eSports Betting 2024 – eSports Odds, Reviews, Markets, Guides

eSports betting can be complicated for newcomers, but a lot of fun once you master it. We’re going to run through how eSports betting works, how you can find the best odds and markets. Chose which bookmakers give the best value and strategies to making some cash from betting on eSports.

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There are more eSports bookmakers than ever on the market right now. However, not all of them are as good as each other. We’ve tested all video game betting sites around, and these are the best sites for eSports betting:

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Best Sites for eSports Betting 2024 - Our Trustable eSports Bookies List

Last updated:
Rank Site Bonus Highlight Rating Visit
1
 22Bet Review 100% up to
€122
Welcome Bonus 		Go to 22Bet
2
 MELbet Review 100% up to
€100
Welcome Bonus 		Go to MELbet
3
 1xBet Review 100% up to
€100
Welcome Bonus 		Go to 1xBet
4
 bet365 Review 100% up to
$50
Bet Credits 		Go to bet365
*Up to $50 in Bet Credits for new customers at bet365. Min deposit $10. Bet Credits available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply.
5
 888sport Review 100% up to
$50
 Go to 888sport
6
 10bet Review 50% up to
€50
 Go to 10bet
7
 bet-at-home Review
€200
 Go to bet-at-home
8
 Mr Green Review
€20
Free Bets 		Go to Mr Green
9
 William Hill Review
£30
Free Bets 		Go to William Hill

What Is eSports Betting and How It Works?

eSports betting is pretty simple, it is to place a wager on competitive gaming events. eSports are video games played professionally, this can vary from in-depth strategy games like Dota through to electronic versions of traditional sports with leagues run by the normal teams.

Most eSports games have high-tier tournaments. That’s where most people bet on eSports. It works just about the same as normal betting. You choose what you want to bet on, see the odds, and get a payout depending on how likely it is to happen.

You can go past simple bets like match-winner though. There are many different options out there for you to bet on loads of different things in eSports games.

eSports Betting Options – The Different Kinds of eSports Bets

That’s what eSports betting is, but as a whole, this is a pretty wide area. There’s betting in social groups, using skins, or even on your own game performance. Not all of these are available everywhere, but there are great options open to you. These are all of the different types of bets that video game betting sites offer:

Real Money Betting on eSports

Real money betting on eSports is the most basic type. This is where you pick a game or match for a specific event, then which market you want to try, and predict. You get a payout if you get it right. You can bet on various things within games liке the winner, points, or specific events occurring. This form of eSports betting is just based on pro events. Although, the best eSports odds might be found on more minor leagues where things are unpredictable.

eSports Fantasy Betting

eSports fantasy betting basically works the same as fantasy sports. You get a limited amount of currency or points to put together a team. You can pick players from various teams in one eSports league. As games or the season progresses, players’ performance for their teams counts towards your ranking. If you perform better, you’ll win money from your esport bet. eSports fantasy betting is a bit different, but it can be fun if there’s one league specifically that you follow closely.

Betting on Streamers

Betting on streamers is a variation offered by a few eSports gambling sites. This is where you bet on the outcome of a game that a streamer is playing. Often, it’s not a competitive match. This is a great way to spice up watching the streams of your favourite games or personalities.

For example, if a Fortnite streamer like Ninja was live in a game you can bet on them getting the victory royale or placing in the top 10. Streamers can pull off some great wins but they also often have unexpected games, so things are unpredictable.

Items Betting

Items betting is a type of eSports betting that changes what you’re betting with. Essentially, you’re not using fiat currency but in-game items. Item betting for eSports lets you stake an in-game item on the result of a game, and potentially win more if you win your bet.

This type of betting has a big appeal since your bet on eSports and payouts could be in the same game as you’re watching.

Skin Betting

Skin betting is quite similar to item betting since you’re using in-game things. In skin betting, you wager your skins in supported games. A lot of players like to collect skins in-game and some (like CSGO skins) have become very valuable. This is a form of eSports betting that stays connected to how you play games. Since it is a bit more niche, you’ll have to look for specific skin betting sites for this type of eSports bet.

Betting on Yourself

You can bet on streamers and pro games, but what about your own games? Some eSports betting platforms have expanded to offer betting on yourself. At these bookmakers, you can set up your in-game account and place bets on your own performance. This is a fun type of eSports betting where only your own skill counts! The odds can be a bit hard to predict here, but it can be lucrative if you have a few good games.

Social Betting

Social betting is an area of eSports that brings in social groups for a wider experience. A social group can bet on the outcome of an event collectively. This is a fun approach that lets you pool the knowledge of a group when betting. Social eSports betting works with a social group like friends or colleagues. However, some sites allow betting on eSports in large groups. They hold special eSports events for social betting where you work with other fans.

Challenge eSports Betting

Challenge betting is similar to social eSports betting as it involves groups. This can be two individuals or groups who have a wager based on the outcome of a game or an overall group who all take different positions in an eSports match. Challenge betting is a fun way to add competition between friends while playing or watching a game. This one is a little more informal. While some sites offer Challenge eSports betting, gaming wagers fall into this category too.

eSports Pool Betting

Pool betting is a unique type of betting which has a history in both eSports and sports. This is where you select outcomes for multiple matches or events. The bets are all pooled together to provide a bigger payout. Multiple participants pool their guesses into one group. Whoever in the pool gets closest to getting all of their predictions right will win the most money, with others getting less depending on how they did. There’s an element of competition here which spices things up.

eSports Betting Markets

eSports betting markets are the different things that you can bet on within individual events. This isn’t the games or matches that are offered, but the various things you can place an eSport bet on during these matches. It can be a bit confusing for a newcomer, but it’s easy once you get your head around the terminology. These are some of the most popular eSports bets:

  • Match Winner

    This is a pretty basic one, you’re just betting on who wins a match here.

  • Outright eSports Bets

    Outright bets are like match winner but they apply to a larger title. You can bet on who will win an entire competition or round rather than the winner of a particular game.

  • System Bets

    This is a bet where you select more than one outcome and add them together. You’ll need some of your legs to win in some system bets, but they pay more if you win.

  • Over /Under ( Kills Over/Under)

    Here you’re betting on the total number of an outcome like kills or rounds played. You don’t have to guess the exact right number for this, just whether it will go over or under a number. The terms for these types of bets can vary depending on the game and eSports betting site you’re using. Although the format is pretty common across games.

  • Round/Map Winner

    This type of bet allows you to bet on a winner but without having to commit to an entire game! You can bet on the outcome of a single round or map rather than the entire match.

  • First Blood, First Tower, First to 5 Kills

    These types of bets have different terminology depending on your game but they work the same. This is whichever player or even team manages to hit that milestone for kills first. The winner here might not win the game or even the round, but they can still win this part. Your bet on eSports will payout here even if it’s just an early lead.

  • Correct Points/Score

    The correct point or score bet is one of the more tricky to predict out of these popular eSports bets. You have to guess the number of points scored or the overall score of a match correctly. This is tricky, especially in games with wide spreads of points. The odds here do mean you’ll get a great payout if you get it right.

  • eSports Specific Bets

    eSports-specific bets are a lot broader. These are just bets on conditions that are specific to eSports, but often specific to a game too. This can be things like placement in a Fortnite match or the ancient in a game of Dota.

Those are the most popular markets for betting on eSports. However, with such a wide variety of games to bet on, there are always more types of bets that you can look at. Make sure to check out all the markets for a game or match you’re following to see what you can bet on.

Understanding eSports Odds

Odds are a pretty key concept to betting, rather than just placing a bet and hoping for the best, you should assess it based on the odds. Essentially odds are the chance of what you bet on happening.

For example, a bookmaker might attach odds of 2.0 to Team A winning their eSports matches and 3.5 to Team B winning. In this scenario, your stake would be doubled in the case of Team A winning and timed by 3.5 on Team B winning. The odds are positioned like this because the bookmaker thinks Team A has a much stronger chance of winning. Odds are a little different for skin betting, but it’s the same principle.

Betting odds can come in different forms across eSports betting sites. There are decimals, fractions, or moneyline. Each of these ways of displaying odds has the same meaning, though.

eSports Gambling Sites With The Best eSports Odds

Having high esports betting odds in your favor is always a plus

Bookmaker Odds Level Games Markets Livestream Visit
22Bet22Bet Review 94% – 96% 7 15 Bet at 22Bet
MELbetMELbet Review 94% – 96% 25 15 Bet at MELbet
1xBet1xBet Review 94% – 96% 7 15 Bet at 1xBet
bet365bet365 Review 94% – 97% 12 15 Bet at bet365
*Up to $50 in Bet Credits for new customers at bet365. Min deposit $10. Bet Credits available for use upon settlement of bets to value of qualifying deposit. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply.
888sport888sport Review 90% – 94% 6 13 Bet at 888sport
10bet10bet Review Bet at 10bet
bet-at-homebet-at-home Review Bet at bet-at-home

What Video Games Can You Place Bets On?

eSports is a pretty wide term that deals with a lot of different games. If you’re looking at eSports betting, most people stick to a few games that they personally follow. These are some of the major eSports betting games that are popular among bettors:

Fortnite

Fortnite is a Battle Royale game where 100 players drop into a map and compete to be the last man standing. The game has mechanics like looting from random items spread around and building your own cover or structures. Fortnite is a popular game with a casual crowd but it is also one of the most competitive eSports scenes with a huge prize pool. It’s offered on most eSports betting platforms.

Warcraft 3

Warcraft 3 is another popular eSport coming from Blizzard. This is a real-time strategy game. Players try to collect various resources to train their units to defeat enemy players. As a strategy game, this title can be complicated at times but it has a high skill level. A great game of Warcraft can be intricate and show some real skill.

Dota 2

Dota 2 is a MOBA game developed by Valve which is one of the longer-running games. Dota has tense strategic gameplay with teams of five players trying to defend a base and occupy and opposing teams. Dota stands for Defence of the Ancients, which is basically the goal. The game has become a breakout hit in eSports.

Call of Duty

The Call of Duty series is one of the most popular shooter games and overall video game franchises. In recent years, their eSports side has grown considerably with the launch of the Call of Duty League. Players compete to fulfil objectives in this fast-paced first-person shooter. eSports betting is available on the Call of Duty League but also on Warzone.

CS: GO

CS:GO is one of the oldest and most important eSports in terms of shooters. This is a technical shooter game with a high-skill cap. The gameplay is based on mechanical skill taking shots and securing objectives, but also on budgeting your supplies. CS:GO is an eSports game that’s carried by the vast majority of bookmakers. It’s particularly big for skin betting on eSports.

LoL

LoL is another MOBA. This is a battle arena game like Dota. Players work in teams controlling champions with unique abilities. There’s a huge roster of characters to choose from with special abilities. They level up these champions each game to gain more abilities, to try and destroy the Nexus on the opposing team.

Overwatch

Overwatch is a hero-shooter game. It’s a team-based title where players try to complete objectives while getting kills on the opposing side. There’s a colourful cast of characters with unique abilities for each one. eSports matches for Overwatch are played pretty regularly and there’s a sequel in development.

Valorant

Valorant is a game that had an initial pitch of a cross between Overwatch and CSGO. It features the technical gameplay of CSGO, but with the character abilities you’ll find in Overwatch. This is a newer eSport but one that’s had a lot of success so far. Even as one of the younger games you’re likely to find this on most eSports gambling sites.

FIFA

FIFA is the world’s biggest football video game. The eSports side of the game pits the best players against each other playing games of football. Often, competitive FIFA is being run by the same teams as in the actual football leagues. FIFA matches are quicker than normal football but they have a lot of the same excitement. You can find FIFA on pretty much every eSports betting site since it has crossover appeal with sports.

StarCraft 2

StarCraft 2 is yet another huge eSport that was developed by Blizzard, along with Warcraft and Overwatch. The game is a real-time strategy and was released back in 2010. This is another game where players have to plan ahead extensively if they want to win. The StarCraft series hasn’t had too much content since the first game was released in the 90s, but its eSports and expansions in recent years have made up for it.

Rocket League

Rocket League is a bit of a weird choice to bet on eSports, but it has made it work. The game is basically Football with cars, only the cars have rockets attached. It’s not a complicated game but the skill level for the title has gotten very high. The competitive side of Rocket League shows how impressive even a simple game can become, players have found a way to make it a high-skill eSport.

King of Glory

King of Glory is a game that has a lot in common with LoL, in terms of gameplay it is pretty much identical. It is a MOBA with a huge roster of characters available. This one is played as a mobile game though and it does have a few different names depending on what region you’re in. King of Glory is probably the most widely known mobile eSport, which is a fast-growing area.

Smite

Smite is one of the more surprising games to build a large eSports following. This is another MOBA with gameplay similar to other competitive MOBAs. Two teams compete on a three-lane map to gather items, trying to defend their own end and attack the enemies. Smite has a decent eSports following with its biggest event being the Smite World Championship.

Hearthstone

Hearthstone is a spin-off game from Warcraft that has become a major eSport in its own right. This is a competitive turn-based card game. The gameplay is similar to popular trading card games, competing to win matches by gradually moving through a 30-card-deck. This type of eSport is pretty unique and it is one of the more popular games in the genre.

eSports Tournaments and Leagues

Those are the most popular eSports games, each of these games has different tiers. The biggest eSports and tournaments are where you’re going to find the biggest eSports matches. These big events can be found on most video game betting sites. These are some of the biggest tournaments to watch out for:

  • Arena of Valor World Cup
  • Hearthstone World Championship
  • Call of Duty League
  • Capcom Cup
  • DreamHack
  • EVO
  • Apex Legends Global Series
  • FIFA World Cup
  • Fortnite Champion Series
  • StarCraft II League
  • Halo Championship Series
  • Intel Extreme Masters
  • Konami Arcade Championship
  • LoL Pro League
  • LoL World Championship
  • NBA 2K League
  • Overwatch League
  • PUBG Mobile Global Championship
  • Rocket League Championship Series
  • SMITE World Championship
  • Tekken World Tour
  • The International
  • Free Fire World Series

Those are just the largest though. Every game has a variety of tournaments. Usually, the highest level is International Championships, as listed here. However, qualifications for these events only go to teams who have been dominating at the regional level, winning other tournaments. Watching qualifiers is a great way to get extra information ahead of betting on eSports. Some games have huge leagues running concurrently in every region, giving loads of opportunities to bet on eSports even in a single game.

Popular eSports Teams and Players

eSports might be a pretty diverse area. Just like normal sports though, some teams and players have transcended their individual games. Some players or teams have stories that have made them into icons of eSports. People with undeniable talent in the game that are looked towards as key figures in eSports as a whole. These are some of the most popular and important eSports teams and players.

Biggest eSports Teams

  • FaZe Clan
  • Team Liquid
  • Cloud 9
  • 100 Thieves
  • OpTic
  • OG
  • Evil Geniuses
  • G2 Esports
  • Fnatic

eSports Players

Those are some of the biggest eSports teams, but individual players have left their mark too. Individual players are sometimes the reason to choose a whole team in eSports gambling. Not all of these players are still active, but these are those at the top of their fields:

  • Faker
  • Bugha
  • Maru
  • S1mple
  • Supertf
  • Simp
  • Fairy Peak
  • Ana
  • Mango
  • Scump

Best eSports Betting Strategies

You’ll get more out of it if you go in to eSports betting knowing what you’re doing. These are some of the top betting strategies to keep in mind:

Compare eSports Betting Odds

There are loads of eSports gambling sites out there, most have different odds for the same outcomes. You should always compare the odds multiple sites. It can really add up if you’re getting the best eSports odds and higher payouts every time.

Live Betting on eSports

When you’ve placed a bet on eSports, you can use live betting to change it mid-game. You’ll have to be quick, but this can work great to take profit mid-game.

Use Promos and Free Bets

Pretty much every eSports betting site has a welcome offer, with these you can get a lot more value out of bets on eSports you’re placing anyway. Pay attention to any eSports wagering requirements that you might need to fulfil though.

General eSports Betting Tips and Advice

That covers most of the major areas for eSports betting and how it all works. There are some tips and tricks you can look at to optimize everything though. Both with eSports specific bets and with general betting, these eSports betting tips and advice can help you out:

  • Focus on What You Know – Look at teams, games, and tournaments that you know and understand. This helps to keep betting fun also; you’ll know exactly what you’re betting on.
  • Follow Players – Get to know who the top players in a game are. This can help you identify when a team’s normal strategy isn’t going right and their performance will be off in advance.
  • Use a Budget – This is pretty important, only bet what you can afford in a budget. This keeps things fun and prevents it from getting out of hand.
  • Use Different Markets – There’s a lot more to betting than just picking a winner. Going for different eSports betting markets and bets for a match can give you a lot more value than just picking the top team.

FAQ

  • How to Bet on eSports?

    To bet on eSports, you first need to make an eSports betting account. Once you've done that, you just need to select the match you want to bet on. Then enter your stake, and confirm your bet! Make sure you do your research on the bookmaker to pick and the game to bet on.

  • Where to Bet on eSports?

    To bet on eSports you now have loads of options. There are countless eSports betting sites and bookmakers out there. Some allow you to just bet on big eSports matches, but others can go further like offering crypto or betting on yourself. Go for whichever safe bookmaker fills all your needs!

  • Which Are the Most Popular eSports Games?

    There are a lot of eSports games and their popularity is always going up and down. However, at the moment these are the biggest and most popular: Dota 2, LoL, CSGO, Rocket League, Overwatch, Hearthstone, Fortnite, Valorant, Apex Legends, and StarCraft.

  • What Is the Biggest Prize Pool in eSports History?

    The biggest prize pool in eSports history was for the International, a Dota 2 tournament. This prize pool reached $40,018,400!

  • How to Find the Best eSports Betting Sites?

    We've broken down the best eSports betting websites and gambling sites above, but the right one for you will be whichever out of these will fit all of your specific needs.

  • What Is the Safest Online eSports Betting Site?

    Our top eSports bookmakers listed above are all safe and legitimate. We've covered their security and safety measures in the full eSports bookmaker reviews and what they offer when betting on eSports.

  • Can I Bet on eSports Legally Online?

    You can legally bet on eSports online in the vast majority of regions! It will depend on where you're living, but the bulk of the world can easily place an eSport bet.

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