eSports is slowly growing big, and the event is now a significant part of the gambling industry. While eSports betting has been around for several years, the coronavirus pandemic boosted its popularity as major sporting leagues were cancelled or postponed during 2020. However, the event is yet to be as massive as traditional sports betting.
So, what exactly is eSports and how does eSports betting work? For the uninitiated, eSports is an acronym for electronic sports. It’s nothing but competitive multiplayer gaming. eSports betting works similarly to sports betting. Punters pick their favourite team and game and bet on live events or the outcome.
If you’re new to eSports and would like to get started, you can easily find best esports betting sites on Betpack.com.
eSports Betting Simplified for Amateurs
Once you’re familiar with the nuances of eSports, you can start getting acquainted with eSports betting. For starters, there are five basic eSports betting strategies. These are listed below for reference.
Real Money Betting
Like traditional sports betting, real money betting works in the same manner. Players must find out the odds from the bookies and place their wagers accordingly. If you win, the bookie pays out the odds. Punters can wager on multiple outcomes, probabilities, or a combination of both.
Social Betting
This is a very popular betting variety in eSports as the community was largely unorganised fairly recently. Social betting is informal betting among a group of friends, colleagues, or social contacts. Social wagers can be about real money, in-game skins, or any other object of material value.
Skin Betting
Skin betting or item betting is quite popular in the eSports community. Since modern video games offer several rare items considered valuable, players often resort to putting a rare item on the line. Hence, several auction sites and escrow services dealing with rare skins have come up recently. These platforms serve as the mediator during such wagers.
Challenge Betting
Also called head-to-head betting, this is popular when gamers compete against one another for a chance to win a rare skin or a pre-decided pot. Challenge betting is fairly popular in the eSports betting scene and is hosted by most online casinos. However, challenge betting is exclusively meant for gamers. Hence, it’s best left to the professionals.
Fantasy Betting
This is unlike anything that traditional punters are aware of. However, fantasy betting leagues have gained steady popularity in the past couple of years. But since it doesn’t involve real money, it’s not very popular in professional circles.
Betting Tips and Advice
Knowing the basics of eSports betting is one thing and placing an actual wager is quite another. You could make real money from eSports betting using one of the several strategies available for free. Let’s explore a few of them in detail.
Understanding the Odds
Before placing a wager, you must calculate the odds of the game. Familiarise yourself with the latest odds and pick a side accordingly.
Find Value in Betting Odds
Value betting is one of the oldest gambling concepts, and the basics are the same for eSports betting. The trick is to analyse the odds and calculate the value of every bet.
Bankroll Management
Bankroll management is one of the most crucial skills for an aspiring punter since most gamblers tend to overshoot the budget and end up in the ditch. So, it pays to practice right from the beginning.
Line Shopping
Perhaps the easiest way to improve the betting odds, line shopping is the process of finding the most favourable odds in a situation.