There’s no debating the fact that esports have gone mainstream. The top players in the various disciplines are stars on par with athletes who play in leagues like the NFL or NBA. Many of them are earning six-figure salaries to play video games for a living. The major esports events are broadcast live and draw massive crowds that can fill stadiums.
There are regularly-scheduled major esports competitions and this has caught the attention of the big-time online sportsbooks. Today, no matter the sportsbook, you’ll find that they are offering odds and betting lines in a variety of esports markets, with the listings for these esports events occupying prominent space alongside traditional sports such as MLB and English Premier League soccer. More than $2 billion is wagered annually on esports.
You can easily place bets on any of the popular esports through many leading online sports betting sites. For instance, the BetOnline app has a dedicated esports vertical. You’ll find unparalleled coverage of esports events and a wide variety of markets on which to wager. There are betting lines on virtual sports games such as NBA 2K and FIFA, to first-person shooter games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Call Of Duty.
Let’s take a look at the esports that are proving to be the most popular plays with bettors.
Counter Strike: Global Offensive
It is arguably the most popular esports title in terms of attention given to it by the sheer volume of fan support. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive – CS:GO to those who are hardcore followers of the competition taking place on this game, is the popularly played competitive game, with over 6,300 teams competing around the world according to echarts.com.
CS:GO is a first-person shooter game. The basis of the game pits two teams against each other as they compete across a variety of maps. The dramatic action, the fast pace of game play and the fact that it’s not a complicated game to play or follow help to make CS:GO such a popular entity.
Prominent CS:GO betting markets include match winner, total maps played, map winner, round winner, most kills, and most headshots.
League Of Legends
One of the longest-running games in the esports realm, League Of Legends remains just as relevant and popular today as ever. It’s drawn more eyeballs to view it than any other game so far in 2024. More than 2.6 million people have taken in some League Of Legends action.
In terms of game play, League Of Legends is an intimidating, complicated game. There are many systems that must be learned by a newcomer and that can prove overwhelming. On top of that, you must choose which character to play as from over 150 champions.
League Of Legends betting markets that you’ll find at an online sports betting site include match winner, league winner, outright winner, odd/even, handicap, correct score, match winner, first blood, first to get a certain amount of kills, most kills, Quadra kill, Penta kill, first baron slayed, first dragon slayed, first inhibitor destroyed, and first tower destroyed.
Dota 2
Dota 2 takes the top spot among esports when it comes to the prize money awarded. There’s been in excess of $3.15 million paid out in cash to Dota 2 competitors.
Launched in 2013, Dota 2 is a multiplayer online battle arena video game. The game is played in matches between two teams of five players. Each team occupies and defends its own separate base on the map. Each of the 10 players independently controls a powerful character known as a hero. Each of these heroes have unique abilities and differing styles of play.
Betting markets for Dota 2 include moneyline, outrights, map winners, correct map score, hero kills and total maps.
FIFA
For those who prefer that their esports fix be grounded closer to reality than fantasy, FIFA is the game for you. Worldwide, it’s been the most popular sports-based video game for decades, with hundreds of millions of players spanning the globe. And the FIFA players and followers have taken their passion for taking over the virtual doppelgangers of the world’s best soccer players to great heights in esports competition.
The most popular betting markets for FIFA include match winner, round winner, more or fewer goals, which team to score first, goal at zero, playable character performance, player performance and team performance.
Fortnite
A relative newcomer to this genre, the popularity of Fortnite in the esports realm seemed to explode almost overnight. Fortnite Battle Royale drew more than 125 million players in less than a year following its 2017 release.
There are six distinct game mode versions for Fortnite, although each variety shares the same general gameplay and game engine.
Online betting sites extensively cover the Champion Series and Fortnite World Cup. You’ll find markets on futures, props, money lines, and outright winners.
Valorant
In a five vs five first-person shooter game, you play Valorant as an agent within a team of agents. You play the game in rounds as attackers or defenders. After 12 rounds, the teams change sides. The first side to win 13 rounds is the overall match winner.
Ways to bet on Valorant include match/tournament winner, round winners, over/under, and handicaps.
Call Of Duty
A first person shooter game originally based on World War II when it was released in 2013, several updated versions of Call Of Duty have since followed. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare tends to be the most popular play in esports competition. The Call Of Duty League, with regular competition between teams of players situated around North America, is proving to be very popular with bettors.
The best Call Of Duty betting markets include match winner, league winner, correct score, maps handicap, total maps and outrights.