Since time immemorial, humans have always had a penchant for betting on any form of sports, the weather, whether your best friend will get to first base with that hot girl at the bar... generally anything that has nice odds. It just seems to be in our nature.

So, it’s not at all surprising to see the emergence of a betting community once eSports have grown to reach a substantial size – and by “substantial”, we’re referring to the tens of millions of eSport fans worldwide. Sites that cater to our need to bet on our favorite eSport teams have mushroomed throughout the internet.

Surely, you’ll have questions about this betting phenomenon in eSports and well, we’re here to provide you with answers. Let’s jump in!

What is an “eSport”?

eSport or Electronic Sport is a form of competitive gaming where individual players or teams compete for a fixed number of rounds in a game (usually online or video games) before a winner, usually the player or team with the highest score, is determined.

Not all competitive games can be “turned” into an eSport though. So far, eSport includes genres like MOBA, MMOFPS, fighting, and RTS games along with the few rare arena-based PvP tournaments for some MMORPGs like World of Warcraft.

Over the years, many eSport tournaments have cropped up, offering live broadcasts and streaming, millions of dollars’ worth of prize money, and even corporate sponsorships for teams. In effect, eSports have gradually evolved to become the next form of sports – the digital kind.

eSports vs Sports Betting: A Comparison

As with many types of sports betting, once an eSport game has reached a sizeable viewership and popularity, the viewers themselves will want to bet on their favorite teams. After all, it’s only natural for them to want to feel like they are part of the action, and besides spending money on merch to express their enthusiasm, another way to do so is by placing bets.

Betting in eSports can be rather different from what you may be used to in any form of sports betting though. Unlike real life betting where real cash is king, in eSports betting, gamblers can use tradable and valuable in-game items to place their wager. This is particularly true for games like Defense of the Ancients 2 ((DotA 2) and Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) where players often bet using in-game (virtual) items and skins.

More players bet on DotA2 eSport than on any other eSports

For some eSports-betting sites, players are even allowed to place bets using game cash, especially in games where game currency can be purchased usually through the official game company using real cash, and/or cryptocurrency. Similar to those play-for-fun online casinos, there are virtual betting sites for eSports too. Players on those sites will bet using the site’s unique virtual currency and can redeem their virtual currency for gifts (both real and in-game stuff).

Also, bear in mind that most eSports bettors are players of the game they bet on, so they may likely have better insight into how the game works and may be able to come up with better odds, or so they thought. This sort of mentality might just make some players, who may never have thought to gamble in the first place, to start consider placing bets on potential pro-gamers or teams. In some way, eSports-betting is bringing in a whole new group of young bettors who are just eager to pit their knowledge of the game and of pro-gamers in hopes of winning.

Concerns for Legitimacy

As eSports-betting is still pretty much in its infancy, much like eSport itself, there have been numerous reports of “scammy” sites on the internet that are cheating gamblers of their items and cash, especially for DotA 2-related sites.

However, the legitimacy issue can be easily resolved by taking a look at the reviews of these betting sites - the same way you’d check for the review of a new UK-based sports betting site you’ve found on BettingTop10, before placing any amount on a bet. Where real money is concerned, it’s just the wise thing to do.

Admittedly, for eSports though, there isn’t a lot of these review sites yet. That said, aside from Googling for reviews, there’s a pretty helpful community of pro-gaming fans on Reddit that has kept a list of reliable and trustworthy eSports-betting sites for all to refer to. It’s not a review site per se, but the information provided there is as detailed and comprehensive as it goes.

eSports have seen a tremendous increase in terms of its popularity over the years and this trend is predicted to continue its steep rise in the years to come. Due to this, as well as the fact that more game developers are coming up with eSports-specific games just to cater to this growing group of competitive gamers, it is obvious that eSports themselves will help boost the eSports betting industry, allowing hardcore and casual bettors alike to enjoy more betting options and better service from eSports betting sites in the future.

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The Betting Phenomenon in eSports

What is an “eSport”?

eSports vs Sports Betting: A Comparison

Concerns for Legitimacy

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