Guest article
Esports or electronic sports is the umbrella term used for all competitions using computer and video games.
As you know, all around the world, millions of people tune in to watch professional players compete in their favourite games, ranging from Counter-Strike to League of Legends.
The biggest of them all in terms of prize pool is a tournament for Dota 2 called The International, in which there is a whopping $25.5m in the prize pool for 2018.
Newzoo has estimated that the global esports economy will reach $905.6m in 2018 as brand investment grows by 48%.
Esports is reaching a global audience of around 380m people this year. Newzoo estimates there are over 36m gamers in the UK, of which 3.1m are esports enthusiasts.
Around 10% of the UK’s population are estimated to watch esports casually or regularly. but, betting sites are yet to fully embrace this incredibly fun brand.
How Do We Find the Best Esports Betting Sites?
The best UK betting sites have been offering esports for quite some time now. However, they are mostly focused on the biggest tournaments around the world.
When looking for the best esports betting sites we look at three factors:
- The sport
- Event choice
- Bet variety
The sport. It sounds simple, but of course we must check to see if the betting site even offers esports. Sadly, many do not.
Event choice. How many events can we find? Are there a wide range of games, or just LoL, Dota 2, CSGO etc.
Bet variety. Can you bet on more than just the match winner? You want to find a variety to look for value in your bets.
Betway
Betway was one of the first betting sites to embrace the esports brand. They now have a dedicated page for all esports events and bets that they feature on their site. Here you can find events ranging from CSGO to Dota 2, League of Legends and others.
There are a number of betting markets to choose from in each different event. You can find handicaps, match totals, correct scores and more.
Betway also has esports specific promotions to get the most value for your money.
Unibet
At the moment, Unibet offers just four esports to bet on: CSGO, LoL, Overwatch and StarCraft II. It is a shame to miss Dota 2 for the sheer number of impressive tournaments they host every year.
There is still more available than most other betting sites. But, they only have one or two markets in most events. A lot of the time you can only bet on the match winner.
Betsson
A Swedish powerhouse in the betting industry provides us with a very good esports platform. Here you will find all the big sports and tournaments in CSGO, LoL, OW, Dota 2, and SC2.
On some events, you can only bet on the match winner. But, in CS, LoL and OW you can bet on handicaps, correct score, number of maps, map winner, and more.
Article contains affiliate links
