The value of the esports betting industry is expected to rise exponentially to around $1.5 billion by 2020. This number may be surprising to those who have never even heard of esports betting, but the industry currently has a very committed fanbase.
Esports betting: What is it?
If you are reading this, there is a good chance you want to delve into the online gambling world. Here is everything you need to know before diving in.
Esports refers to the electronic gaming market. It is a form of competitive video gaming and includes a wide range of genres and games. Esports betting is gambling on the outcomes of these competitive games.
Esports betting is a huge industry and it essentially gives people the ability to place bets on esports competitions. Whether a person is a dedicated fan of a certain esports team or a casual viewer, they are all able to place bets on who they think will win a particular game or tournament.
How does esports betting work?
People have the opportunity to bet on a number of aspects of esports and not just who will win. This might include the number of skills a player will get, which player becomes the MVP (most valuable player), which character they win with, and even what the final score will be.
As with traditional betting, a gambler is able to use real-life money in order to place a bet. However, many choose to use in-game items in order to place bets. They may choose to put up a valuable or rare item to try and win money back off it or get another item in return.
Esports betting and cryptocurrency
Another form of payment for esports betting is cryptocurrency. A number of sites and games now accept cryptocurrency for bets.
Esports gamblers are normally PC gamers themselves, which typically means they have a keen eye for new technology. This means the inclusion of crypto and Bitcoin could not be any more fitting.
With the growth of Bitcoin since 2008, a large number of esports betting sites now accept the popular currency for deposits and withdrawals. Once a Bitcoin deposit has been made on an esports betting platform, the funds will normally be turned into chips or fiat currencies. The sites often use these chips to make the value closer to what a user would expect if they were using fiat currencies.
Types of bets
- Match winner – This is a very simple, straightforward type of betting. It is where gamblers place bets on who they think will be the winner of a game or match. With betting on the match winner, the odds may be fixed, meaning they are determined by an odds compiler prior to the match starting.
- Betting outrights – This is when bets are placed before a competition or game starts. The most popular bet in this category is the outright winner, but there are also a lot of bets that take place surrounding other stats such as which players continue to the next stage or which players or teams are eliminated at various stages.
- Totals – This is where gamblers will bet on total maps played, total kills, total points, or total rounds. This type of betting has nothing to do with the outcome – it is just concerned with the total stats.
The future of esports betting
Over the next few years, esports is expected to grow in large markets such as the UK where the industry has so far struggled to take off. Already existing esports sites are also expected to grow with more views encouraging more potential gamblers.
These new gamblers will lead to wider adoption and therefore new opportunities to bet. Ultimately, the esports betting industry is worth taking notice of. The competition is rising, and with growth set to reach the billions, now is the time to get on board.
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. We do not give advice on financial products.