eSports Betting
In 2020, the eSports sector clocked in revenue of $950 million and the eSports market size is expected to surpass $1.5 billion by 2023.
With the eSports market growing at jaw-dropping rates, a whole universe of betting possibilities has opened up too. Today, you can legally bet on eSports events and competitions in many parts of the world just like online cricket betting or football betting. However, there are nuances to eSports betting that deserve a closer look.
If you’re a fan of eSports and think you have what it takes to win money betting on eSports, you’re at the right place. There’s no doubt about it that eSports gaming is here to stay and its popularity is growing exponentially. The number of people watching esports increased by 10% in 2021 to 728.8 million.
By the end of 2023, this figure is predicted to reach 800 million. Younger generations seem to be lesser interested in watching traditional sports on TV and would rather watch electronic sporting completions and tournaments on online streaming platforms.
In this article, we go over everything you need to know to get started betting on your favorite eSports and recommend some of the top eSports betting sites in India in 2023.
WHAT IS eSports?
eSports is a form of competitive video gaming. It consists of professional teams of individuals competing in games against each other and winning large sums of money as rewards on a regular basis.
eSports athletes, like cricket players, are hired to play for a range of different organizations. These teams prepare and compete in their respective sports in the same way that a traditional athlete would.
Contingent on the type of game or competition they play, there will be a myriad of tournaments and events each season with prize pools ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars.
Top Esports Betting Sites
Most Popular eSports Games in 2023
Any video game has the potential to become an eSport. Usually, video games are designed and developed to be entertaining to play. Some games eventually give rise to a competitive scene courtesy of community demand and developer support.
As of today, the top five most popular eSports video games are:
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
This is commonly referred to as “CS: GO”. It is one of the latest versions of one of the most successful first-person shooter game franchises that is Counter-Strike. The biggest eSports pro-competition around this game is an international tournament called Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championships.
It is the most popular game in the esports fantasy betting space.
Fortnite
Epic Games’ 2017 survival and battle royale third-person shooter esports game is becoming one of the most popular in the world. Save the World, Battle Royale, and Creative are the three types of game formats you can choose from in Fortnite. The Battle Royale format can accommodate up to 100 players and is the most popular type.
Dota 2
Dota 2 is a multiplayer online battle arena game for PC. The biggest eSports competition premised on Dota 2 is called The International and it has been held once a year since 2011. It happens in different venues around the globe.
League of Legends
Commonly abbreviated as LoL, this is another popular multiplayer online battle arena game for PC. League of Legends was developed by Riot Games, an American game studio, in 2009.
PUBG – New State
PUBG stands for Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds and it is especially popular in India. It is a multiplayer first-person shooter game that was developed by a South Korean company and released in 2017. After a short ban, the game is back in India and is available on Android and iPhone.
How to DO ESPORTS BETTING
If you want to take part in esports betting, here are the things you should keep in mind:
1. Find a good online eSports betting PLATFORM
The first step is to decide which eSports betting-friendly sportsbook is the right fit for you. To decide this, you must consider if the sportsbook offers to bet on the particular eSport game you want to bet on, whether you can bet in your preferred currency, if the sportsbook is licensed and whether it accepts players from India.
2. Sign up with the esports betting site AND
Once you’ve found a sportsbook that meets your requirements, the only thing left to do is sign up. Signing up or registering is simply a matter of filling up a short form and submitting it. You may also have to agree to the terms and conditions of the sportsbook.
3. Add Funds to your sportsbook account by making a deposit
Once you’ve signed up, you are ready to add some money to your account so that you can start placing real money eSports bets and hopefully winning real money too.
Go to the cashier section, select your preferred deposit payment method via UPI, enter the deposit amount, and proceed to complete the transaction and make your deposit.
4. Place your eSports bet
Now that you have funds loaded, you are all set to place your bet. In the sportsbook dashboard, find your eSport, select your bet type and add it to the bet slip.
Once added to the bet slip, you can specify your bet amount and the bet slip will automatically show you the odds being offered and the potential payout if your bet wins. Verify all the details on your bet slip and confirm the bet.
5. Withdraw your esports fantasy betting winnings
After you’ve confirmed the bet, you need to wait and watch how the event or competition turns out and whether your bet is a winning bet.
If your bet wins, you will get paid as per the odds offered when you confirmed the bet. These winnings are added to your sportsbook balance. Either you can use these winnings to fund future eSports bets or you can decide to cash out.
If you want to cash out, go to the cashier section, select the withdrawal tab, choose your preferred withdrawal method and enter the withdrawal amount. Proceed as per the onscreen prompts to complete the transaction and receive your winnings.
eSports Betting FAQs
Yes, many eSports betting websites including behemoths like Bet365 and Betway are now accepting punters based in India and India is turning out to be a lucrative eSports betting market. Many eSports betting websites that accept Indian players also support Indian Rupees as one of the currencies. This means that you can deposit INR directly, bet in INR, and also withdraw INR without having to worry about currency exchange fees.
eSports betting is a fairly new concept and there is no legal framework in Indian states that either regulate it. It lies in the legal grey zone because the lawbooks simply fail to address eSports betting at this time. If you are based in India, you can safely place bets on eSports and deposit money on some of the best betting sites in India without having to worry about any legal action.
Fantasy eSports gaming is quite straightforward. You roster a group of players that you think will outperform another player’s roster and depending on how the players perform or earn points, you either win, lose, or get ranked amongst other fantasy eSports players.
Free bets are common type of bonus offered by eSports betting platforms. Most commonly, a free bet is issued to a punter who has just newly signed up on an eSports betting website. With the free bet, the punter can place an eSports bet for free and even win money if they bet is a winning bet.