Esports betting is now one of the biggest things going in the betting manosphere. According to various studies, the global e-sports betting market is now at close to $80 billion dollars or more and is growing as much as 13 percent a year.
There are now thousands of E-sport tournaments held throughout the year. And E-sport gamers come from the US, South Korea, China, France, Germany, the UK, and many other countries.
And corresponding to the rise in E-sports, just about every casino and online betting establishment that allows sports betting on physical games such as European Football, National Basketball, American Football, and other professional and amateur sports, now offers Esports betting.
So what are the most popular Esports games you can bet on?
Let’s start with what is known by many Esports betters as the Big Three.
The Big Three are the betting on three popular video games:
- DOTA 2: An extremely popular multiplayer video game, which is so popular it has its own professional circuit where teams compete for prizes worth thousands of dollars, and some elite DOTA 2 players earn as much as $35,000 per month.
2. League of Legends: Another multiplayer video game, the New York Times reported that the combined viewership for League of Legends exceeded the competition for the NBA World Championships, the World Series, and the Stanley Cup Combined.
In the North American league, the average player earns around $500,000 per year and there are several players, notably all South Koreans, who earn more than a million or more.
3. Counter-Strike: Counter-Strike is a multiplayer first-person shooter game that is also extremely popular.
There are now over 17 professional Counter-Strike players whose earnings have exceeded $1 million, and even non-stars can easily earn $350,000 or more.
Being the most popular Esports games out there, literally billions of games sold, and thousands of Esports tournaments held, quite naturally, many online bettors will bet on these three video games.
The next popular E-sport games to bet on are those that resemble traditional sports.
European football (soccer to die hard Americans) is by far the most popular sport in the world. It’s not surprising then, that FIFA, the mega-popular EA sports platform is bet on thousands of times per year.
Since there are various types of betting for a traditional football match such as the straight-up bet or three-way money line bet, the draw no bet, the double chance bet, the Half-time/Full-time Bet, and the over/under bets, there are plenty of ways betting establishments can offer online bets on FIFA gaming football.
Less popular world wide, but certainly extremely popular in the US and North America is Madden football, another popular EA Esports game that is now in its 22nd game rendition. Get more information while playing Esport games.
Pro players in Madden make significantly less than in many other games, but not only is it possible to bet on Madden football tournaments but like FIFA, there are many types of betting possible.
NBA2K is another E-sport you can bet on. Developed by Visual Sports, NBA 2K is now in its 23rd edition.
The NBA2K League was formed in 2018 with 17 teams, and now has 22 active teams including one in Shanghai, the only team not officially affiliated with an NBA team.
Professional NBA2K players make significantly less than those playing other ESports, with an average of around $37,000 per, but nevertheless, like FIFA Football and Madden Football, there are plenty of bets to play on in a sports betting lounge.
Back to video games, among fan favorites is Call of Duty.
Published by Activision, Call of Duty has been one of the most popular video games since 2003.
Starting in 2020, Call of Duty had its own professional league. With over 1.3 million unique viewers tuned in to watch the opening weekend of the 2024 season, Call of Duty is another extremely popular game and one that offers both money line and first kill betting.
Call of Duty Pros make a minimum of $50,000 per season, up to well over $1 million.
Fortnite is another very popular Esports game, published by Epic Games.
Fortnite is a Battle Royale Game that is quite popular. Fortnite is controlled by Epic Games, but there are plenty of tournaments and a few players make close to seven figures.
Most sports betting lounges offer money line, MVP, and first-kill bets, so there is plenty of action.
Overwatch is another online shooter game that is gaining popularity.
Overwatch is a first shooter, a multiplayer game published by Blizzard Entertainment. The Overwatch League was created in 2018. Players make a minimum of $50,000 in the professional Overwatch League, and a few players make as much as $300,000.
Bettors can typically bet on the money line, first-blood, most-kill bets.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, or PUBG for short, is a battle royale video game created by PUBG Studios.
Although the league was created in China, there are millions who play and follow this battle royale game, and bettors at a sports bet can expect there to be betting on the
money line, most kills, and first blood bets.
PUBG is becoming a real up and comer in the E-sports world.
Another up-and-comer in E-sport is Rocket League.
Rocket League is a vehicular soccer game published by Psyonix. There are several leagues and a number of popular tournaments for Rocket League and given the popularity of European Football, the game has a built-in audience.
There are huge tournaments for this game, and bettors can bet on the money line and best scorer bets.
Finally, we will mention StarCraft, a military, sci-fi game developed by Blizzard Entertainment back in 1998.
Starcraft, however, retains its popularity, and Starcraft has had pro leagues for a number of years,
The game matches teams of 8-players, seeking to outwit the other team.
At most online sportsbooks you can bet on Starcraft, placing both money line and first kill bets.
Many players earn $100,000 to $300,000 annually playing the game, and as long as there are pros in the game, there will be plenty of Esports bets to be made.
