How does esports betting work?

You can bet on video gaming now?
Yes you can but let’s put that into context.
eSports is professional video gameplay at a serious level.
The players and teams involved are the best in the business.

Pro leagues and cups are played out across the world each year.
And the prize money can change lives. Seven figure sums are available in this professional gaming realm.
In short, it’s serious business and the traditional sports betting companies are fully behind it.

Unibet are equally serious about our eSports betting sites.
If you’d like to know more, please read on.

There are some similarities between this and traditional sports betting.
If you’ve bet on sport before, you should still pick up some useful tips here.
If you’re a complete newbie, we’ll start with the basics.

We need to answer two questions:

● What are eSports Odds and what do they mean?
● What are the different types of esports bets out there?

What are esports Odds and what do they mean?

Each eSports matchup has a set of odds but what are they saying?

Odds tell us two things.

● The probability of an event happening
● How much we will be paid for a winning bet

Here is a set of odds for an eSports contest. These have appeared on the Unibet sportsbook.

This one’s from a match up in the Call of Duty League and it features OpTic Texas against Toronto Ultra.
Don’t worry if you’re not familiar with the names or the competitions - we’ll run down the big events later on.

All we need to consider now are those odds.
OpTic Texas have a figure of -162.
The minus figure in this case tells us that Texas are the favorites.

The opposing team are Toronto Ultra.
Their odds to win this contest are +120.
The plus prefix means that Toronto are the underdog.

That’s probability right there.
The odds tell us that OpTic Texas have a higher chance of winning this contest.

The second factor relates to payouts.
How much do we win if we have placed a winning bet?
The answer to this question lies in the specific numbers.

● At odds of -162, we need to stake $162 to win $100
● At odds of +120, a stake of $100 wins $120

The stakes there are for illustration.
You can bet what you are comfortable with between minimum and maximum limits.

Public Betting in eSports

Our odds setters decide on the final numbers but they have a little help.
Have you ever heard of the phrase ‘betting with the public?’.
This means to bet with the favorite.

As competitions approach, the majority of stakes will be placed on the team with a higher chance of winning.
It’s all about probability once again.
The wider betting public has spoken and they identify the favorite.

Our odds setters look up from their coffee and decide on the final figures.
It’s now down to you to decide whether you want to back the favorite or the underdog.
We’ll give you some advice on this later.

What are the different bets in esports betting?

#1 Esports moneylines

You’ve already seen the most common bet.
The match result bet is known as the Moneyline.
It’s a straight pick between two sets of opponents.
The draw is not common in eSports so there are just two options.

Here’s another Moneyline bet, this time from a League of Legends game.

Remember the mechanics: Liiv Sandbox have odds of +160 to win.
This means that they are the underdogs. DWG Kia are the favorites at odds of -225.

If you’re new to eSports betting, we recommend starting with the Moneyline. When you feel confident enough to move on, there are many others.

#2 Map Betting

A map is a stage in a game. It’s not applicable to all eSports but many have ‘maps’ as strategic parts of the gameplay.

Where there’s a map there’s a market as this set of odds confirms.

Maps are central to League of Legends games and we’re back to that contest between Liiv Sandbox and DWG Kia.

There are two separate bets:

● Who will win Map one?
● How many Maps will there be in the match?

The first is a simple choice between the two teams.
Who will win the first match between Sandbox and DWG?

For the second bet, we set a line.
If there are two maps or fewer, winning bets will be paid at odds of -143.
If there are three games or more, wins are paid at odds of +105.

Map betting won’t appear for every eSports contest but it’s in place for many of the bigger games.

#3 Esports Prop Bets

The term ‘prop’ is short for proposition. It can relate to an event that could happen in an eSports match. Props are based on gameplay and they will differ depending on the game in question.

Here are some actual prop bets from League of Legends

● First to 10 Champion Kills
● First Blood
● Total Champion Kills
● First to Kill Baron
● Correct Map Score
● First Team to Destroy an Inhibitor
● Total Dragons Slain
● Total Barons Slain

It’s easy to see why props are specific to a certain game.
Killing Barons is key in League of Legends but is not a factor in FIFA Soccer.
That element of gameplay could make soccer even more exciting but it’s not there.

A deeper understanding of gameplay is desirable for prop betting in eSports.
To find the props, just scroll down past the Moneyline and other main bets.

#4 eSports Parlays

What’s a Parlay?
This is a multiple bet with two or more picks.

With eSports betting, there are two types of parlay.

Single Game Parlays

This is where the parlay is constructed from within a single game.
Here’s an example

In the League of Legends match between Gen G and Kwangdong Freecs, we’ve gone for a moneyline bet on Gen G to win the match.
Our second pick is on the Freecs to win the first map.
The odds are calculated automatically, and we must now choose a stake.

Multi Game Parlays

These can be picked from two or more games. You can even mix it up between Call of Duty, League of Legends and other eSports.

Here’s another possible parlay from the Unibet sportsbook

We’ve stayed with League of Legends to keep it simple.
It’s a 3-leg parlay where we need Gen G, DWG Kia and Fredit Brion all to win.

The odds for this parlay are +464.
When we choose a stake of 10 Bucks, the potential payout is also shown.
If it looks good, click on that big yellow button and the bet is placed.

Here’s the thing with parlays.
All of those picks have to win.
If they come through, you collect a payout.
If one or more of the picks loses, the whole bet is lost.