ESports are one of the hottest new trends in online sports betting. With traditional sports like baseball and basketball put on hold while the coronavirus pandemic continues, there is a big vacuum as far as entertainment goes. Luckily, ESports have filled this hole quite nicely for the time being.
What are ESports? Basically, they are competitive video games. But like the traditional sports that we’ve come to love over the years, the ESports that you can bet on all have a formalized set of rules and regulations, making them a great alternative to other sports at this time of social distancing.
New to ESports?
If you’re new to ESports, betting on them can be kind of overwhelming. How can you possibly bet effectively on something that you don’t have much knowledge about? This is definitely a barrier for a lot of people, but it doesn’t need to be one for you. Furthermore, you might even be able to gain an edge over those that don’t know the sport well by educating yourself a little bit.
So, the first thing to do is to start learning more about the sport. Find a good ESports website or blog and start reading. Start watching some of the matches that are streamed, either on Twitch, YouTube, or Facebook. Subscribe to a few of the professional players’ channels and start learning more about it.
League of Legends
There are tons of video games out there. Quickly, you will learn that one rises above all the others when it comes to professional ESports. On sites like DraftKings, League of Legends is the big game. Because of that, you’ll probably want to spend some time learning about the game. You can even download it and start playing it for no cost if you’d like to get a first-hand look at what the excitement is all about.
Next, you’ll want to check out the available statistics. Which teams have the best win rate? Have these teams faced off before? What about the individual players on the team? Do they have specialties, like First Blood or a certain type of spell that they have a peculiar mastery over? All of these things need to be taken into account when you’re getting ready to set your bets.
Know the Bets
There are a few different things that you can bet on when you’re looking at ESports, just like there is with traditional sports. For example, you can bet on the winning team through a moneyline bet. This is a straight win bet. Typically, the better the team, the less the moneyline bet will payout.
You will often see “Best of” matches in League of Legends. Typically, teams face off for the best of three or best of five match, and the first team to win a majority of those matches is the victor. This is similar to a playoff set up in baseball or basketball. Because so many teams are evenly matched and because there is a high element of variance to these games, the longer the series, the more accurate the eventual winner will be. However, this is information that you can use to inform your betting. Spread bets tend to be set at 1.5 since the best of three match is the most common format that’s used. If you bet on the favorite to cover the spread, you are betting that they will go 2-0. If you are betting on the underdog to cover the spread, you are betting that they will either win or take one out of the three matches. Spread bets have become very popular in LoL betting, but as a result of this they don’t pay out as much.
You can also bet on individual matchups. In the world of LoL, this is called winning a map. You can bet on the first round, or whatever else the sportsbook is offering.
Prop bets also exist in the world of ESports. These will vary a bit depending on where you’re playing, but some common examples include the first team to destroy an inhibitor and the first player to kill a dragon. These are harder to predict, so they will have higher payouts.
Get Started!
Now that you’ve got a grip on the basics, it’s time to get started. The first step is to head over to DraftKings or FanDuel and create an account if you don’t have one already. You will be asked to give some basic information, like your name, address, age, and a few other things. Remember, online sports betting isn’t legal in every single state at this point, so sites do need to take steps to make sure that you’re allowed to use the services that they provide.
Next, you’ll need to fund your account. You can do this with a credit card or wire transfer at pretty much every site. Some sites, like DraftKings, allow you to use e-wallets or PayPal. Whatever method you use for funding your account should be the same method that you plan to use for a withdrawal, so don’t use a disposable credit card or a bank account that you plan on closing in the near future.
And that’s it! You’re ready to start betting on ESports. This is a whole new world of action, so get ready to experience competition like you never have before.
