eSports Betting Websites Guide 2016

eSports Online Betting looks set to be the next big online gambling craze with the worldwide audience now reaching the 100 million mark the race is on to provide players with the best possible eSports betting experience.

eSports is the word of the moment in the online gambling and sports betting world with games such as League of Legends, Counter Strike, DOTA and Call of Duty leading a wave of new generation sporting opportunities. In 2015 we saw the prize money for the League of Legends World Championships rise to a staggering $1 Million with the second place winners raking in $250,000.

What Is eSports?

eSports, short for Electronic Sports is the term given to professional online gaming. By gaming we are not talking about online gambling, we’re referring to the much loved past time of many a teenager and man-child around the world that love to take part in a little bit of competitive multiplayer video gaming action.

Once just a dream of every kid in the world eSports has now become a massive industry with prize pools for the biggest competitions in excess of $1 million dollars before sponsorship and salaries are taken into account. The most popular and successful games in this burgeoning new industry are games such as:

• League of Legends
• Counter Strike: CSGO
• DOTA2
• Startcraft 2
• Call of Duty

The origins of eSports competitive video gaming hold its roots in countries such as South Korea officially recognizing professional video gaming as early as 2000. Europe and America have been much slower on the uptake, however just over 3 years ago a Canadian player was officially recognized by the USA as an international athlete which marked a turning point in the industry.

At then of 2013 worldwide viewers were estimated at around 71,500,000 and in three short years those numbers have risen to over 100,000,000 viewers globally for major events. If the growth continues then the future is very bright indeed for these ambitious young gamers hoping to live the dream as a professional eSports gamer.

What is Online eSports Betting?

eSports Betting is the next logical step to truly mark this budding new industry as a legitimate sport. Any sport worth its salt, electronic or not is only really considered a major sport once people are ready to lay down some cash and bet on the results. That’s exactly what is starting to happen in major sportsbooks around the world.

As things stand markets are limited due to the limited number of events that are available when you compare the sport to something like Football or Tennis, however over the next few years this number is expected to rise significantly as companies start to recognize the sponsorship and advertising opportunities available within eSports.

At the moment it’s fairly easy to find an online esports betting website offering markets such as Match Winner as well as Tournament Outright Winners for major events across LoL (League of Legends), CSGO, Starcraft and DOTA.

eSports Betting Websites

We’ve searched through our casino database to dig out which of our verified and reviewed online casinos currently offer eSports betting markets and odds to bring you a list of sites along with bonuses available if you want to try your hand at a little online esports betting:

SuperLenny Sports

Listed as one of our featured online casinos, SuperLenny is one of our favourite casinos and sportsbooks with players giving great reviews on the latest version of the casino that went live in February 2016.

Register at SuperLenny and grab yourself a £40 Free Bet to use on eSports bets within the SuperLenny sportsbook. Here how the free bet offer works:

• Make a deposit up to £40 and place a bet on your choice of eSports events.
• As long as you back someone at odds of 2.0 or over our good friends at SuperLenny will pay you back if you lose in the form of a free bet.
• Wager your bonus 1 time to withdraw any winnings from your free bet.

That’s all there is to it. SuperLenny currently offer odds on League of Legends across Europe, North America, China and South Korea as well as markets on Counter Strike Global Offensive, DOTA 2 WePlay League and Starcraft 2 Star League for a great coverage of a wide range of eSports leagues.

£40 Free Bet at SuperLenny

ComeOn Sports

ComeOn casino is another one of our featured online sportsbooks for which we have some exclusive bonus offers agreed for all new registering players. If you’re not already a player then take advantage of a 100% Matched Deposit Sports Betting Bonus up to £25, all you need to do is follow these simple steps:

• Register an account at ComeOn
• Make a deposit up to £25
• Wager your deposit & bonus 8 times on multiples type eSports bets.

This bonus can be used on a multiple bet on any of the markets available from League of Legends, DOTA 2, CSGO and Startcraft as well as being fully transferable to the online casino if you fancy giving that a try also.

£25 Free at ComeOn

NetBet

At the NetBet online sports betting you can grab yourself a £50 Free Bet which is awarded as 50% of your first deposit and can be used on any sport including all of the eSports matches that exceed odds of 1.50. Follow these steps to take advantage of the NetBet £50 free bet:

• Register an account at NetBet
• Make a Deposit up to £100
• Wager your deposit once
• Receive up to £50 to use as a free bet

All the usual eSports games and markets are available for CSGO, Dota 2, Starcraft and of course the ever popular League of Legends game.

£50 Free at NetBet

Future of eSports Betting

Overall the future of eSports in general looks very bright, with over 100 million fans world wide and growing by the tens of millions each year its only a matter of time before the term eSports becomes common place in workplaces and general discussions throughout the UK and Europe.

As with all sports online betting will play a big role, and eSports betting will be no different. We expect to see some pretty big changes in the coming years especially when it comes to in-play betting and live streaming which are currently lacking in a lot of current eSports betting products.

We’ll keep you updated and bring you more guides in the future focusing on the specific eSports games that look set to take 2016 by storm!