Esports betting market trends: Top disciplines, market growth and what's next

By Klimentijs Konevs | Published: May 8, 2026, 12:15

Esports betting has quickly moved from a niche activity to a major part of the global gambling industry. As competitive gaming has grown into a worldwide form of entertainment, betting markets have expanded alongside it.

Today, almost every major bookmaker offers odds on top teams, major tournaments, and a variety of match outcomes across the biggest esports titles. The market continues to grow year after year as more fans follow esports competitions and sportsbooks expand their coverage.

• The esports betting market revenue has reached $2.5b in 2024 and is projected to hit $2.8b in 2025.
• Counter-Strike 2 and League of Legends dominate betting, combining for over 80% of total wagering volume.
• Esports viewership does not equal betting popularity. League of Legends leads global viewership with events exceeding 100M hours watched, while Counter-Strike 2 dominates betting with ~57% of total wagering volume.
• Tournament prize money keeps rising, with over $270M awarded across all S-Tier esports tournaments in 2025 combined, up from $234M in 2024 (+15% year-over-year).
• The market is becoming more concentrated, with League of Legends and Counter-Strike 2 generating 84% of global betting handle, while others like Dota 2 declined to ~7-8% share.

Bettors can find esports betting odds for everything from regional league matches to the biggest international tournaments such as the League of Legends World Championship or Counter-Strike Majors.

According to industry estimates published by SiGMA, online esports betting generated around $2.5 billion in revenue in 2024. Although the official data for 2025 is not out yet, SiGMA estimates it at around $2.8 billion.

The number of people placing bets on esports has also surged dramatically. In 2024 alone, roughly 74.3 million users worldwide participated in esports betting, according to SiGMA, compared to just 21.9 million bettors in 2017.

According to Esports Charts, more than $270 million in total prize money was awarded across esports tournaments in 2025. That is a 15% increase compared to 2024. The size of these prize pools often reflects the scale of the event itself.

In some cases, prize pools have been boosted directly by the gaming community. A famous example comes from Dota 2, where a portion of in-game microtransactions contributed to the prize fund of The International. This crowdfunding model led to record-breaking totals. The culmination was The International 2021, which featured a prize pool of roughly $40 million. The figure grew so large partly because The International 2020 was cancelled due to COVID-19, which allowed player contributions to accumulate over a longer period.

Overall prize pools vary significantly depending on the game and the number of major tournaments held each year. The table below shows the combined prize money awarded across tournaments in 2025 for five esports disciplines.

The popularity of an esports discipline in betting is not determined by a single factor. Among the most important are:

• Betting volume
• Frequency of major tournaments
• Viewer numbers
• Coverage provided by bookmakers

Here is how the esports betting market was distributed across the five most popular competitive titles in 2025, according to Abios.

Counter-Strike 2 - 57%

Counter-Strike 2 is the leading esports discipline for betting. The tactical shooter has one of the most packed competitive calendars. Based on Liquipedia, 23 S-Tier Tournaments were originally planned for 2025. In CS 2, S-Tier events represent the highest level of competition, featuring the best teams in the world, and primarily offline formats, which adds to their prestige within the community. These tournaments also come with significant prize pools, typically ranging from $200,000 up to $1,250,000, depending on the scale of the event.

League of Legends - 27%

League of Legends is another cornerstone of the esports betting ecosystem. Based on the data published by Altenar, LoL has around 180 million monthly active users. It also reached a peak viewership of over 5 million during the World Championship 2022.

Dota 2 - 8%

The overall betting volume for Dota 2 has declined slightly compared to some newer esports titles. Sharpr reports that in 2025, the game accounted for just 7.7% of total betting handle, down from 10.5% in 2024 and 14% in 2023, effectively losing nearly half of its market share over two years. However, it still maintains a loyal community of fans and bettors who closely follow professional teams and tournament results. The game's complexity also makes it appealing to bettors who like to analyse teams, strategies, and match statistics before placing a bet.

It is important to understand that esports viewership and betting popularity do not follow the same pattern. Some games dominate streaming platforms, while others generate the majority of betting activity. In other words, the most-watched esports titles are not necessarily the ones that attract the most wagers.

The table below highlights the difference between viewership strength and betting share across the biggest esports titles in 2025, based on data from Sharpr (betting handle), Esports Charts (viewership), and Abios.

Take a look at the top 5 most-watched esports events in 2025 (by hours watched):

1. League of Legends Champions Korea 2025 - 161.8 million
2. 2025 League of Legends World Championship - 136.4 million
3. Mobile Legends League Indonesia, Season 15 - 113.3 million
4. Mobile Legends League Indonesia, Season 16 - 101.2 million
5. BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025, Counter-Strike 2 - 76.1 million

League of Legends consistently leads global esports viewership. According to Esports Charts, major events such as the World Championship and regional leagues regularly generate some of the highest audience numbers in competitive gaming, often reaching hundreds of millions of hours watched.

Overall, the gap between viewership and betting activity shows that audience size alone does not determine betting popularity. Tournament frequency, market availability, and bookmaker support all play a crucial role in shaping where bettors place their money.

Gaming culture, regulatory frameworks, internet access, and the availability of reliable esports betting sites all influence how actively people wager on competitive gaming. According to Sharpr’s Global Esports Betting Monitor (H1 2025), regional differences are becoming more pronounced. North America is one of the few regions where League of Legends betting volume has overtaken Counter-Strike, with LoL growing by +8% year-over-year, while CS2 declined from 44% to 30% share in the region.

Asia

Asia-Pacific remains one of the largest esports betting regions, accounting for around 38% of global activity. The region is driven by massive audiences in China and South Korea, where titles such as League of Legends dominate betting volume. Mobile betting is particularly strong, with over 60% of bets placed via mobile devices.

Europe

Europe is the dominant region by turnover, accounting for 74% of global betting handle and 72.5% of total bets in H1 2025 (Sharpr). The region also shows higher average bet sizes compared to others. Betting activity is largely centred around Counter-Strike 2, which generates the largest share of global wagering.

North America

North America accounts for a smaller share of global activity, with around 4.3% of total betting handle in H1 2025 (Sharpr). However, the region shows strong preferences for specific titles. Call of Duty represents 12.2% of betting handle in North America, while Valorant reaches 11.5%, significantly higher than in other regions.

Latin America

Latin America is the fastest-growing region. According to Sharpr, its share of global betting handle increased from 8.1% to 10.3% in H1 2025, representing a 27% year-over-year growth. The region also accounted for over 21% of total bets placed globally, indicating high activity but lower average stake sizes.

According to the Market Growth Reports, over 32% of online bettors globally wager on esports at least once a month. In addition, around 69% of esports fans have either placed or considered placing a bet. A single event, the Shanghai Major (CS2), accounted for 28% of all Q4 2024 betting volume, showing strong tournament concentration.

Instead of looking only at bet types, it's more useful to focus on the markets most commonly offered by bookmakers. These lines reflect the top trends in esports betting across major titles.

Counter-Strike 2

Top markets:

• Match winner (Moneyline)
• Map handicap (-1.5 / +1.5)
• Total rounds (Over/Under 26.5)

Live betting is especially dominant here - around 46% of all CS bets are placed in-play (Market Growth Reports).

League of Legends

Top markets:

• Match winner
• Total maps (Over/Under)
• First blood / First dragon

According to Abios, LoL's structured tournament format helps maintain high betting liquidity per match.

Dota 2

Top markets:

• Match winner
• Map handicap
• Total kills (Over/Under)

Despite a declining share (7.7% of handle in 2025 - Sharpr), Dota remains popular among experienced bettors.

Valorant

Top markets:

• Match winner
• Total rounds/maps
• First pistol round winner

Valorant betting volume is growing steadily, reaching around 4-5% of global handle (Sharpr).

Call of Duty

Top markets:

• Match winner
• Map winner
• Total maps played

In North America, CoD accounts for over 12% of regional betting handle (Sharpr).

Top-tier esports events are usually streamed live on platforms like Twitch and YouTube free of charge. In many cases, simply watching the broadcast can earn you in-game rewards, for example, CS2 sticker drops or Dota 2 cosmetics, depending on the event.

Most organisers also stream matches directly on their official websites. In case you want the full experience, you can always buy a ticket to a LAN tournament and watch the action live inside the arena, alongside thousands of other fans.

According to esports.gg, esports betting revenue could reach around $3.5 billion in 2026, with a steady growth rate of roughly 6-7% annually. Looking further ahead, forecasts indicate a large expansion, with the market's total turnover expected to reach over $54 billion by 2034. The number of bettors will be increasing from around 75 million today to nearly 95 million by 2029, further strengthening the market.

For bettors and fans alike, you are never too old to start watching competitive gaming.