eSports Betting Introduction: Types of Bets, Part 3

Not all that long ago, the idea of wagering significant money on a video game tournament with a major betting site like William Hill would have seemed odd.  Nowadays it is business as usual, and a growing one at that.  Within a few years, gaming research firms estimate that billions of dollars will be wagered on various pro gaming tournaments each year. 

If you want to bet on video gaming, there are a number of types of bets available, most of which will be quite familiar to you from wagering on traditional athletics.  In eSports Betting Introduction: Types of Bets, Part 1, Part 2, I talked about a few of those types of bets: match bets, outright bets, handicap bets, and special bets.  Now I want to tell you about one more.

Accumulator Bets

This is a complex type of bet where you string together a number of wagers and wait to win them all.  If that sounds familiar to you, it is probably because you recognise this as a parlay bet from traditional punting. 

So for example, instead of wagering on just one match outcome, you might wager on 2, 3, 4, 5, or more.  If you lose even one, you lose the entire wager, but if you win them all, you can get a huge payout. 

Usually I do not recommend parlay bets in sports, because there are just so many flukes that can cost a team a game in traditional athletics.  Strategically speaking, things may be different with eSports. Why?  There are often many one-on-one matches which play out quickly with clear favourites.  Getting good odds on these individual matches can be tough, because they are easy to call.  But if you stack them up in an accumulator bet, you may get a good payout. 

Still, be cautious with accumulator bets!  They carry a higher risk, and they can cost you dearly.  When you first start wagering on eSports, I definitely suggest you stick with simple match bets.  Once you start getting a feel for it, you can try the other types of bets!