The Rise of Esports Betting and Gambling

Sep 24, 2020
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Thanks to rapid advances in technology, the way we live and make money has largely moved online. The esports industry is one of the best and most thrilling examples of this trend.

If you’d said a decade ago that esports would be worth more than £800 million globally, you’d have been institutionalized. However, with more and more tournaments popping up across the world, prizes are getting more lucrative and viewership numbers are continually increasing. And, of course, where there’s money, there’s also gambling, hence the rise of esports betting.

It’s safe to say we’re still at the bottom of a very tall mountain. The number of people who bet on esports is expected to grow each year, and to cater to that rising demand, specialty sites - as well as mainstream gambling platforms - are accepting bets on esports.

So, let’s take a look at how this popular trend started, what regulations are keeping the industry in check, the different types of esports betting, the most popular esports to bet on, and how to successfully make an esports bet.

The History of Esports Betting

Esports and betting have always had an interesting relationship. Over the past few years, the industry has transitioned from a profitable but highly unregulated skin gambling industry into a regulated world, which is similar to traditional sports betting.

Although it’s not the same as esports betting, skin betting is worth discussing. In 2013-2014, it became common for gamers to make bets using in-game aesthetics, known as skins. These skins were akin to unregulated casino chips. They became a currency in many Valve games, including Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and DOTA 2, the second- and third-most popular online games after League of Legends.

Skin betting: CSGO and DOTA 2 betting sites

Before the arrival of legit esports betting sites, skin gambling was the primary way in which gaming was monetised.

In Valve games, skins can be earned through gameplay or by purchasing them with real money. Players can also trade skins with each other, creating a market in which rarer skins get sold at higher prices. This resulted in the creation of many websites where players could gamble their skins away for a chance to win rarer, more valuable ones.

Players who won skins on these sites would sell them for real money. Almost all esports skin betting sites were operating illegally and did not even follow the Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations to ensure that customers were old enough to legally gamble. There were no anti-money-laundering controls, nor did the sites hold the required gambling licences or permits.

Because of the lack of regulations, there was no stopping underaged kids from betting on the illegal esports market, which rightly caused widespread anger. As a result, in 2016, Valve issued cease-and-desist notices to DOTA 2 and CS gambling sites that used Steam and disavowed its affiliation with any of them.

Although these skin betting esports sites were illegal, they were a key stepping stone towards a regulated esports betting industry. Without the unregulated market, it’s uncertain whether legit companies that offer regulated bets on official esports tournaments would have taken off so quickly. Once those skin gambling sites were shut down, it left a huge vacuum for regulated esports betting sites to fill.

Now, in 2020, with the dodgy days of skin betting well and truly in the past, the popularity of esports betting is growing faster than ever. Indeed, esports is one of the most thrilling genres of the online betting industry. Because of the complexity and unpredictability of video games, there’s scope for a wide range of bets, from straightforward result bets to more nuanced round-by-round wagers.

With new game titles being released all the time and with limited competition from traditional sports in the era of worldwide COVID-19 lockdowns, esport gambling has shown itself to be not only captivating and lucrative, but also an incredibly durable form of entertainment.

The Rise of Esports Gambling

A decade ago there were few - if any - esports bookmakers on the market. Today, nothing could be further from the truth. Aside from esports-focused gambling platforms, there are now dozens of major betting sites offering a wide range of bets on esports events and tournaments all over the world.

People looking to place a bet with esports bookies can now do so just as they would on traditional sports. If you want to make a FIFA bet, for example, you could essentially wager on a game as if it were a regular football match, with options like over/under bets, outright bets, and markets like first goal-scorer.

Even for esports that don’t mimic traditional sports, making a bet is now as straightforward as can be. Let’s take CS:GO as an example. You can choose options like handicap bets, predicting the player with the most kills, and map score bets. There’s also significant potential for unrivaled in-play markets thanks to the availability of live data. Sports bookmakers are already exploiting this opportunity, which is contributing to esports’ rising popularity among punters.

Dozens of major international betting sites now offer esports markets, allowing fans to bet on esports tournaments and other events in the same way they would place bets on sports like football, basketball, or cricket. There are dozens of video games that lend themselves well to esports betting. League of Legends, DOTA 2, and CS:GO are some of the most popular choices.

At the same time, fantasy esports betting is also becoming more popular than ever. In this gambling niche, participants can form leagues, draft teams of players, and earn points based on the performance of their players in the same vein as fantasy football.

Esports Betting: Popular Esports Games

Before you jump on the bandwagon and start to bet on esports, you need to at least have a good understanding of the video games you’ll be betting on (assuming you’re not already an avid player yourself!). You’ll never be able to make good esports betting decisions if you don’t know how the game is played, track the form of the best teams and players, and understand the strategies involved.

Although there’s a huge range of video games out there, a relatively small number of titles are widely played as esports, and fewer still are popular choices for betting. The most common options for esports betting include:

  • Rocket League betting
  • DOTA 2
  • League of Legends
  • Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
  • Call of Duty
  • Fortnite
  • StarCraft II
  • FIFA
  • NBA 2K20
  • Warcraft III
  • Overwatch
  • PUBG
  • Halo
  • Hearthstone
  • Street Fighter
  • Smite
  • Super Smash Bros.
  • World of Tanks
  • King of Glory

You don’t have to be a savant and learn every minute detail of each of these games. But if you want to be a successful esports punter, you should definitely at least try your hand at the few games you want to place your bets on.

Types of Esports Betting

Esports betting is usually categorized into five major groups:

Skin betting: As we’ve explained above, skins are virtual aesthetic items used in video games to change the appearance of a player’s avatar, weapon, or equipment. Players can bet skins on the outcomes of games, and there are also some sites where skins can be used to play other games of chance, like roulette. Some sites also run jackpot games in which several players place their skins in a pot, and the one who wins the jackpot gets the whole pot. However, because of recent controversies, the skin betting market is now largely disappearing.

Real money or cash betting: This is the type of esports betting that most closely resembles traditional sports betting and forms by far the biggest part of the esports growing industry. With this type of betting, players place real money on events at predetermined odds and get payouts if their selections are correct. You can now use famous international bookmakers to bet on all kinds of things, including the winner of individual matches or the outright winner of a tournament.

Social betting: Social betting is another common form of esports betting in which online contacts or friends place informal bets amongst themselves. These bets can be cash bets, but it’s also common for people to bet skins socially.

Fantasy esports betting: This is a type of esports betting in which the punter assembles a virtual team of professional esports stars based on their own selection criteria. This team can then earn points for the punter based on how well the players perform. You can also place bets with other people who have assembled fantasy teams, with the winner being the person whose team accumulates the most points of the two during the prescribed period.

Challenge betting: Challenge betting - also known as head-to-head betting - is where players place wagers on the outcomes of their own esports matches. Most of the time, the players organize wagers among themselves and pay out the winnings once the match is over. There are also websites where players pay a fee to enter into a contest and the winner’s payout is taken from the fees.

eSports Betting Tips

For those of you who are new to the esports gambling world, we’ve made a list of factors you need to keep in mind to make the most of your gaming and betting experience. Of course, check out the basics with this online betting guide first, and then move onto these points.

  • The first thing is to research the team you’re betting on (and the opposition). This includes tracking the team’s form and checking which players will be competing in the event you want to wager on.
  • Look for a betting site that offers cash out. This option is pretty new, so it might not be available with every bookmaker. However, the biggest esports bookmakers will certainly offer this promotion or something similar. Cashing out allows you to collect your winnings in advance, even before the contest ends. This is very useful if your team is winning but you’re concerned that the opposition might make a late comeback.
  • You can also try betting on esports teams that are smaller and not as well-known. These teams are harder to scout, which can sometimes help eliminate the house advantage.
  • It’s a good idea to place relatively small bets to limit your stakes. Making small bets at larger odds can be a good betting strategy, as it allows you to diversify and potentially limit your losses.
  • Beginner players may become trapped in chain logic or following the form. This is not a good idea in any form of sports gambling, particularly esports betting.
  • Finally, make sure you don’t base your bets on gut feelings or convenience. In their haste to start betting, some beginner gamblers choose any upcoming match without having done proper research. However, this is not the best practice, and picking your markets should only be done through prior research, including historical results and data models.

Bottom Line

It’s no great surprise that esports gambling growth has happened very recently and extremely quickly. For several decades, passionate gamers did not have a platform to showcase their talents on a global scale. However, thanks to technology and connectivity, a virtual space has emerged for esports. In a few short years, this has become overwhelmingly popular among younger people, particularly millennials, who do not necessarily share the passions of older generations for traditional sports. The boom in the esports industry has attracted the attention of gambling companies and contributed to the growth of esports betting.

As you can see, esports betting has achieved many milestones in a few short years. With licensed gambling on video games only being offered since 2015, the industry is undoubtedly still in its infancy. However, the potential for it to continue growing at a meteoric pace while traditional sports flounder - as highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic - is why bookmakers all over the world have rushed to claim their share of this highly lucrative industry.

FAQ

Is esports betting legal?

eSports betting regulations in the United Kingdom state that this form of betting is perfectly legal if you are over the age of 18. Research shows that 57% of people interested in esports betting are under 35 years of age, so reputable esports betting sites ensure that all checks and validations are complete before a person can place their bets.

Where can I bet on esports?

When you’re looking to bet on esports, the biggest hurdle you’ll face is finding the right esports bookmaker. Even though there are dozens of websites offering esports bets, unscrupulous, unethical, and illicit sites remain an ever-growing issue, which could put a dampener on the growth of esports gambling.

Some sites offer top quality to their bettors. However, for every legit gambling platform, there are plenty of shady ones that simply want to take your money. You shouldn’t trust these random sites with your money, and you should do your homework even on sites that look trustworthy. Here are some of the things that a good esports betting site will have:

  • Experience in the field and a good reputations
  • Good usability
  • Generous bonuses and rewards
  • Good coverage of esports events
  • Live esports betting opportunities
  • A wide range of betting markets
  • Competitive odds and lines
  • Multiple deposit methods
  • Fast payouts for winnings

How do I bet on esports?

Betting on esports is not much different than betting on traditional sports. In esports, the most popular form of betting is making straightforward wagers like picking the winner of a match or tournament. However, there’s also challenge betting, straight betting, and many other niche wagers that your online betting site of choice might offer. The premise can be very simple, and players can make wagers on who they think will win the match after deciding on the odds.

Depending on which part of the world you come from, the odds will likely be displayed differently. Some popular odd formats include decimal, moneyline (American) odds, and fractional odds. When it comes to esports betting in the UK, the most common format of odds is fractional odds.

Is esports gambling on the rise?

As we cover in this article, esports is a rapidly growing industry. Since 2015/2016, thanks to the emergence of licensed esports bookmakers, the esports betting sector has undergone a revolution.

While the COVID-19 pandemic caused the cancellation of almost all professional sports leagues around the world, esports showed its resilience. The major in-person tournaments had to be cancelled, but many competitions still took place online so that nobody would have to put themselves at risk. Thanks to the digital nature of esports, this was extremely easy to do and provides a model for how major events might be conducted in the future.

The lack of competition during the lockdown has resulted in the rise of esports betting among not just gaming fans, but also with punters who would otherwise bet on traditional sports.