Esports Betting UK - Top UK Esports Bookmakers & More

The United Kingdom is one of the key players in the global esports betting industry. The lion's share of leading esports bookies is headquartered in Britain, thanks to the country's open-minded laws surrounding online gambling. In this article, we'll talk about UK esports bet online industry and what makes tit stand head-and-shoulders above their competition.

Top-3 esports betting sites UK

The UK is hands down the global leader of the industry, so picking out the best of the best esports bet sites will be a challenge on its own. There are far more great options out there than these, so feel free to refer to our bookie list if you'd like to try out more. For now, let's take a look at TIPS.GG-approved list of esports betting UK bookmakers!

Bet365 offers great esports odds as well as plenty of betting markets

Bet365

The most well-balanced all-rounder, Bet365 is among the most-known UK esports betting sites. It offers stability and reliability, proven by its decades of reputation, multiplied by fantastic esports betting odds. It offers plenty of options regarding the most popular esports titles, such as League of Legends, CS:GO, and Dota 2, as well as some (now) niche stuff like StarCraft. A pretty good selection of titles and esports events, especially considering that it's predominantly a sports betting site.

Betway

Betway supports many payment options

Rated as UK's most popular esports betting site, Betway has the reasons for its success readily apparent at first glance. Unlike many other older sportsbooks, Betway isn't hanging around in the past as evidenced by its modern and sleek UI and the best esports app of all the large bookies. It might seem minor, but it matters a lot for beginner bettors! Some eye candy isn't all that makes Betway great: as it's an early adopter of esports betting, it has many titles and events to wager on. In addition, Betway offers its users a lot of excellent esports bonuses. New users receive a rare no-deposit welcome bonus that allows them to place wagers without spending a cent!

William Hill

William Hill is very trustworthy because of it's long history

This bookie is a real dinosaur of sports betting. As William Hill was established in 1934, it has enormous baggage of experience and reputation behind its name. However, it has its weak sides: it's been quite slow to get into the esports betting UK industry and offers less competitive options regarding available esports titles and events. Still, it's an excellent pick for users familiar with sports betting and looking to include esports wagering in their portfolio.

In addition to the traditional esports betting sites, a new industry centered around esports crypto betting has popped up. Discover more about it by clicking the link!

The UK's Go-To Esports For Betting

Video games and esports-related content have become the faster-growing entertainment industry of today. The UK is a gaming nation, too, as evidenced by the country's high interest in competitive video games and the resulting nrofessional rosters in various disciplines.

League of Legends

League of Legends is undeniably the largest esport in the West, and is extremely popular esports in the East, too. Unsurprisingly, it makes it to the top spot on this list. Several top-level professional League (and multi-gaming) organizations reside in Great Britain, most famously the long-standing Fnatic esports dynasty. There are millions of League of Legends fans in the UK, so it's no wonder the game's popular with the best esports betting sites.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Counter-Strike is one of the longest-standing competitive video game franchises and the pioneer of the team-based FPS genre we all love. It's not surprising that it has millions of fans in the United Kingdom, if not tens of millions. The country's CS:GO competitive scene is supported by the likes of ESL and FACEIT, with the FACEIT Major: London 2018 being the most prominent example of UK's esports events in CS:GO.

Dota 2

The International Venue

Dota (formerly known as Defense of the Ancients) is the progenitor of the multiplayer online battle arena genre with almost two decades of history. Highly mechanical yet strategic with hundreds of different esports betting markets, it's one of the two main competitors for the title of the best MOBA out there. However, there's one thing that Dota 2 does better than anyone: the scale of its events. The International is the crown jewel of Dota 2 esports, and it features eye-wateringly gigantic prize pools year after year.

The International 2021 featured the largest total prize pool of all time across any esports discipline in the industry's history. The grand total of $40,018,195 was split across 18 competitors, with the winner, Team Spirit, taking home a slice of $18,208,300!

The game's esports scene is highly developed in Britain, with events like ESL One Birmingham finally bringing high-quality Dota 2 to England's shores.

Valorant

Despite this title's very young age, it's become an extremely competitive esports title both in viewer engagement and bookie activity. The secret lies in its developer, Riot Games, who is also behind another game on this list. Valorant is built from the ground up with the most polished competitive environment in mind, which is managed to achieve swimmingly. As an FPS, it has stellar servers, tickrate, hit registration, and a fresh take on the established team-based shooter formula combined with MOBA-esque player characters called "agents."

Live Betting

Fast-paced round-based FPS games like CS:GO, and Valorant are excellent for live esports betting. Click the link to learn more about how it differs from traditional esports betting sites.

Fortnite

As it's the most popular Battle Royale in the world, Fortnite is extremely appealing to the younger generation of competitive gamers. The 2021 survey showed Fortnite has around 270 million unique players, and 5% of that number hail from the United Kingdom. That's the secret of the game's popularity in the UK's betting sites: the sheer numbers make it a very attractive choice in the UK esports betting scene.

FIFA

The world's most popular and best-selling sports simulator (according to the Guinness book of world records). This gaming franchise has existed for 30 years, and will continue onwards (albeit under a different end as it rebrands as EA Sports FC from 2023 onward). As FIFA somewhat bridges the gap between traditional sports betting and esports betting, it's often the first pick for many beginner esports bettors. Which makes its inclusion in esports betting UK sites a must-have!

UK Esports Betting: Legality

The United Kingdom is one of the leaders of the betting industry, be it sports or esports. The easy answer to the question "is esports betting UK legally possible?" is "yes." The slightly more complex answer is: yes, it is legal, but you'll have to check whether the bookie you're attempting to game on hold the license by the UK Gambling Commission.

The Gambling Act of 2005 was an unprecedented piece of legislation ahead of the rest of the world by decades. With it, UK Gambling Commission established a level of user protection unheard of before. As a result, esports betting UK is perhaps the safest in the world.

User Protection in the UK

One example of such user protection by the Act is it gives the Commission the authority to void any bets if any foul play is involved. This can include match-fixing within the tournament or cheating by the bookmaker or the user.

UK esports betting sites operate legally and openly: a far cry from the old days when bookies would hire runners to outrun the police. The country has taken fantastic steps to protect the vulnerable while keeping sports & esports wagering legal and accessible.

UK esports betting sites offer their users a wide variety of safe and secure payment operators. From simple credit and debit cards to popular e-wallets like PayPal, Skrill, Neteller esports betting.

UK Esports: Status & History

Esports have been around for far longer than most people think, as the first recorded official esports competition happened all the way back in 1980. The real breakthrough occurred in the 2000s when esports officially entered the mainstream: CS 1.6, DotA Allstars, and StarCraft: Brood War were the generation-defining titles of that era.

Nowadays, the United Kingdom represents 8% of the global industry market. The country has been a venue for multiple major esports events in different popular esports titles, most notably CS:GO. The CS franchise has become massively popular in the 2000s, instantly becoming a cult classic within British gaming circles. For that reason, the British organization Fnatic holds the most golds in the Intel Extreme Masters CS:GO series.

Intel Extreme Masters

Most commonly abbreviated as IEM, this is a long-running international competitive esports series. It's most popular due to its Counter-Strike tournaments.

Best UK Esports Teams To Bet On

Fnatic

We've mentioned this organization multiple times for a good reason: they're one of the pillars of the esports community as we know it. Whether it is in League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, WarCraft 3, StarCraft 2, Valorant, or Rainbow Six: Siege, the organization has left its mark on that title's esports scene.

Fnatic is a multi-gaming international esports team headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Its successes made the brand worth over $260 million, as it is now included among the top 10 most valuable esports companies. Their most notable achievements are:

• the champion's title in League of Legends Season One Worlds Championship;
• a legendary status of record-breakers in Counter-Strike with a prolific history spanning over a decade and nearly $6,000,000 in winnings;
• solid regional and international showings in Valorant;
• and many more.

Endpoint

Endpoint is the best home-talent team in CS:GO. With approx of $400,000 in winnings in CS, Endpoint is most known for its 2019 season run, where they've claimed the title of the most decorated domestic British esports roster. But Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is not the only title Endpoint is great at. The British org also fields rosters in Rocket League and Quake.

London Spitfire

Formed in 2017, London Spitfire represents its home country on the fields of competitive Overwatch. London Spitfire is the founding team of the Overwatch League, and they are most known for being the champions of the Overwatch League 2018.

Into The Breach

Into The Breach is a professional British esports organization fielding a roster in Dota 2. The team mostly performs in Tier-2 and Tier-3 events, serving as a staging ground for many talents like Fishman, who's currently playing for team Entity.

Esports Betting Sites In Other Regions