The term Esports defines sports that are played online. Nowadays online games/sports are in trend, especially amongst youth. There are lots of gamers across the world who love to play video games. These games are played in an organized and competitive manner where players play online in a team-based format or individually against each other. Esports can be played through PCs, consoles, and mobiles.
Esports betting refers to wagering in the online sports industry. There was a time when esports was played just for fun and entertainment. However, the concept of esports betting has become vast and not limited to the fun. There are professional gamers who play and earn money. Professionals and experts bet money/skin on this esports and earn rewards out of it.
Popular Sports in Esports Betting Sites
CS:GO – CS:GO stands for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, is the worldwide popular game to bet on Esports. This is generally the game that Esports bookies offer the most odds on. This requires a registration process and selection of the best site to bet on.
DOTA 2 – Being one of the other biggest Esports games across the world. The thrill-seekers are looking to bet on DOTA2. It has professional tournaments with huge prizes. With plenty of these fantastic tournaments to place Dota2 bets on. The bet on Dota 2 is not limited to the finance but there is also possible to bet on Dota 2 Skins & items
League of Legends Betting – Like its name, LoL requires thorough knowledge to bet and make money. It is however possible to use knowledge of the game and the competitive scene. To earn a little extra by placing real money bets on the professional team that is betting it out.
Apart from these, there are few other betting game variants like Fortnite, Overwatch, Call of Duty, Valorant, PubG, etc.
Let’s talk about the types of betting in the Esports Industry
Real Money Betting – The bet is decided on a certain amount in currency and gets paid out of it if selections are correct. The winners are of individual game basis as well as the overall game basis. Real money betting is mainly done on sports like Dota 2, CS:GO, League of Legend, etc. It is also called traditional betting.
Skin Betting – This is one of the most popular betting sites where the betting is done through skin/ item. In this, the gambles take place on items and get auctioned and traded by different sites.
Social Betting – Social betting is a kind of informal bet that takes place between friends/relatives/colleagues on a particular esports. This bet is might be of real money or skin.
Fantasy Betting – This is not technically betting at all. Since it’s just like daily fantasy sports for traditional sports, but we build our rosters using esports players instead.
Esports Betting and World Economy
There is a rapid increase in the esports betting sector which leads to higher revenue generation all across the world. However, few countries donated a certain amount of generated revenue towards the national fund. In 2015 it was estimated by SuperData Research that the global esports industry generated revenue of around US$748.8 million that year. Asia is the leading esports market with over $321 million in revenue. North America is around $224 million, and Europe has $172 million, and the rest of the world for about $29 million. Global esports revenue is estimated to reach $1.9 billion by 2018. The UK-based gambling charity, GambleAware, has announced that betting and gambling operators have donated $4.5 million over the course of the first three quarters of the 2020-21 financial year.
The top donator from the betting and gambling industry was Flutter Entertainment. They donated a total of £874,000 in the first nine months of the financial year.
Esports Betting and Law
While game publishers or esports broadcasters typically act in oversight roles for specific esports, several esports governing bodies have been established to collectively represent esports on a national, regional, or global basis. These governing bodies may have various levels of involvement with esports, from being part of esports regulation to simply acting more as a trade group and public face for esports.
The International Esports Federation (IESF) was one of the first such bodies. Originally formed in 2008 to help promote esports in the Southeast Asian region, it has grown to include 56 member countries from across the globe. The IESF has managed the annual Esport World Championships for teams from its member countries across multiple games