How to bet on eSports

Real money eSports betting isn’t yet a mainstay on most popular sports betting websites. Often lines on eSports are hard to find because some (or many) of the participants are under 18

However, DraftKings Sportsbook did offer a market on the League of Legends finals in November. So, assuming regulations will continue to iron out we will explain how you can bet on eSports online.

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Online eSports Betting

Real money eSports betting isn’t a mainstay on most popular sports betting websites just yet. However, as has happened with FanDuel, sportsbook operators are benefitting from offering eSports gambling to their users.

There are plenty of sportsbooks out there, and as operators start to offer eSports betting, it might be difficult to choose. Here’s a breakdown of popular sports betting sites and their introductory offers for new customers:

What are eSports?

To understand the growing popularity of eSports betting, simply take a look at video games as a trend. According to statistics, the value of the global video game market doubled from $50 to $100 billion from 2012-2017. It’s expected that the market will take in about $152 billion in 2019. Compare that to 2009’s figure of $19.7 billion.

With the advent of the Twitch platform in 2011, gamers across the world found a new platform to share and stream their games. Of course, this wouldn’t be possible without 2010’s era internet speeds and video compression technology, so the recent explosion of eSports is a consequence of both interest and modern tech.

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eSports Betting vs Traditional Sports Wagering

If you’re looking for how to bet on eSports, it’s relatively straightforward. Real money eSports betting has a lot of betting types which will be detailed later in the article. Be aware, however, that it’s not like sports betting: you can’t bet on props or parlays.

There are a lot of similarities between eSports betting and traditional betting, however. Both involve outright winner bets (called totals in sports betting), and both require an in-depth knowledge of the eSports teams you’re following.

When betting on eSports, as with any real money betting, it helps to be a fan. Watch the streams, read more articles on how to bet on eSports and where to find your favorite teams. Better yet, play the games– there are several modern, massively popular multiplayer games that are totally free to play.

Is Betting on eSports Safe?

Absolutely, as long as you’re going through a trusted provider. Check out legal betting sites to find where you can wager safely. Make sure you’re not betting on any site that lists European currency like pounds sterling or the Euro, because betting in any foreign currency is illegal.

Though it’s a new endeavor, eSports are just as rigorously examined for cheating as any other sport. Your personal data should be safe as well – every eSports betting app is certified by the state Gambling Enforcement board and has protections to keep their customers safe.

How Can I Be Sure eSports Tournaments Aren’t Rigged?

Cheating is much more cut and dry in the world of eSports than it is in regular sports. There hasn’t been a performance-enhancing drug issue in the world of eSports, though eSports teams have been required to take drug tests since 2015.

Additionally, you can’t deflate a football or cork a baseball bat in eSports: the equipment and experience are incredibly standardized, so getting an edge by manipulating your gear is difficult. Lastly, all modern multiplayer video games have anti-cheating software like VAC, Punkbuster, and many more to ensure that no players are running third-party plugins to give them an edge.

eSports Bet-Types

If you’re wondering about how to bet on eSports, it’s helpful to have some experience with multiplayer video games. If you’re coming in with experience betting on sports, eSports odds are the same as sports betting odds: positive or negative figures in terms of $100 bets.

Here’s a list of common bet types in real money eSports betting. It’s helpful to play a few rounds of your favorite multiplayer games to get an idea of what these bets actually mean.

Outright Winner

This is an obvious one– just pick the team that you expect to win the overall tournament or set. eSports tournaments run similarly to college basketball: there are groups based on overall record, and these teams go head-to-head in a tournament bracket using swiss, GSL or round-robin systems. Betting on the outright winner is a bet on who will take home the #1 trophy.

First Blood

“First Blood” is a common voiceover that you’ll hear in modern multiplayer games. It comes initially from the early days of Quake Arena and has been a mainstay of multiplayer gaming since the 2000s. When you’re betting on “First Blood”, you bet on which player or team will make the first kill or score in a given match.

First Team to Score 10 Kills

Another straightforward bet, simply place a wager on the team that is expected to score 10 kills first. Keep in mind that “kills” simply refers to points scored, and assists do not count as kills in most modern multiplayer games (unless enough damage is dealt).

Head-to-Head Winner

The head-to-head winner, whether in Hearthstone betting or any number of one-on-one games, is the winner of a mano-a-mano match. Two gamers enter; only one leaves. It’s important to have a good knowledge of your preferred player’s match history before placing one of these wagers.

Map Winner

This is much like a best of 3 or best of 5 competition but is restricted to specific maps in a given game. For example, in CS:GO betting, some players are used to playing Dust II, while others tend to train in Train or Nuke. The Map Winner is the player or team with the best record on a specific map, and often will determine the outright winner of a best of 3 or 5 series.

Best of 3, 5, etc.

“Best of” bets simply pit two teams or players against each other for a given number of matches. Unlike the map winner, these best of bets are not area-specific. These bets can end a contest between two teams relatively quickly, as a team can show dominance by winning more than half the matches.

Favorite vs. Field

A simpler way to think about this bet would be to call it an “underdog” bet. Either you can bet on the favorite team to win, or you can place a bet on the “field of competitors”. Placing a favorite vs. field bet is a great way to potentially add some extra payouts to a win.

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League of Legends Betting

League of Legends is the most-watched esport out there, so it’s natural that you’d want to do some League of Legends betting! Betting on any MOBA, or multiplayer online battle arena, involves having a good quality stream and betting on everything from first blood to the outright winner.

LoL is known as one of the most-watched eSports because it is so fast-paced and the watching experience is a dynamic one. Surprise attacks, upsets, and even last-minute turnarounds are all possible in LoL, so it’s important to have a good sense of the underdog and the favorite. Don’t lose money because a team surprised you with stealth tactics you didn’t anticipate!

CS:GO Betting

CS:GO betting is a bit easier to wrap one’s head around than betting on MOBAs or frantic, battle royale-style games. In CS:GO, it’s generally clear when a team has the advantage.

Because it is such a tactical game, CS:GO matches tend to be either evenly matched or one-sided: there are no special items that might give you an advantage in the late game. When you’re betting on CS:GO, knowing how your team performs when they’re at their best (and more importantly, when they’re not) can be the difference between a successful and unsuccessful bet.

Dota 2 Betting

Dota 2 is a MOBA like League of Legends, but is a bit more complex and fleshed out. This makes DotA 2 a great game for focused players, but also leads to Dota 2 not having the same market pull as League does simply because of the latter’s ease to pick up and play. (Dota 2 is like the PUBG to LoL’s Fortnite, if that makes sense.)

Therefore, Dota 2 betting will naturally require one to be pretty well versed in the game to fully understand the action. It’s not as simple to notice who has the upper hand in a match, because players are also constructing and upgrading abilities and weapons as the match progresses.

Hearthstone Betting

Interestingly, there’s a pretty decent market for Hearthstone betting. While other eSports are fast-paced action games, Hearthstone is a bit more meditative. If you weren’t already aware, Hearthstone is the fantastically popular card-based mobile game from Blizzard Entertainment.

While betting on the previous eSports is easier if you’ve played the games, with Hearthstone, previous playing experience is essential. There’s something within tactical games like Hearthstone that is called the “metagame”: essentially, there generally are a few accepted decks that will be the top competitors, and each player has to play that deck perfectly to win.

Ofter, you’ll see strategies come to the forefront when new cards or sets are released, and these strategies tend to take over as the favored strats for pro players. If you’re betting on Hearthstone, you’ll need to understand these metagame strategies.

Overwatch Betting

Overwatch is Blizzard Entertainment’s answer to the spate of popular battle royale based games. It immediately has become one of the most-watched eSports, simply because it is a well-designed IP with easily recognizable characters.

Overwatch betting is like any battle royale betting: you’re going to want a good connection to stream after you’ve placed your bets, because things happen fast. Often, a streamer will go on a hot streak and become the popular streamer and competitor for a while, so keep your eye on Twitch if you want to make a successful Overwatch bet.

More popular eSports

eSports events are some of the fastest-growing events in the last decade in terms of both cash and viewership. It’s expected that most sports betting platforms will add eSports bets to their apps and websites in the near future, simply because not doing so would be to “leave money on the table”.

Fortnite Betting

Fortnite betting isn’t as popular, and that’s because it is largely marketed towards folks who aren’t old enough to drive, let alone bet. Still, there are people betting on Fortnite, and it’s expected that Fortnite could be added to most betting platforms offering eSports events.

Rocket League Betting

Rocket League is the clearest direct line between sports betting and eSports betting other than sports video games themselves. Interestingly, sports-based video games don’t have much of a footing in the eSports market. Rocket League is an easy-to-play game with an established Championship League, so Rocket League betting is a likely addition to coming eSports betting platforms.

Starcraft II Betting

StarCraft and its successor StarCraft II are absolute titans in the eSports market. It’s been said that StarCraft is one of the first games to be widely played on more than a casual level: a young man played the first StarCraft for over 50 hours without stopping, and subsequently passed away as a result!

StarCraft II was perhaps one of the first true eSports as we understand them now: hugely-followed games with a base of professional players, tournaments, and even national teams. StarCraft II can also be one of the most fast-paced, intricate, and hard-to-follow games out there, so make sure you’re well versed in the game if you’re going to put your money on it.

Biggest eSports Events

Here are the biggest eSports events in the world, in order of popularity in the US:

• Fortnite World Cup
• League of Legends World Championship
• PUBG Global Championship
• Fortnite Secret Skirmish
• The International (Dota 2)
• IEM Katowice
• Call of Duty World League (CWL)
• The Overwatch League
• Dota 2 Asia Championships
• HALO World Championship

Top 5 eSports Teams

As eSports gets bigger and bigger, we’re going to see eSports go from a fringe sport to a televised event in most American homes. Keep an eye out for these names in the future, as they’re the top 5 eSports teams of 2023:

5. Fnatic

Fnatic is a London-based eSports gaming powerhouse. Originally a Counter-Strike team, Fnatic has winners in everything from League of Legends to Rocket League and more. When Fnatic creates a team, they hand-pick top players from the amateur rosters and train them to be a member of this well-oiled eSports machine.

4. Team SoloMid

As the name indicates, Team SoloMid (from “going to solo the mid lane”) is a LoL team that has since branched out into numerous games. At the moment, their specialty is League with 6 career wins, but they have competitive teams playing Apex Legends, Super Smash Bros, and more.

3. Cloud9

Cloud9 has divisions in all the top games of today and is the result of absorption of the famed LoL team Quantic Gaming. In 2019, Cloud9 had a rough showing at the Rocket League Championship Series but has cemented their place in the tournament for next year.

2. Team Liquid

Holland-based Team Liquid takes the training experience incredibly seriously, landing them at #2 on the list. Recently completed, the Alienware Training Facility is one of the first of its kind, training Liquid’s recruits in everything from CS:GO to Street Fighter and more.

1. FaZe Clan

FaZe started as a Call of Duty clan, but have now branched out into many popular competitive eSports. They’ve earned over $3 million in prize winnings for CS:GO alone, with many wins anticipated in the future. While not top grossing of all time, FaZe clan certainly has created an international reputation for winning.

Top 100 eSports Teams by Earnings

Rank	Team	Total Prizes	# of Tournaments
100	ALTERNATE aTTaX	$934k	376
99	Vancouver Titans	$950k	4
98	Elevate	$988k	137
97	Meet Your Makers	$999k	266
96	Yoshimoto Libalent	$1m	1
95	Team Reciprocity	$1.01m	65
94	Vega Squadron	$1.02m	159
93	Immortals	$1.03m	111
92	Hero JiuJ	$1.04m	4
91	paiN Gaming	$1.08m	102
90	Method	$1.09m	108
89	Team Kinguin	$1.1m	100
88	PENTA Sports	$1.12m	248
87	StarTale	$1.12m	159
86	Misfits	$1.14m	165
85	Denial Esports	$1.14m	178
84	FunPlus Phoenix	$1.18m	10
83	North	$1.19m	68
82	Renegades	$1.2m	149
81	ROX Gaming	$1.24m	55
80	Keen Gaming	$1.24m	32
79	Russian National Team	$1.25m	24
78	New York Excelsior	$1.3m	15
77	MIBR	$1.3m	81
76	Incredible Miracle	$1.31m	166
75	Infamous	$1.31m	38
74	Rise Nation	$1.337m	71
73	LeStream Esport	$1.39m	62
72	ahq e-Sports club	$1.45m	75
71	TyLoo	$1.48m	148
70	Rogue	$1.48m	148
69	CJ Entus	$1.5m	185
68	Taipei Assassins	$1.52m	24
67	San Francisco Shock	$1.55m	5
66	HellRaisers	$1.56m	120
65	London Spitfire	$1.57m	12
64	OMG	$1.62m	63
63	Epsilon eSports	$1.67m	221
62	Four Angry Men	$1.73m	18
61	Echo Fox	$1.74m	341
60	Team DK	$1.76m	42
59	Millenium	$1.8m	559
58	COGnitive Gaming	$2.01m	164
57	ENCE eSports	$2.03m	180
56	Tempo Storm	$2.1m	394
55	Ghost Gaming	$2.2m	137
54	Flash Wolves	$2.24m	196
53	World Elite	$2.29m	199
52	Jin Air Green Wings	$2.39m	323
51	Mineski	$2.4m	79
50	Gambit Esports	$2.5m	120
49	Team Vitality	$2.6m	161
48	Team Empire	$2.8m	411
47	KT Rolster	$2.89m	216
46	100 Thieves	$2.9m	32
45	eStar Gaming	$3.1m	50
44	Cooler Esport	$3.17m	9
43	eUnited	$3.2m	147
42	EDward Gaming	$3.28m	103
41	Sentinels	$3.29m	29
40	Splyce	$3.29m	404
39	Luminosity Gaming	$3.4m	238
38	CDEC Gaming	$3.6m	43
37	compLexity Gaming	$3.67m	549
36	Team Dignitas	$3.7m	565
35	EHOME	$3.8m	87
34	TnC Gaming	$4.3m	50
33	Ninjas in Pyjamas	$4.38m	286
32	Gen.G	$4.4m	32
31	Royal Never Give Up	$4.479m	51
30	NRG Esports	$4.5m	250
29	Chaos Esports Club	$4.6m	43
28	Lazarus	$4.9m	253
27	mousesports	$4.96m	894
26	Counter Logic Gaming	$4.97m	413
25	Samsung	$5.2m	348
24	Alliance	$5.3m	296
23	Team SoloMid	$5.34m	518
22	MVP	$6.2m	485
21	SK Gaming	$6.29m	650
20	Team Envy	$6.54m	333
19	G2 Esports	$6.8m	376
18	OpTic Gaming	$7.8m	293
17	Astralis	$8m	82
16	FaZe Clan	$8.6m	294
15	Paris Saint-Germain Esports	$9m	59
14	Cloud9	$9.3m	687
13	SK Telecom T1	$9.5m	262
12	Wings Gaming	$9.7m	27
11	Natus Vincere	$10m	440
10	LGD Gaming	$10.7m	131
9	Team Secret	$10.9m	213
8	Invictus Gaming	$11m	442
7	Vici Gaming	$12.6m	278
6	Virtus.pro	$13m	478
5	Newbee	$14m	197
4	Fnatic	$14.6m	864
3	Evil Geniuses	$23m	814
2	OG	$33m	71
1	Team Liquid	$34m	1644

eSports Betting FAQ