Esports and esports betting is a fairly new concept to many, even for some online sportsbooks. While its appeal still lags behind some of the most popular “traditional sports” such as basketball, football, and soccer, the e-sports industry has been growing exponentially over the last four years and quickly gained renown as the next best thing in the betting industry.
Although esports and esports betting can come off as a huge enigma to many seasoned sports fans and bettors, the digital age we are living in makes it incredibly easy to get up to pace with what electronic sports and esports betting is all about, and we are here to make that process slightly easier determining best bookmaker for esports.
Before you jump into the thriving esports betting industry, there are a few things everyone should know, which we will cover in this article:
Found 8 bookmakers
Betting on esports emerged soon after cybersports became widely recognized as a professional competition, though it took a while for esports bookies to take notice of the potential betting on esports has.
Esports betting had its roots in CS:GO skins betting, or in other words, betting with in-game cosmetic items, which cost real-life money to acquire. The problem with this way of betting was that it was only available on third-party sites, which weren’t certified betting operators.
That essentially meant the beginning of e-sports betting was unregulated and left the doors open for exploitation from both websites that offered to bet, as well as bettors themselves, some of whom even participated in games they were betting on.
Valve, a prominent game developer, eventually put a halt to the skin betting by suing third-party websites, which ended an era of what can only be described as the dark times of esports betting.
Johan "N0tail" Sundstein is the current nr. 1 esports player in the world by net prizes won over the career - $6,902,766.40 from 115 Tournaments
Twitch, gaming and esports streaming platfrom, has more than 15 million daily active users
$34,330,068 - prize pool of the International 2019, biggest esports (Dota 2) tournament so far
Minecraft is the most popular game in the world with over 110 million active players
At first, esports betting was greeted with reservations from the betting community, and rightfully so, as esports betting companies did not make much money from it.
One massive factor that played a role in that was the fact that cybersports mostly targeted a younger audience, who were, in most part, underage and unable to place any wagers.
But as the years went by, the largest portion of esports fans became of age. It ushered a massive boom in esports betting, effectively helping with the growth of the electronic sports scene.
That drew in more viewership and more esports bettors – creating a triangle of sorts between viewership numbers, esports betting, and the esports industry using the revenue to expand further, where all three factors helped with the growth of one another.
By 2016, esports already had a global viewership of over 250 million. This led many prominent online sports betting sites to start offering esports markets, although in a very primitive state, with only a handful of esports titles.
By the end of 2019, esports expanded to all corners of the world and amassed over 500 million esports fans globally. Meanwhile, the worldwide esports betting market revenue already reached over $1.81 million in 2020, with over $8 billion wagered on e-sports by the end of 2019.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the esports betting revenue is further growing with each passing day, given that electronic sports have taken over the betting markets, since the majority of the esports scene is at a standstill.
Finding the best esports betting site should be everyone’s number one priority. No matter how efficient you are in your betting endeavor, long-term success will be hard to achieve when using suboptimal betting sites for esports.
Online sportsbooks websites come in many different shapes and sizes. Although with the current fast-paced world we live in, having an option to bet on the go could prove vital for any electronic or classic sports bettor.
Here is the list of some of the best gambling sites with a good mobile app:
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Having an option for mobile online sports betting is, as mentioned, one of the key components any solid betting site for games should have on their website.
But there are other elements that go into it as well, from a website layout that works smoothly to a wide range of markets, as well as competitive odds.
However, one factor that is often overlooked is the sites’ ability to provide a fast payout of your winnings.
FREE EXCHANGE BETS
At this point, we can't forget to mention Betfair, which offers a special Fast Funds feature. It allows you to withdraw your winnings from the Betfair account to your Visa Debit or Prepaid Card in a matter of seconds. On a negative note, Fast Funds is currently only available for customers from UK, Ireland, and Spain. So if you are not a resident of any of those three countries, the websites listed above might be a better option.
We have covered most of what is needed for anyone to turn their esports betting venture into a profitable one. Yet, there are a few other hidden strategies, which are often overlooked or are unknown to many.
Here’s our list of top 5 tips every esports bettor should follow:
1. Totals kill betting in League of Legends/Dota2 heavily relies on the game’s meta, so pay close attention to how the game is played and which champions are used in the current state of the game.
2. Avoid placing a tournament outright bets months in advance. Many teams go through abrupt roster changes mid-season, while some players tend to struggle in some game’s metas. So a team that looks strong at the start of the season might be underperforming when the time comes to compete at a big tournament.
3. Online tournaments (not LAN) often feature upset wins, with underdogs outperforming significantly stronger squads. Searching for value bets on weaker teams during online competitions is a great way to beat the market.
4. Know the game. As mentioned above, understanding the game, its pacing, and the current state (meta) the game is in will be crucial for any esports bettor when rating his betting opportunities.
5. Do not ignore the quality difference between teams from different regions. Asian teams often outperform European and North American teams in League of Legends (albeit the gap is slowly closing), whereas the trend is reversed in CS:GO.
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22Bet shows stable growth of new customers who for the most part become regular clients. Apart from the excellent deposit bonus, the sportsbook offers competing odds and its e-wallet withdrawals take less than 30 minutes. Esports market coverage is huge: CS: GO, DOTA2, LOL, Overwatch, PUBG, Starcraft 2, Clash Royale, Warcraft III plus a lot of less popular games like King of Glory, Rainbow six. The only downside is a rigorous customer identification`s verification process, which could frustrate.
Moving money efficiently, fast, and, most of all, safely between bookmakers and your own bank account is crucial in any betting journey, which is why finding sites that offer a wide range of deposit options is always the safest bet.
Some of the most efficient deposit/withdrawal methods are also some of the most popular and although online sportsbooks rarely offer all methods. There are a few you should look after when picking a website to bet on.
Although the new online payment methods are taking over as the most attractive choices, having an option to deposit and withdraw money directly from and to your Visa/Mastercard credit or debit card is always a plus. It's usually the fastest, most efficient, and least costly option due to not having to pay extra fees to payment systems.
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This is a solid choice for any bettor who doesn’t want the transaction showing up on a bank statement. Currently, only a handful of esports sites accept MuchBetter, but if that option is available at the cashier, it’s a solid one..
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Skrill is an eWallet that is starting to be used at more and more esports cashiers. Deposits are processed instantly and Skrill is a well-known brand that you can trust.
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PayPal is the world's leading and most trusted online payment service. By using PayPal, you can rest assured that any betting site for games you may visit will have an option to accept and withdraw money transfers via PayPal. What's more, with PayPal, you don't need to provide any personal information with the betting companies.
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Bitcoin was and still is the most popular cryptocurrency, and while not all esports bookmakers accept payments with Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, most of them do. Bitcoin has a very fast processing time, so if you value security, anonymity, and fast transactions, Bitcoin is your best bet.
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