Frokat With how complex most esports titles have gotten over the years, it’s easy to forget that the industry’s barrier of entry is actually quite low. The basic esports match bets are remarkably similar to traditional sports betting and are perfect for beginners. However, there are also options for avid fans to delve deeper into esports’ complexity, and bet on esports matches in detail that traditional sports can’t afford. Let’s take a look at some of the best examples of esports match bet markets.
Ways To Bet On Esports Matches
As promised, here are the most basic ways of betting on esports. You might realize that these are functionally no different from traditional sports bets at all - so anyone with even marginal experience with these can easily understand them.
Moneyline
This esports betting market is a simple bet on a match outcome you can find anywhere. All we have is the teams’ form and head-to-head record that determines the odds for the event. As such, Moneyline bets often have very clearly defined favorites and runner-ups, making them perfect for medium risk, medium reward bets that can be placed without additional research.
Since this is the most popular type of match betting, most sites offer additional esports bet bonuses for Moneyline wagering.
Handicap Betting
Handicap is similar to Moneyline, but with one key difference. The event’s favorite receives a virtual handicap to bridge the skill cap between the two teams. Also known as point spread as this spread is applied to the underdog. In doing so, betting sites for esports eliminate high odds discrepancies, make correct guesses on favorites more rewarding, and bets on underdogs less risky.
For instance, a team needs to win a Bo5 series in League of Legends by winning 3 maps out of 5. In handicap betting, the weaker team might be so behind the favorite that the bookie may give a +2 handicap to the underdog. This means that placing a bet on the runner-up and them technically losing the match with a score of 1:3 would still count as a victory for the Handicap bet!
Totals
As its name implies, totals betting refers to trying to guess the final total score of a game or an event. Different esports games follow different rules, including the scores required to win the esports match, so totals betting can be a fresh way to bet on any of them.
In CSGO, you need to win 16 rounds to win a map (not including Overtime scenarios). An example of a Totals bet would then be a bookie setting the total at 16:9. The bettors will then wager if the final score of that map will be over or under this number of rounds.
Advanced Esports Match Betting
Before, we’ve discussed ways to place wagers on singular esports matches. But what if we’ve told you there are tons of ways to combine multiple events into one bet for higher stakes and better rewards! Here are some of the more advanced ways you can bet on esports matches!
Parlay Bets
When Parlay betting, the bookie combines two - or more - individual events into a single bet. The catch is that the punter has to get all of the individual outcomes right to win a parlay. We can clearly see the trend – parlay bets are more risky, yet yield way higher esports games betting odds.
Example: in semifinals of IEM Rio 2023, Natus Vincere square off against Heroic, and Cloud9 fight against Vitality. A bettor commits to a parlay bet and bets on Natus Vincere and Team Vitality to win their respective matches. Natus Vincere wins, but Team Vitality loses - the punter loses their bet. Better luck next time!
Round Robin Bet
It’s possible to kick Parlays esports games betting into an overdrive with round-robin bets. That’s when you place multiple parlay bets at once on various combinations. Talk about having layers!
This one is a little bit confusing, so let’s demonstrate it with a detailed example.
Let's say a bettor wants to place a round-robin bet on four LCK teams: the T1, the GEN.G, KT Rolster, Liiv Sandbox. They want to create every possible combination of 2- and 3-team parlays within this group of teams.
To do this, they would place the following bets:
- Three 2-team parlays: T1/GEN.G, T1/KT Rolster, and T1/Liiv Sandbox
- Three 2-team parlays: GEN.G/KT Rolster, GEN.G/Liiv Sandbox, and KT Rolster/Liiv Sandbox
- One 3-team parlay: T1/GEN.G/KT Rolster
- One 3-team parlay: T1/GEN.G/Liiv Sandbox
- One 3-team parlay: GEN.G/KT Rolster/Liiv Sandbox
- One 4-team parlay: T1/GEN.G/KT Rolster/Liiv Sandbox
The punter has placed a ton of bets, and if all of their predictions are correct, the potential payout will be sky-high. However, the key advantage of round-robin betting is that even if some individual outcomes are incorrect, there’s still a potential to win money as the risk is spread across multiple outcomes. If mastered, round robin betting is one of the best ways to bet on esports with real money.
What is Live Match Betting
Esports live match betting is a really popular way to make spectating pro games even more exciting. Unlike the conventional bet markets that all close down when actions starts, live match esports betting lives up to its name.
Some games benefit way more from live esport betting than others. For example, the round-based nature of CS:GO, Valorant, and Rainbow 6: Siege makes them a perfect fit for in-play betting. Live betting allows punters to monitor a team’s performance in real-time before putting the foot down on a bet, which makes it less risky but still very fun!
If you’re committed to real-time betting, it’s best to pick esports match betting sites that offer a robust esports betting app so you can always access the action wherever you are.
Fantasy Betting
Another way to bet on esports matches is… to make up your own! That might sound a little silly, but that’s basically what fantasy esports betting is. It’s always been a popular way to wager on traditional sports, but it’s also a solid choice for esports fans. After all, the digital nature of esports makes it even easier.
In fantasy esports betting games, bettors assemble virtual line-ups from the pool of real-life pro players. Although fantasy bets don’t involve fantasy esports matches, the results of the actual IRL esports matches affect the players’ and teams’ standings. Points are awarded to virtual teams based on the performance of their real-life counterparts. The most successful bettors therefore win fantasy betting league’s depending of how well their rosters do in this regard.
Unikrn is an esports-focused fantasy betting platform.
Since the United States has a tough stance on online esports match betting, Fantasy Betting is incredibly popular there since it’s not classified as online gambling. Even paid fantasy sports leagues are allowed in NA!
Esports-only Match Bets
Previously, we’ve only discussed esports bets that are not much different from conventional traditional sports betting. However, there’s more to esports gambling than just that! Since the digital medium is so unique, it opens the door for more elaborate ways to bet that are simply unachievable is soccer or basketball.
Map Betting
In some esports titles, “map” refers just to a “round” of a match with the actual location of the game unchanged - like in MOBA games like Dota 2 and League of Legends. In other games, like CSGO or Valorant, the maps actually change and affect the game flow, similarly to different tennis courts. Betting on individual maps adds strategic depth into esports match betting.
First Blood
In traditional sports, the teams compete with one another to score points to win the match. In esports, however, most titles simply let you eliminate your opposition - can’t exactly do that in soccer (at least without going to jail afterward). Esports betting sites let punters bet on these eliminations, most importantly on the first elimination of the match.
Special Bets
Since many esports titles go mind-bogglingly in-depth with game mechanics. Take Dota 2, for example - a MOBA game with hundreds of heroes and items, thousands of different spells, and an unfathomably large number of potential unique interactions. Some esports bookies take advantage of this complexity by offering some very unique prop betting markets. For example, users can bet on whether a Divine Rapier will be purchased in a Dota 2 match.
Other Aspects of Esports Match Betting
If you’re interested in esports match betting, it’s important to be aware that there are way more factors that go into it than just knowing the best ways to bet on esports games.
Regional Differences In Esports Betting
Esports Betting in USA |
Esports Betting in Canada |
Esports Betting in Australia |
Esports Betting in the UK |
|---|---|---|---|
| For USA esports betting is a hot topic. Most states outright forbid online betting, so fans’ options are limited. | Canada esports betting is rapidly developing, with highly-licensed bookies popping up one after another. | Australia esports betting scene is as bustling as you would expect from a nation known for its gambling habits. | The UK esports betting industry is the golden standard. No wonder that bookies licensed by the UK Gambling Commission are the most popular and desired choices. |
Payment Methods for Esport Match Betting
Mastercard and Visa esports betting are the easiest ways to do betting-related transactions. There are still some key moments you need to be aware of when using Mastercard.
Betting esports sites use Neteller for a huge portion of their transactions. Other notable options include Skrill esports betting.
PayPal deserves a separate mention as it’s the most popular digital wallet option. Only the most trusted and reputable esports betting sites use PayPal.
Esports cryptocurrency betting is a rapidly growing sector of online gambling. It’s not just an obscure niche thing - it’s everywhere nowadays!