ESPORTS BETTING: HOW TO BET ON ESPORTS IN 2021

[Mila Eryomina]

Esports betting is one of the new favorite pastimes. Thousands of matches are played daily with bookmakers offering odds on every single aspect of competitive play. Esports.net is here to help you navigate the maze of the esports ecosystem and help you place your first esports bet!

We give you the all the essential information you need to give you the inside track on betting on esports. In this extensive guide to esports betting, we take you through how to bet on esports, we look at the legal aspects of it – can you bet on esports where you are? And even talk about the key things to look for when finding yourself the best bookmakers for gambling on esports.

WHAT ARE ESPORTS AND ESPORTS BETTING ANYWAY?

First things first, let’s nail down just what we mean by esports and esports betting. The simplest answer is that esports are any sort of competitive videos gaming played between individuals or teams. Obviously this differs from simple video gaming in that the players are no longer competing against the computer but against other players.

Esports come in various genres and have absolutely exploded in popularity over the last decade, with massive esports tournaments with superstar esports teams and esports players competing in front of thousands of screaming fans, with millions of fans tuning in to watch on live streams such as Twitch.tv, YouTube Gaming, or Facebook Gaming.

And of course, just as with any traditional sport, the competitive gaming involved in esports has opened up the world of opportunities to bet on esports!

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IS ESPORTS BETTING LIKE TRADITIONAL SPORTS BETTING?

Betting on esports might seem different to traditional sports betting, but as you get used to esports, you’ll see that a bet on esport action is just the same as betting on soccer, basketball, or horse racing.

So, how do you make an esport bet and how do you win an esports bet? It’s exactly the same as making and winning a traditional bet! Chose the esport bet market you’re interested in and check out the esports odds to make sure it’s right for you. The big advantage with esports betting is that it’s more interactive with communities, live streaming, stats, social media, and more from the best esports bookmakers that makes betting on esports such a great betting experience.

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ESPORTS GAMES, ESPORTS TOURNAMENTS – A BETTING WORLD!

So many genres of games, so many great tournaments – you can bet on them all!

BETTING ON MULTIPLAYER ONLINE BATTLE ARENA (MOBA)

There’s no doubt that battle arena games are very popular amongst esports betting fans. Titles like Dota 2 and League of Legends are some of the biggest esports in the world, and by watching streams of the finals of tournaments like The International and the League of Legends World Championship, you’ll quickly see why these team-based games are perfectly suited for some betting. There’s a never-ending range of battle arena games out there with mythological titles like Smite and fantasy games like Warcraft being particularly popular. Whilst some of the characters and gameplay can take some getting used to, there are plenty of people who’ve made some decent winnings from these titles.

BETTING ON FIRST PERSON SHOOTERS (FPS)

If you’re looking for some explosive action, then you can look forward to betting on plenty of great first-person shooters. There is little doubt that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is one of the most popular titles in this genre, but other games like Call of Duty and Halo have also found success in the esports realm. Although it might be odd to bet on military conquest, the team-based gameplay lends itself well to the betting world, and a quick look at top CSGO matches at tournaments like the Intel Extreme Masters shows you how much fun you can have in betting on a first person shooter. So whether it’s a new gaming phenomenon like Overwatch or a classic combat game like Call of Duty, there’s no limit to what kinds of things you can make your esport bet on. The same goes for lesser known esports titles, like Valve’s multiplayer first-person shooter game Team Fortress 2.

SPORTS SIMULATORS – THE EASIEST WAY TO GET STARTED WITH ESPORTS BETTING

It shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to find that many people like to take bet on esports teams and players in some great sports simulators. Obviously, if you’ve ever placed a football bet, esports like FIFA should be straightforward to wager on. For example, ever since the FIFA eWorld Cup came on the scene, there’s been a host of betting sites that have attempted to make betting on this esport tournament as popular as the real thing. And by using our experts esports betting guide, you can still make some decent money by wagering on this awesome sports simulator. Other popular esports titles in this category are NBA 2K and the vehicular-football chaotic Rocket League.

OTHER GAMES TO TRY FOR ESPORTS BETTING

Every year there seems to be yet another game that’s set to be the next esports sensation. From the world of card Hearthstone to the battle royale title PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, there’s always something new to take an esports bet on. Whether you want to keep it simple with some Street Fighter V betting, or prefer to go deep with a wager on the strategic title like StarCraft II, there’s truly something for everyone. And with even collectible card video games like Hearthstone making it big in the esports world, you should have no shortage of ways to land a winning bet. You really have a wide choice of titles: from the most popular and well-known ones, to the smaller and niche ones such as the free-to-play H1Z1.

ESPORTS TOURNAMENTS

The esports world holds some of the biggest sporting events in terms of attendance, viewership, and prize money. And a great esports betting site will not only cover all of the biggest tournaments in-depth, but also give you betting opportunities on smaller tournaments and e-leagues around the world.

In terms of viewership, the League of Legends World Championship is huge, with over 3,985,787 viewers watching a huge 139,000,000 hours of competitive action and gameplay. Similarly, the likes of the Fortnite World Cup and Intel Extreme Masters Katowice all have viewing figures in the many millions of hours. But when it comes to prize money (and betting interest), there’s one outright leader – Dota 2’s premier event, The International, which boasted a staggering prize pool of $34.3 million in 2019.

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WHERE CAN I BET ON ESPORTS – HOW TO PICK AN ESPORTS BETTING SITE

THE BEST BOOKMAKERS FOR YOUR ESPORTS BETS

Once you’ve decided which esport you want to bet on, then you will need to find the best esports betting site for every esport bet you want. There’s a growing range of online gambling sites that now facilitate esports betting from traditional bookmakers like Bet365 and Betway, to dedicated esports gambling sites like ArcaneBet and GG.Bet.

Some betting sites focus on the biggest competitions for CS:GO, Dota 2 and LoL, whereas some dedicated betting esports sites will have a constant range of pre-match and esports live betting odds for more niche games. So be sure to do some research into the site to make sure that they adequately cover your favourite game

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HOW TO BET ON ESPORTS – ALL THE DIFFERENT BETTING OPTIONS

With esports betting, there’s more to bet on than simple real money betting. Various different types of esports betting have developed over the years, covering all aspects of the esports industry from competitive tournaments to Twitch streaming and even Skin gambling and trading. Here’s all the potential ways you get involved with esports betting.

REAL MONEY BETTING

Real money betting is the simplest form of betting on esports and is exactly like traditional sports betting. It’s simply a case of picking the tournament or event you are interested in, choose your market and match, and place your esports bet. All you have to do then is wait for the results!

FANTASY BETTING

Just as there are fantasy sports bets for many traditional sports, there are fantasy esports bets for your favourite esports. It works just the same, you first choose your players and/or esports teams based on how well you anticipate them performing. You earn points/cash for their esports performance in games, whether that’s winning a match or tournament or completing some pre-determined goal. In the world of fantasy betting, one of the originals and still one of the best is DraftKings.

1. BETTING ON STREAMERS

Betting on streamers at esports specialist sites such as Unikrn means laying down bets on particular elements of an esports players gameplay as they are streaming on Twitch or other streaming platforms.

2. BETTING ON YOURSELF

This is exactly what it sounds like – you can bet on yourself playing video games, allowing you to win real cash by achieving specified accomplishments within esports games. Unikrn’s Umode is a great place for self-betting.

3. ITEM & SKIN BETTING

Skin betting involves using virtual currency of some form from a betting site. This virtual currency comes usually as certain in-game items or graphic downloads for the game or characters. You should be very careful with certain skin betting sites and they were traditionally unlicenced and unregulated and we’d recommend that you avoid any unlicenced site.

4. ESPORTS POOL BETTING

With a site like Puntt, pool betting involves all bets on a particular market pooled together and the total (minus any fee) divided up amongst the winners.

5. SOCIAL BETTING & CHALLENGE BETTING

With social betting, you bet within a group on the outcomes of games. Challenge betting is similar, being between just two people, effectively one challenging the other.

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HOW TO BET ON ESPORTS FOR THE FIRST TIME

IF YOU’VE TRIED A SPORTS BET, ESPORTS IS JUST THE SAME

In order to place your bet, you usually just need to click on the desired odds that will be added to your betting slip. Then you have to decide how much you are willing to stake on your esports bet. Most betting slips will automatically calculate your potential winnings for you. And once you’ve clicked on the ‘place bet’ icon, then it’s just a matter of sitting back and waiting for your winning result to come in.

Once you’ve found a betting site who features your favourite game, you are ready to take your first esports bet. You will have to register a new account with the gambling site that can usually be done in just a couple of minutes by filling in a few personal details. Once you’ve verified your account, then you will need to pick a payment method so as to make your opening deposit. Don’t forget that this is the time where you can take advantage of any welcome bonus deals.

After you’ve set up your account and made your deposits, then you can scroll through the site’s esports odds to find a match that looks like it could deliver a good payout. You should be able to toggle between decimal and fractional odds so as to see how much your bet could return to you. Just don’t forget to research some water-tight betting tips before you lay your money down and always gamble responsibly.

[Anna Roccova]

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