Esports Betting Markets: Competitive Gaming Bet Markets

Even traditional sports feature an impressive variety of available bet markets. As the industry evolved into a digital medium, the mind-boggling diversity of video game genres, rules, and games pushed the selection of available esports betting markets even more. Team-based, single player, massively online multiplayer, and any game in-between, with myriads of different rules and interactions make the amount of various esports betting markets straight up overwhelming to newcomers. No worries - we’ll help navigate the sea of bet markets to find the ones you like in this article!

It’s not just the amount of gambling markets that is great - but also the bookies themselves. Take a look at the top selection of available esports betting sites hand-picked by our reviewers:

Basic Esports Markets

That said, there’s nothing stopping users who prefer simplicity. Let’s go over a selection of basic and easily accessible esports betting markets. These can be found anywhere and are quick to get into, as they’re basically indistinguishable from traditional sports bet markets. Perfect for those wanting to get into esports betting after getting bored of simple sport bets!

Match Winner/Head-to-head

Match Winner, or head-to-head (as Australia esports betting bookmakers call it), or match winner is the simplest way to bet on esports games. Pick a team you think will win the match, and see if you’re right. Its simplicity makes it the most popular type of bet for any sport or game. Match winner bet market offers medium risk and medium reward, which makes it good for both beginners and veteran bettors.

Tournament Winner/Outright

Tournament Winner is another bet that is unchanged from sports to esports. As it involves betting on sometimes massive tournaments with tens or even hundreds (in games like PUBG) of players and teams, an Outright bet requires quite some more knowledge than Moneyline bets. However, just the fact that betting on Outrights on both football and CSGO follows the same rules, it’s an intuitively understandable bet market. Outrights offer high esports games betting odds, but are also more risky - only for confident bettors!

In CS:GO, different maps bring different tactical environments. Some teams are better on certain maps than on others, and diligent bettors can take advantage of that while map betting.

Map Winner

In esports games, the matches are usually divided into maps instead of traditional halves like in football or basketball. The same rules still apply - when in traditional sports we can bet on halves, in esports, we bet on maps (or sometimes both maps and halves). As player endurance, warming up, etc. matters in esports as well, it can be an engaging betting market. Medium risk, medium reward type of bet.

Live Betting

It’s also possible to bet live, as in during the match. Esports live bets can be placed on a variety of outcomes, so this betting market is rather an umbrella term that includes many other bet markets. It’s just the way and the time you place these bets that is different.

Esports Fantasy League

Another popular way to bet on traditional sports also made way to esports betting platforms. Although the medium is different, the core principle is the same for any esports fantasy league. Create a team of available talent, enter the fantasy league of your liking, and start betting on your fantasy roster’s performance.

…And more!

There are way more different betting markets that are intuitively understandable for even non-gamers:

• Correct Score. Guess the final score of the match.

• Over/Under. Bettors attempt to guess whether the score will exceed the arbitrary number chosen by the bookie.

• Time. In some games it’s possible to win the game if the time runs out or if a score/objective threshold is completed, similarly to certain sports.

• Handicap Bets. Handicap betting solves skill mismatches by adding a virtual handicap to the stronger team.

• First Blood. The first elimination in an esports game is a valid bet market, similarly to the first point scored in traditional sports.

Esports Genres And Their Esports Betting Markets

There are hundreds of thousands of video games out there, but only a fraction of them are suitable for esports. Nevertheless, it’s enough to bring a huge variety to the market, with around 30 major competitive titles available for online betting on esports - and who knows how many niche esports games. Let’s list some of the most popular examples and go over what betting on them means!

Betting on Popular MOBA Games

As one of the pillars of the current esports industry, Multiplayer Online Battle Arena offers some of the biggest variety of available esports betting markets. The genre also has a nice variety of games within it, attracting vast audiences across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The most popular games of this genre include:

• League of Legends
• Dota 2
• King of Glory

Each with their own mechanics, gameflow, and (sometimes overlapping) audiences. Here are a few examples of special bet markets unique to MOBA games.

Roshan is a powerful neutral objective in Dota 2 - but it's not guaranteed your team will win the game after defeating it.

Roshan Betting

Roshan is a powerful neutral objective in Dota 2. However, it’s not a game winning play to take it, and it doesn’t necessarily affect the game’s outcome. Many esports betting sites allow betting on this prop bet market.

Betting on Popular FPS Games

FPS games are a great spectator esport, and they have decades of history. When taking both of this into account, it’s clear why best esports bet sites had to be creative with available bet markets to keep things spicy. In recent years, FPS games tried their best to improve upon the existing foundation, adding MOBA-esque mechanics to the beloved mix. We are, of course, talking about:

• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
• Valorant
• Overwatch
• Rainbow 6: Siege
• Call of Duty

Different titles are beloved by fans all over the world, although there is some heavy regional preference at play. UK esports betting is all about CS:GO, while online esports betting in USA fans heavily prefer Call of Duty and Overwatch. Of course, both options are still accessible everywhere.

Although the basic mechanics of shooter games are the same, the fans know that they’re surprisingly distinct. This means more unique betting markets:

Headshot%

Headshots/precision damage are a core mechanic of many FPS games. It’s no different for the esports FPS like CSGO and Valorant. Bookies track player stats, and sometimes allow punters to place wagers on Headshots or Average Damage Per Round.

Betting on Popular Royale Games

Battle Royale skyrocketed in popularity seemingly overnight. It’s an exciting experience for casual players; for esports, however, Battle Royale is an absolutely unique genre that turns tournament formats on its head. With hundreds of players battling it out within a single match, the stakes are crazy high. Popular games of BR genre include:

• Fortnite
• Apex Legends
• Call of Duty: Warzone
• PUBG

The unique format of BR esports calls for unique esports bet markets, as well.

Made To Top 5

Since the tournament format is so different, there’s no way to be satisfied with just Moneyline and Outrights bets. This esports betting market instead bridges that gap.

Betting on Popular Strategy Games

The strategy genre is quite literally the reason esports exists – or, at least, the reason it's so popular. Although they’re not as popular as they used to be, RTS games are still played professionally – and where’s pro games, there’s esports real money betting. Some of the most popular RTS games to bet on are:

• StarCraft 2: Legacy of the Void
• StarCraft: Brood War
• WarCraft 3
• Age of Empires

Although these games’ strategic depth and amount of interactions are nearly endless, most bookmakers only host match betting events.

Rocket League is one of the most popular sports simulators.

Betting on Popular Sports Simulators

There’s also an ability to play real sports… online. With a dedicated fan base and flourishing pro-player scene, sports simulator games are yet another branch of esports. You might know some of these games:

• FIFA
• NBA 2K
• Rocket League

Since these games are modeled after real life counterparts (or as close to them as possible), they feature traditional sports bet markets. Betting on sports simulators is a big thing in Canada, as esports betting in Canada is still heavily regulated. Only in 2021, some bookies were given permission to allow betting for online sports simulator events.

Summing Up and Best Esports Bet Markets For Beginners

Most aspiring bettors are scared of the esports bet market variety. We hope we made it clear that there’s no reason for it! The variety is precisely what makes it better and easier for newcomers to get into esports betting: as it’s possible to pick bet markets from very easy and intuitive to very hard and in-depth.

Your best bet is to stick to simple betting markets for beginners – such as Match Winner while sticking to the games you’re familiar with. As you get more familiar with the industry over time, it can be fun to branch out eventually and include more exotic betting opportunities.

There’s more to betting on esports online than just knowing which markets to pick! Make sure to research other aspects of it - with help of our guides.

Betting with E-wallets

Neteller esports betting has been popular for almost three decades now. Other popular options include esports Skrill betting.

PayPal

PayPal deserves a separate mention due to its significance. Find out the best PayPal esports betting sites.

Crypto Betting

Crypto bookies are everywhere nowadays. The industry is rapidly expanding - might wanna take a look.