eSports Betting Introduction: Types of Bets, Part 1

Usually when you bet on sports, you probably stick with the classics: football, cricket, rugby, tennis, the NFL, basketball, ice hockey, and so on.  But these days sports encompass a lot more than just athletics!  The definition of “sports” is being expanded to include virtual competitions as well.  Now, tens of millions of spectators around the world are tuning into streaming tournaments in games like Quake, Call of Duty, Starcraft II, Dota 2, and League of Legends. 

UK betting sites like William Hill have added eSports to their betting markets, so you can now wager money on the outcomes of these games.  Hundreds of millions of dollars are already being wagered on eSports.  By 2020, Eilers Research believes that amount will rise above $23 billion.

If you are thinking about getting into eSports betting, you are probably wondering how it works and what types of bets you can place.  You will discover that betting on eSports really is not all that different from betting on traditional sports. 

Common types of eSports bets include:

Outright Bets

This is one of the most common types of bets, where you simply wager on the team or player you expect to win the entire tournament.  While this may sound simple, it is never easy.  There are generally a huge number of players involved in the initial rounds, so placing an outright bet at the start of an event and winning it is very challenging.  You will find even if you bet on the favourite, you can often get a good value, because there is little certainty that even that person or team will win the entire tournament.

Note that there are other types of outright bets you can take as well; you could for example wager on who will score the highest points for the entire tournament.  So there are a lot of possibilities here. 

When can you take an outright bet?  You can do it at the start of the tournament or early on in the event, or you can wait and do it later.  When you should do it is another question entirely.  There are advantages to betting early, but disadvantages too.  As mentioned previously, because it is so hard to predict an outcome at the start of a tournament, you can get an amazing value even on the favourite.  But you are also less likely to win.

If you bet later, you are more likely to actually guess the winner and win your bet, but the odds will no longer be as small, and you will not win as much money (a scenario you are likely very familiar with from betting on traditional sports).

Match Bets

If you do not want to bet on an entire tournament, you can always bet on a single match.  This is typically more popular that outright betting for a number of reasons.  When you bet on a match, the action unfolds quickly and you win or lose without a lot of delay or suspense.  With outright bets by contrast, you have to wait an entire tournament season to find out if you won or not (unless of course the player you bet on washes out early).

Match bets are popular for their simplicity as well.  Usually the only options are win or lose.  Under some circumstances, draws may be possible as well.  There are not as many players to bet on, and there may actually be a strong favourite.  Matches are more predictable than tournaments, and a great place to start before you get into outright bets.

Now you know a couple of ways you can bet on eSports like Dota 2, Call of Duty and League of Legends.  Be sure to read onto the next instalments (eSports Betting Introduction: Types of Bets, Part 2 and Part 3) to learn about other types of eSports wagers you can place with your UK betting site!