more money in the hands of HBO, allowing them to make other great television shows, like True Detective.

We have a good collection of game of thrones t-shirts on TeeHunter.

Game of Thrones’ popularity has caused other sectors to benefit profusely. Here are just 5 of the biggest GoT benefactors.

5. Clothing Industry

True fans of the show have at least one Game of Thrones t-shirt in their wardrobe. Some of the best selling tees from indie brands like Design by Humans, RedBubble and TeePublic are Game of Thrones themed. And with hundreds of designs to choose from it’ll be hard to pick just one.

4. Tourism

It’s surprising to see what kind of power Game of Thrones has on tourism in the countries they’ve filmed. In Northern Ireland the GoT tourism has benefited the country’s budget with over £65 million. Iceland (the Wall) has seen a 13% increase in tourism while Dubrovnik in Croatia (King’s Landing) saw an even bigger increase of 28%. Seeing the effect Game of Thrones has, other countries are actively pursuing the show to come to their land.

3. Entertainment Industry

Game of Thrones moved from your TV screen to your PC monitor. Telltale Games will release 6 video games based on Game of Thrones, available on all consoles. First game was released last year in December and was met with positive reviews.

You can play Game of Thrones even on slot machines. 32Red, an online casino, just released its first Game of Thrones slot machine.

2. Game of Thrones actors

Without a doubt the biggest benefactors of Game of Thrones are those involved in it. GoT served as a launching platform for bigger projects such as Terminator Genesis for Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) and Pompeii for Kit Harington (Jon Snow).

Would these actors have tasted as much success as they are currently enjoying had it not been for Game of Thrones? I doubt it.

1. Piracy

Game of Thrones doesn’t only break rating records but illegal download records too. The final episode of Game of Thrones Season 4 was downloaded by 1.5 million people only in the first 12 hours. In 2012 GoT was declared the most pirated show with Jeff Bewkes (Time Warner) saying it’s “better than an Emmy“.