Sports betting is a worldwide phenomenon. If you have a sporting event with an unforeseeable outcome, sports such as football, basketball, tennis, etc. people would bet on it. A fairly recent and albeit contested trend to gain popularity in the sporting world is electronic sports. With the global esports market expected to surpass $1.6 billion by 2021, it opens plenty of doors for punters to make some serious profits. But unfortunately, due to its niche status, it is often overlooked. But relative obscurity has its perks. It means higher odds and plenty of value betting situations. So without further ado, here’s all you need to know about eSports betting.
What is eSports?
Before we get into betting on esports, you should know what exactly falls under the category of esports. Well, to be brief – organized video game competitions. A bunch of professional players get together and play a game of their choice – usually, MMOs like League of Legends or DOTA 2, or FPS games like COD or Counter-Strike just to name a few. Tournaments such as DreamHack and League of Legends World Championship are held regularly. They often take place in sold-out stadiums in front of live audiences. You’ll find several competitions that take place both at local and international levels all year round. It only established itself as a legitimate industry a couple of years ago, but it has grown faster than you can imagine. And now for the best part, esports betting.
What is esports betting?
eSports competitions are held all over the world. These tournaments attract thousands of professional as well as amateur gamers who compete against each other. And where there’s competition, there’s room for betting. Wagering in the esports community had a humble beginning – with skin betting. This was where gamers would gamble with CS: GO skins, which could be sold for actual money. Initially, this form of betting within this industry was faced with harsh criticism. But as it grew more mainstream due to the advent of live streaming sites like Twitch, and the money started pouring in, gambling grew to be more accepted. Today, eSports betting is a billion dollar industry and is expected to be worth nearly $13 billion by 2020.
How to bet on eSports?
Now that you have a basic rundown on what eSports betting is, you may be wondering how you can bet on competitions. If you’re familiar with the basic sports betting markets, you shouldn’t have any problem finding your way around since competitions consist of individuals or teams. Money lines are pretty popular, where all you have to do is pick the winning side. Handicap bets are a common market too. Several esportsbooks feature outright betting on competitions that have a tier or knockout based system. You can even bet on totals. For instance, you can bet on the total number of kills in DOTA 2.
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