Esports betting sites are by far the most important reason why competitive video games are so popular right now. Everything is just that much more entertaining if you wager money on your favorite team to win or you land an insane accumulator, right? This is why we want to point you in the right direction by providing the best esports betting sites and also giving you an opportunity to choose the best bookmaker for yourself.
Best Esports Betting Sites
When ranking esports betting sites, we want to keep things realistic and talk about the pros and cons of every operator we recommend. Important things such as high odds, variety of esports markets to bet on, diverse payment methods, and solid reputation are just a part of the strict criteria we use when suggesting operators for our readers.
*below, you can find the best esports betting sites that tick all of our boxes.
Which Betting Site Fits You the Best?
The fact is, every esports betting site thrives in certain aspects of our criteria, but they also don’t fulfill the other requirements. This is why we didn’t want to offer you a list of 15+ betting sites because they simply don’t tick all of the necessary boxes.
We believe that it would be for the best if we provide you with enough information that will allow you to choose which betting site would be perfect for you. Let’s get straight into it.
GG.bet
If you tend to stream esports matches, you’ve probably heard about GG.bet. After doing our due diligence, we came to the conclusion that this is by far the best esports betting site on the market.
High odds and in-depth coverage of over 15 esports titles are what make them stand out. They also offer live(in-play) betting with integrated streaming on their platform. Keep in mind that you’ll also enjoy a variety of betting markets for esports matches. On top of that, you can also bet on the tournament outcomes. There are also a lot of bonuses included and customer support is available 24 hours a day.
There is one thing that’s bothering us when we talk about GG.bet. Their overlay is crowded and it can be hard for beginners to find their way around the site. For more information, read our GG.bet review.
LOOT.bet
This betting site also ticks a lot of the boxes. Let’s start with the coverage. There are 24 esports to bet on. The fact is, not all of that esports are covered in great depth, but the most important ones(CS:GO, LoL, Dota 2, etc.), come with a decent range of special bets you can use. The odds for both live betting and pre-match betting are more than fair.
What really stands out regarding this betting site is the number of bonuses you can enjoy. At the time of writing, there are two running promotions and a ladder. In LOOT.bet’s ladder, you can bet, earn points and win rewards such as a new iPhone, gaming equipment, cash, etc.
LOOT.bet also offers a wide range of payment methods including cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, etc. Keep in mind that most of these methods come with a minimum deposit of 10€ and this is a lot for some bettors. For more information about this operator, refer to our LOOT.bet review.
Betway
On our list, we also decided to include a betting site that isn’t exclusively esports-related. Most UK punters are well-aware that Betway is a traditional operator that was mostly focused on sports like soccer, NBA, tennis, etc.
Did you know that they were one of the first betting sites that started offering odds for esports matches? To make things even better, they realized how important betting on esports will become and they even invested in sponsoring events and esports teams.
Odds-wise, Betway offers competitive odds for pre-match betting and their live betting odds are topping the charts. Coverage here is also great with 10+ esports available for betting.
Betway has by far the best reputation out of the three sites on our list and they have been around since 2006., and that says a lot about them. The site is easy to use and you’ll have no problems finding the matches you want to bet on. Live streams are integrated into their platform and there is a decent number of payment methods you can use.
Let’s talk about the things Betway doesn’t offer. First and foremost, they don’t accept any form of crypto deposits or withdrawals. Secondly, they cover the most popular esports titles in great depth while other esports that aren’t as popular are only covered when there is a big tournament happening.
Lastly, there is a decent number of betting markets, but that number is definitely lacking once compared to GG.bet and LOOT.bet. To get an even better perspective on this operator, go through our Betway review.
Things to Look Out For When Choosing Esports Betting Site
When it comes to ranking the best esports betting sites, we use certain criteria. Starting with the quality of odds, and variety of payment methods, all the way to the customer support and esports bonuses you can enjoy.
Esports Odds Are Most Important
If you want to join a betting site, you better make sure they offer competitive odds otherwise you won’t win as much as you should. The fact is, odds provide value. The higher the odds, the bigger the reward.
It’s also important for you to know that doing the odds comparison is super easy. Pick a couple of sites you’re interested in, find the same match, and compare the odds for the bet you’d like to place. Do that until you have a decent analysis and you’ll easily find out which sites offer the best odds.
Decent Number of Payment Methods is Super Necessary
These are the modern days and there are a lot of available methods you can use to fund your account. We believe that 70% of bettors are more than happy to use credit cards, e-wallets, and pre-paid cards. Most operators do cover these.
However, traditional bookmakers are lacking when it comes to crypto payments, so make sure you keep that in mind. For instance, LOOT.bet and GG.bet will offer crypto deposits and withdrawals while Betway nor bet365 won’t.
Don’t Ignore Security, License, and Reputation
Once you provide the betting site with your credit card number or your wallet info, you want this information to be safely stored, right? The same applies to your personal information.
License is also an important part of the reputation process as you definitely don’t want to trust a betting site that isn’t licensed and regulated by a certain government or a commission. Before joining the site, make sure you scroll to the bottom where you can find which authority gave them the license.
Last but not least, overall reputation is super important and it’s one of the factors that can deter you from joining the betting site. We strongly believe that the betting sites from our list above are all reputable and fair. Do your due diligence if you opt for any other site.
Simplistic Overlay That’s Easy to Use
Crowded overlays proved to be a problem for a lot of new bettors. Eventually, they switched operators until they found something that will allow them to slowly but surely learn how the betting game works.
With a perfect overlay, you want important thing such as live betting, deposits, and bonuses to be just a couple of clicks away. The registration form should also be easy to follow and it shouldn’t require a ton of information straight away. Lastly, the odds format is important for some punters and you must have the ability to choose the format you’re used to.
Variety of Esports Matches to Bet on
Good coverage is vital. You need to understand that every big esports tournament or league is covered in great depth by a large number of operators. Small events are problematic for them. If you want to bet regularly, then you want a chance to bet on the smaller events alongside the big ones, right?
Live Betting is a Must
The biggest value in esports betting comes from live(in-play) bets. If you know how the game works, you can easily spot when the odds are off or whether there is a chance that the tides could turn on the map.
When choosing a betting site, go over to their live section and first find out whether they have a live stream embedded into their platform. Secondly, see how often they block live odds and how long it takes them to be available for wagering again. Good live betting esports site will not keep their odds blocked for more than 5-10 seconds.
Are Esports Bonuses Important to You?
There is always a debate about whether bonuses and other promotions provide any value or they’re just milking out more money from you. Here are a couple of things you should do to make sure you’re getting a good deal for yourself.
Always go through the terms and conditions of every bonus you want to claim. It doesn’t matter whether that is a free bet bonus or a matched deposit. Go through the T&Cs and find out whether rollover requirements are easy to meet and what’s the maximum amount of money you can get out of the bonus funds you claimed.
Comparing Esports Betting Sites vs Traditional Operators
A lot of our readers are asking us to compare esports betting sites to their traditional rivals. On paper, they offer the same things, but once we took a deep dive into this subject, we noticed a couple of interesting things.
Esports betting sites tend to offer higher esports odds and their coverage is always better than the one provided by traditional bookies. Also bear in mind that the number of special bets is also heavily in favor of esports betting sites.
There are also things where traditional operators thrive. By far the most important aspect is reputation. Esports betting hasn’t been around for long, especially once compared to traditional sports. Bookmakers like bet365 or Betway have a long history of betting hence why their reputation will always be on a level above, once compared to the esports operators.
Keep in mind that the overlay traditional sportsbooks offer is much easier to use and it also gives a chance to manage the site much faster without having to worry that you’ll miss out on something.
Real Money Esports Betting vs Skin Gambling
This has been another burning topic in the world of esports betting. The short answer is, real money betting is always a better option. Laws and regulations have been put in place when processing real money requests while the same can’t be said about skin gambling.
You’ll never know when will someone scam you and the fact that there are no possibilities for you to get your skins back means that skin gambling gets a big no from us.
Is Esports Betting Legal?
The most important thing you need to ask yourself when looking for an answer to the “is esports betting legal?” is your national legislation. Certain countries prohibit online betting for their citizens, so make sure you know for a fact that your country will allow you to bet online.
The fact that traditional sportsbooks like Betway offer esports betting alongside traditional sports mean that esports are regulated well enough to be listed on their site. You should also be aware that esports betting is allowed in certain parts of the USA as well.
Our Verdict on Esports Betting Sites
You need to be very careful when choosing an esports betting site for yourself. There are a lot of options on the market, so make sure you do the research and find out whether an operator is worth your time and money.
Read through the T&Cs when claiming bonuses and other promotions to not find yourself in a problem when withdrawing and make sure it doesn’t take you too long to meet the wagering requirements otherwise your bonus funds will be revoked. All in all, we hope that our list of the best esports betting sites will help guide you in the right direction and we strongly believe that these sites will provide you with everything you need to profit and have fun while betting on esports.
FAQs
Is it Possible to Bet on Esports?
Yes, esports betting is becoming more and more popular. Certain tournaments like the International in Dota 2, World Championship in League of Legends, and CS:GO Majors are watched by millions all over the world. This also attracts a wide range of esports bettors.
What Are the Best Esports to Bet on?
There are plenty of esports to bet on. However, esports betting sites offer excellent coverage and wide range of betting markets for esports titles like Dota 2, League of Legends, and CS:GO. All of this makes these three esports best to bet on.
Can Esports Betting Sites Scam Me?
If you decide to start betting on esports, it's in your best interest to use betting sites that have reputation behind them. You also need to keep in mind that every legit operator is licensed and regulated by a certain commission or government hence why you should never sign up and bet on a site that's not licensed.
