What is esports betting? A beginner’s guide to gaming wagers

Whether you like it or not, the reality is that esports betting is real and it’s exploding in popularity. Since the rise of esports in the last few decades, it’s become easier for players to bet on their favorite teams taking part in tournaments around the world.

Indeed, established sites have already taken notice, such as Bet365 and Betway Esports, which are already offering esports odds and dedicated sections for esports. However, with any wager, it’s important to bet responsibly, as there can be risks, big or small when looking into making a flutter. This is where sites like Gamble-Aware can help players with heavy losses.

With so many betting sites working with esports businesses, we’ve compiled a guide to help explain esports betting, esports bets types, the risks and challenges, and more. This is not a step-by-step guide covering how to bet on esports, but we will outline how the industry is structured.

Esports betting is a method of wagering money on competitive video game matches worldwide. These include popular esports games like League of Legends, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike 2. But how does esports betting work? Bets can be placed through dedicated esports betting platforms that keep track of upcoming matches, and players can place a wager on the outcome of certain matches, what the scores will be, and much more.

Like other bookmakers, there are odds that can tell players the chance of certain results coming to fruition. However, these can also change in esports, due to factors like a sudden change in teams, the player matchups, and if new game patches have changed the balancing to aspects like maps, fighters, weapon power, and more.

Winning bets are credited to the user’s account and can be transferred to their bank account. However, it’s important to use these betting platforms responsibly, and to know your limits when placing a wager on a match.

There have been some big changes in esports betting since its early inception. To begin with, small bets would be arranged whereby small cosmetics like character skins and weapons could be won instead of real money. But as esports grew, betting platforms began to take notice and offer odds on esports matches.

As users questioned if esports betting was legal, regulators worldwide started to take notice and clarified their stance. This included the Gambling Commission in the UK, where it’s recognized that betting on esports is the same as someone placing a wager on other sports like horse racing and football. Today, there are different esports bet types that users can look into, such as live bets, prop bets, and more. Mobile devices and apps have made it easier than ever to place a bet on competitive matches. With the industry growing faster than ever, it’s expected that esports betting will become more prevalent in the future.

With the rise of esports betting, several sites have emerged to make it easier for users to place a wager on their favorite teams. These include sites like Bet365, that have their own esports section, which lets customers place a bet by choosing from a list of the most popular esports games and showcasing the odds on upcoming matches. Betway Esports features an esports section that showcases any live streams of matches and supports payment systems like PayPal, Visa, and Skrill. GGbet has the unique distinction of being exclusive to esports betting, listing all existing and upcoming competitive matches, and letting users cash out via Crypto, PayPal, Visa, and more.

These three sites are some of the most popular that are involved in esports betting. Yet, as the industry is predicted to grow exponentially, it’s expected that more dedicated betting sites will only deal in esports in the coming years.

Disclaimer: Gambling carries financial risk and can lead to addiction. Always gamble responsibly, play within your limits, and never bet more than you can afford to lose.

Even in the early days of esports betting, the industry has faced some controversies and challenges, such as match-fixing, doping, and cheating. For example, at the now-defunct CyberEvolution Volunteer Organization (CEVO) Professional Season 5 tournament, teams iBUYPOWER and NetCodeGuides.com were accused of match-fixing. Suspicions were raised by how iBUYPOWER was playing, and they ultimately lost the match. Eventually, evidence was uncovered, resulting in bans for most of the players on the team, causing shockwaves in the Counter-Strike GO community.

Another controversy was skin gambling, otherwise known as skin betting, whereby players would bet with cosmetic items in the Counter-Strike games. These can change the look of characters and weapons instead of real money. Although the concept was sound, it was easy for minors to take part. This led to stricter regulations in the U.S. and by Valve, Counter-Strike’s developer, with many sites labeling the practice as illegal, which is why you won’t find the category on betting sites.

When it comes to challenges in esports betting, addiction is a big concern, as it has been with betting since its inception. With players able to bet on their PCs and mobile devices wherever they are, it can be hard for companies to keep an eye on how much is being gambled over a short period. There’s also the rise of cheating via AI services, allowing some users to use Large Language Models (LLM) to calculate which teams have the better chance of winning certain matches, leading users to place large bets on the predicted result. LLMs can look at past player performance, team stats, and more to make an educated guess, which could result in the betting odds being skewed.

Ultimately, as esports betting continues to grow and expand, so too will the challenges for the industry to try and regulate it and make it fair for players and viewers alike.

Esports betting is here, whether you like it or not, and it’s already big business in the esports industry. Dedicated sites already offer ways for users to place bets on their favorite teams, also offering ways to cash out via different cryptocurrencies.

But it’s important to note that the esports industry is still grappling with challenges. Around the world, regulations have yet to acknowledge esports betting, and others are trying to figure out how to responsibly manage it at online and offline tournaments. 

Ultimately, a wager, no matter how big or small, is always risky, and esports can still be enjoyed without betting, which is why sites like Gamble-Aware can help if needed.