eSports is a truly global affair nowadays, and fans can bet online at gg bet for the thrill of live gaming events and to support their favorite players. It wasn’t always this way, though. The sport has rapidly risen from its humble beginnings and has grown to a high-paid professional game, with the top players earning big money and teams living like footballers with their own chefs, managers, and sponsors.
When sports grow, betting usually follows, and eSports is no different, with most bookmakers now offering lines across an abundance of markets.
But how did it come to be this way? Where is it going? What are the big events we foresee eSports fans betting on in the forthcoming future, and what types of bets can fans place?
History
Since video games have entered society, there have always been movements to determine who was the best at that game. Usually, competitions would be small-scale in nature, but that all changed with the National Space Invaders Championship in 1980, held in Los Angeles. 17-year-old Rebecca Heineman won the event, which many claim to be the first world eSports Champion. A decade later, in the 90s, saw World Championships across numerous titles held by Nintendo and Blockbuster Video. Better technology and more games drove more competition. It was the increase of the internet and more powerful hardware that revolutionized competitive gaming, with the first LAN parties being held in the mid-90s to the turn of the millennium, where gamers across the landscape would meet fellow gamers online and compete with each other in their favorite games. The 2000s saw more games and more people playing than ever before, and by the end of the decade, we saw more prize money, investments, sponsors, and tournaments than ever before. The increasing scale of gaming brought with it fans, facilitated by streaming mechanisms such as Twitch. It was only a matter of time before savvy bookmakers started offering eSports markets so that fans could bet on their favorite players and teams.
eSports in 2024
According to Statista, the global eSports market is projected to reach a revenue of $4.3 billion in 2024. Almost half of this global revenue is the eSports betting market, which will have a volume of $2.5 billion in 2024. It’s only safe to say then that betting across eSports is here to stay, with more and more sportsbooks sponsoring prestigious events such as PGL Majors, Landers, and Intel Extreme Masters. eSports tournaments run throughout the year, increasing, the opportunities for avid eSports fans to wager on their favorite players and teams. However, what are the most popular games, and what types of bets might they expect to place?
Most Popular Games
There are games for everyone to watch, play, and wager on. From multiplayer online battle arena games (MOBA), first-person shooters (FPS), and sports games, here are the most popular titles that have contributed to the rapid ascent of eSports betting:
- DOTA 2 (MOBA)
- League of Legends (MOBA)
- Vaolorant (FPS)
- Counter-Strike (FPS)
- Call of Duty (FPS)
- Fifa (Sports)
- Rocket League (Sports)
- Fortnite (Battle Royale)
- PUBG (Battle Royale)
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (FPS)
Types of Bets
Like ordinary sports betting, eSports bets can exist in varying forms. Here are the most common types of eSports bets that will be offered by sportsbooks:
Outrights
An outright bet usually means that you’re betting on a particular person or team to win the whole tournament or winner. The further in advance you place a bet then the harder it is to forecast the outright winner, but this can also be an opportunity to identify good value and underpriced selections.
Match Winner
This one is self-explanatory. When you’re betting in a match-winner market, you are placing a bet on the outcome of that specific match/round. Match-winner bets can be placed before the event starts or even in play should you have an eye for where the game is going.
First Blood
For FPS and Battle Royale games, first blood is a popular bet where you predict which team or player makes the first kill.
Map Winner
Popular in the eSports world, map winner is a type of bet whereby you predict which team will win a certain map.
Total Kills
Another bet that does what it says on the tin is a total kills bet, which is usually placed in an over or under format. For example, if you have wagered total kills as over 4.5, you need your team/player to obtain at least 5 kills in the game to win your bet.
Events
The biggest eSports tournaments are what attract the most fans and eSports betters; here’s a selection of what’s coming up:
- PGL Wallachia Season 4 (Oct 4)
- Halo World Championship (Oct 4-6)
- Intel Extreme Masters – Counter-Strike 2 (Oct 7)
- DreamLeague Season 24 – DOTA 2 (Oct 27)
- League of Legends Worlds (Nov 2)
- Blast World Final – Counter-Strike 2 (Nov 11-17)
- OWCS Finals – Overwatch 2 (Nov 22-24)
- Shanghai Major – Counter-Strike 2 (Dec 1-15)
Betting safely
It’s recommended that players stick to betting platforms that are regulated and approved by gambling commissions registered in that country. Whilst there’s a temptation to go outside of these platforms and bet with cryptocurrencies and other assets, there is an increased risk if things go wrong, and you won’t be covered by the same consumer protection when using licensed operators.
Betting must also be done responsibly. If you feel that you are chasing losses or at risk of developing an addiction, make sure to use responsible betting tools such as reality checks, which inform you how long you have been using the platform, self-exclusion which you can use to stop you from placing any more bets temporarily or permanently, and deposit limits which can limit how much you can wager.
Future
eSports is only going to grow from here, and given that the global betting market represents more than half of the gaming economy, it’s likely to keep growing with it. This represents opportunities for savvy bettors, but caution is urged so that betting is done responsibly. There has never been a better time in eSports, and it’s exciting what the future will bring.
