Sports betting has for a long time been an integral part of traditional sports. However, with eSports gaining exponential traction as time progresses, betting on esports seems like the logical next step. Of course, savvy entrepreneurs are already one step ahead of us.
Esports can still be considered in the early stages of its lifespan. The first tournaments might have been 20 people in a room at a LAN party competing for bragging rights and pizza, but the eSports world of today is extremely competitive and highly lucrative. Conversations on declaring the idea of esports an actual sport have even begun taking place. And just like that, many online casinos now offer the possibility of betting on eSports. If you’re looking for a casino to play at you can look at Casino Frog to get a better overview.
Beginning of eSports betting
Esports betting started as a grassroots project. A couple of programmers and gamers with a love for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and its competitive scene had an entrepreneurial spirit and an idea. A couple of years earlier the developer, Valve, introduced cosmetic items into the game. These items changed the appearance of one’s weapon and could be bought or sold with real money.
The programmers quickly put together a website that made it possible to bet on ESports matches using these items from the game. This quickly became incredibly popular and the sites drew large crowds of bettors. However, following various legal threats and other issues that arose for Valve with these websites, it did not take long until they made betting using items from the game forbidden. Nonetheless, this opened up the eyes of the more traditional gambling companies.
Betting today
Of course, such companies did not wait long to strike. Many began offering up odds in the same way they would for a big football game, but for eSports. Many experts believe that betting is going to have a big role to play in the continued development of the industry and that it will help with both viewership as well as with legitimizing eSports amongst the general public.
Popular games to place bets
The most popular game to bet on when it comes to eSports is by far Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. However, just like traditional sports, many video equivalents can be bet on as well. This includes big-name eSports leagues and tournaments like Madden Championship Series and NBA 2K League. Other popular games include League of Legends and DotA 2, but the added interest for games such as FIFA means that we are likely to see even more betting opportunities in the near future.
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