Over the past few years, we have seen tremendous growth in esports. As of 2021, esports accounted for 1.08bn USD of market revenue worldwide. If you want to profit from esports, you might be thinking about giving esports betting a try. In this guide, we are going to tell you what to look for in esports betting sites so you have a quality experience.
What Makes a Quality Esports Betting Site?
1. Licensed and regulated
You should join an esports betting site that is licensed and regulated. Sites that are subject to regulatory oversight must meet the standards regulators set. Otherwise, they are not able to maintain their licenses. Those standards exist in part for your protection. Sites that are not regulated do not have as much incentive to operate transparently and fairly.
2. Accepts customers from your region
Customers bet on esports from around the world. Indeed, it is even legal to wager on esports (and other sports, for that matter) from the US now. But not every betting site accepts customers from every country. Make sure that the one you are considering is willing to do business with you. When you sign up, always provide accurate, factual information about yourself.
3. Offers a wide selection of betting markets and bet types
Join a website that is going to offer you plenty of online action in a range of esports betting markets like Apex Legends, Call of Duty, CS:GO, DOTA 2, and more. You should also be able to place a variety of different types of esports wagers such as totals, over/under, futures, and more.
4. Fast and reliable deposits and withdrawals
Regardless of your account size, you put your money on the line when you bet on esports. The online sportsbook you choose should therefore make it fast and easy for you to make reliable transfers.
While you investigate transfer speeds, you should also look up the minimum and maximum amounts you can deposit and withdraw. Check if the transfer methods you prefer are available. Finally, do not forget to see if there are any fees or restrictions. How many transfers are you allowed to make in a given timeframe without fees? How large are the fees for different withdrawal methods?
5. Exciting bonuses
The next thing to check into when you are evaluating an esports betting website is what types of bonuses and promotions it offers.
Most online sportsbooks offer match deposit bonuses. That means that when you deposit into your account, the sportsbook will match the amount you deposit with bonus funds up to a certain percentage and amount.
Typically, this will be available at the very least for your initial deposit. But many sportsbooks also will offer it for when you top up your account. This is called a “reload bonus.” When you check for these bonuses, do not just see if they exist or how big they are—check the rollover requirements. You want these to be as low as possible.
You can look for other types of bonuses and promotions as well. Some sites may offer reduced juice, promotions specific to parlays, and so forth. There may also be a VIP program. Joining is usually automatic; you just have to sign up on the site and start making bets. But you should see if betting on esports counts toward earning rewards. Another nice feature is if you can maintain your rewards tier even if you do not bet for a while. That way, you can keep earning points at a high redemption rate when you are ready to come back.
6. Competitive odds
If you are new to sports betting, you may think that becoming profitable is as simple as picking winners. But you need to practice value betting if you want to make money. Value betting involves checking the odds at various online sportsbooks and comparing them to the odds that you believe describe the likelihood of different outcomes. If you identify a sportsbook that seems to be undervaluing or overvaluing a player or team, then you can place a bet to take advantage of the edge you might have.
Some sportsbooks offer more competitive odds in general than others. Those are the sites where you should think about opening accounts. Signing up for accounts at multiple sites that offer competitive odds is the best way to shop for value when you are ready to make your esports bets.
Now you have an idea what to look for when you are investigating your options for betting on esports online. There are numerous online sportsbooks offering esports wagering to customers around the world right now, but not all of them offer equally enticing bonuses and odds. Taking the time to carefully compare sites and signing up only on trusted, regulated sportsbooks with great features will help you to have a fun and profitable time.