eSports Betting
eSports Betting is a rapidly growing new betting market. Players compete on popular video games and bettors choose sides on the result.
The popularity of video games and streaming gameplay on sites like twitch.tv has exploded in recent years. Video games have become a spectator sport, with hundreds of millions of fans globally.
Pinnacle accepted the first ever bet on eSports in 2010
With the viewership of video game tournaments and gameplay exceeding that of many sports, many sportsbooks have taken note and now allow bettors to place wagers on the outcome of eSports games and tournaments.
Currently the majority of betting takes place on the four most popular games in eSports:
DOTA2
Defense Of The Ancients 2 (DOTA2) is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game. Players control characters who level up with experience which is accumulated throughout the game. Players earn more experience for strong play, less for weak play. The objective for the players is to destroy “the ancient” which is inside the stronghold of their opponent. Players are on a team together working to complete the objective. A team wins a game of DOTA 2 when they destroy their opponents “ancient” or all of their opponents leave the match.
League of Legends
League of legends (LoL) is a MOBA just like DOTA2. DOTA2 and LoL are extremely similar, players work together to destroy their enemies base and gain experience throughout the match for strong play.
Starcraft 2
Starcraft 2 is a Real-Time Strategy (RTS) game. Players collect resources throughout the game and use those resources to build buildings and units in order to grow both an economy and an army. The objective of the player is to destroy all of their opponents units and buildings. Victory is achieved through military tactics and a rapid development of infrastructure. Once all enemy units and structures are destroyed, or a player’s opponent leaves a match, a player wins.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) is a first-person shooter (FPS) game. Players compete in a variety of game types to achieve objectives and win the game.
When betting on eSports, the markets offered are the same as those in traditional sports betting.