In the summer of 2016, the Ministry of Sports Russian Federation officially recognized esports separate view sports. This means that eSports competitions in the country will be held under the auspices of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation, and the best athletes now have the opportunity to receive the title of Master of Sports of the Russian Federation or even Master of Sports of international class.
According to the analytical company Newzoo, the esports market revenue exceeded $400 million in 2016, and will reach $700 million in 2017. The market growth rate is so high that $1.5 billion in esports revenue is predicted in 2020.
History of the development of eSports
The first competition among gamers was organized at Stanford University back in 1972. The main prize was a one-year subscription to the American magazine Rollng Stone. New wave eSports development went after the release Japanese game Space Invaders. Already in 1980 in the United States, the game attracted more than 10 thousand people, for whom it became the main hobby.
The real breakthrough of video games was made in the 90s of the last century. This was facilitated by the active development of the Internet. Created in 1988, Netrek allowed up to 16 players to play at the same time. The well-known game company Nintendo in 1990 held the World Championship in the United States, and in 1994 a similar tournament was held for the Super Nintendo consoles.
The first decade of the 21st century was marked by a rapid rise in the popularity of esports in South-East Asia(especially in South Korea). Already in 2000, 10 global level tournaments were held, and by 2010 their number had increased to 260 tournaments. Major tournaments such as Major League Gaming and World Cyber Games were founded during this period. Already at this time, the prize money of individual tournaments exceeded 1 million US dollars.
Roughly 10 years ago, esports took over television. Esports had the best audience coverage in South Korea, where it was broadcast 24 hours a day on cable TV channels. Attempts to fix e-sports on television were also made in Europe and in the USA, but the interest in this sport is not so high here.
In 2011, the video streaming service Twitch.tv appeared. It hosts live broadcasts of eSports tournaments. It was Twitch that pulled over the main audience of eSports. In 2016 total duration Twitch broadcasts exceeded 4.8 billion hours and the number of streamers increased to two million.
Types of eSports bets
- to the outcome. You choose between the victory of one or the other team, in some games it is possible to bet on a draw.
- on the outcome in the first map.
- first blood in the game. Which team will be the first to eliminate an opposing player.
- total kills. Bets on total kills in the game or on a specific map. Also, offices accept bets on the individual number of murders.
- first 10 kills on the map (number of kills may vary). You need to choose the team that will be the first to reach this goal.
- total time games or the total time of the game on a certain map (total over or under).
- total cards.
- total rounds on a certain map.
- the outcome of a certain round.
- even/odd number of kills.
- victory in the tournament.
Each game can accept specific games that are unique to it.
Where to bet on esports?
Initially, eSports betting began to take large foreign offices, such as Winbet and William Hill. They still give an extensive line on eSports. Over time, bookmakers appeared that specialize exclusively in eSports. In such offices, the coverage of esports events is much wider, in addition, they more often provide online broadcasts of events and accept Live bets. The advantage of such services is that they are not blocked by Roskomnadzor, as most of foreign bookmakers.
Consider the most popular eSports betting services:
Egaming Bets
Address – www.gg3.bet
This is a very good esports betting platform that has a Russian version of the site. It accepts bets on events of such popular games as League of Legends, Dota2, World of Tanks, Heroes of Newerth, etc. The service margin is 5-7%.
The in-line office provides up to 20 betting markets per event, accepts Live bets and broadcasts tournaments online. Operations from accounts in Egaming Bets are carried out using MasterCard and Visa cards, using electronic payment systems Qiwi, WebMoney, Yandex Money, Skrill and other popular methods. Funds are paid out within 48 hours after the request.
The office often holds bonus promotions. IN given time there is a 100% deposit bonus (up to 5000 rubles) and no deposit bonus, in the amount of 300 rubles.
Address - r3.cybbet.com
CybBet is another popular esports betting platform where both real money and cyber money are used for betting (at the rate of 1000 esports = $1). Here the list is less extensive than in Egaming Bets, but the line itself is more representative than in ordinary bookmakers. At CybBet, you can bet on LoL, CS:GO, Dota 2, Overwatch and other multiplayer games. The odds in the office are lower than in Egaming Bets, the average margin here is 8-10%. Funds are deposited and withdrawn using Payeer, Liqpay, WebMoney, Neteller, Yandex Money, Qiwi payment systems, as well as through Visa and MasterCard cards.
CybBet is not only an esports betting platform, but also a good information base. In the "News" section you will find interesting articles, useful observations and the latest trends in the world of eSports.
Combine eSports bets in the above services and bookmakers. At Pinnacle Sports, the eSports margin is only 3-6%.
How to bet on esports?
The key to success in eSports betting is a meticulous analysis of players and teams. In this sport, it is impossible to play a plus if you focus only on betting odds.
Let's try to outline the points that need to be taken into account when analyzing eSports events.
- Command level
- Team Form
- Team composition
- Motivation
- History of personal meetings
- The specifics of the game discipline
- Public expectations
For each game, you can find the rating of the teams, which must be taken into account when comparing opponents. The rating shows the points of the teams, their titles and the amount of prize money earned. Take into account not only the positions of teams in the ranking, but also their progress or regression.
Three victories in a major international tournament is a huge achievement for a team, but if the last victory happened already 4 years ago, then you should not give of great importance to her. At the same time, successful results in recent tournaments indicate that the team has good teamwork. Look primarily at the percentage of team wins in last season, and not on her overall statistics.
As in any other sport, teams in eSports do not have a permanent composition of participants. Some players go on promotion in more successful teams, others end their careers as cyberplayers, others leave the team due to a weak level of play.
A new player in the team is the hope for more high results for her, but keep in mind that the team needs to play together and better “feel” each other.
The average age of a team is a very significant detail when analyzing an event. Closer to the age of 30, athletes no longer have the reaction that they had before. In games where you need lightning-fast response to a situation, this aspect is often one of the most important.
During the season, teams compete in different tournaments, each of which may have different motivations. It is worth watching two different finals, where one has $100,000 at stake and the other $3,000, to understand how much different level the mood of the players on them. In addition to prize money, there are other factors that can increase the motivation of athletes. A home tournament, an irreconcilable rival, the presence of friends and relatives at the game - all this motivates athletes in a significant way.
Some eSports resources keep statistics of personal meetings between teams. It can tell a lot to bettors. Some teams have uncomfortable opponents who put spokes in their wheels, regardless of the tournament prospects and the current level of play.
In order to be able to analyze the markets and place bets, you need to know this game at least at an amateur level.
Like other sports, there are teams in esports that fans support more than others, regardless of their results. On such teams, bookmakers give underestimated odds, while on their opponents you can bet with overestimated odds.
Conclusion
Although esports has its own characteristics, the same strategies can be applied to betting on it as for other sports. A big plus of eSports betting is that you can find dozens of events in the line every day. In addition, players have access to broadcasts of fights around the clock, which you can study and notice various trends for yourself.
If earlier eSports was called the sport of the future, now it is the sport of the present. The popularization of eSports is only gaining momentum every year, which also affects the volume of bets in bookmakers. We advise you to choose one gaming discipline, study it thoroughly and specialize only in tournaments in this discipline. In this case, you will be able to beat the bookmakers' margin, but everything will not come right away.
Bookmakers do not stand still and every time they come up with new types of sports betting. One such innovation is esports.
Esports bets are accepted by bookmakers on world-famous computer games: Dota 2, Starcraft 2, Counter Strike, World of Tanks, League of Legends, Quake.
You can also bet on extensive tournaments of players and status meetings of gamers one on one, popular in the world of cyber teams. Although cyberbets have appeared recently, they are rapidly gaining momentum and gaining more and more popularity. It is possible that very soon e-sports will be present in the lines of most betting shops, as a full-fledged sport.
Betting at Unibet
Unibet is one of the few bookmakers that allows you to bet on eSports. You have the opportunity to place bets on a huge number of cyber competitions. The unibet line presents the most popular games: Dota 2, Starcraft, Contra. Of the leagues, there are The Defense, The International, DreamHack. For each game, the bookmaker offers different kinds rates. For example, for Dota 2, you can bet on determining the winners. And in LoL - there is an opportunity to bet on handicaps and probable outcomes. But, unfortunately, the services of this office are not available for Russian residents, since it does not register them.
This office always high odds for rates. But they have a fairly high margin, more than 5%. Since betting on cybermatches has not yet gained such wide popularity, betting is not always profitable.
Betting in 1Xbet
This office also big choice various sporting events, including eSports betting. The leading games that 1xbet specializes in are: League of Legends, Dota 2, Starcraft 2, Heroes of The Storm. You can bet on League of Legends in several leagues: Korean Champions League, LOL Master, Gold Series Championship.
There are not very many options for betting on cyber competitions. From time to time, you can bet on handicaps and totals, there are still bets on the victory of one of the competing teams. Odds, on average, bookmakers put up good. In cyber competitions, there is almost never a draw. Thanks to the odds, you can bet, predict and analyze, identifying a potential favorite.
Bets in Gamebets and other offices
Gamebets is a Russian betting site that saw the light of day in 2012. In the presented office, you can place bets on Counter-Strike and Dota 2. From this it becomes clear that this office cannot be compared with Unibet and 1Xbet. To transfer money to an account, various payment systems are used: Megafon, MTS, Beeline, Euroset, Sberbank Online, One Wallet.
For newly arrived players, there is a bonus in the form of 50 rubles (conditional) - they can bet on anything. When there are 100 rubles in the account, it will be possible to cash out about 250 rubles. This amount is obtained if you count at the rate of 1:4.
There are a number of other sites: cybbet.com, csgolounge.com, dota2lounge.com. Bets on the above sites can only be placed by those who are registered with Steam. But oddly enough, the odds for winning teams are available to absolutely everyone.
Conclusion
Where to bet on esports? Only in proven and reputable bookmakers. Among them, two main ones can be distinguished: 1Xbet and Unibet. But if in the first office you can make bets and register for participants from Russia, then in the second office you will need to look for workarounds for Russian-speaking players (VPN, proxy).
Bookmakers are looking for and developing new directions. Players have long been accustomed to the fact that, in addition to sports, bookmakers accept bets on politics, TV shows and football transfers. IN last years bookmakers began to massively offer to bet on cybersport.
The generation that grew up at the turn of the 90s and 2000s could only dream that they would pay big money for playing computer games, like famous athletes, and later they would also bet money on their game. We offer an overview of what and where you can bet on, and how betting in the esports arena differs from other betting segments.
Who accepts bets on eSports
At first, bets were accepted exclusively in Steam An online digital distribution service for computer games and software developed and maintained by Valve, but bookmakers quickly realized that this is the direction of the future. No matter how wild it may look, but behind the way someone plays computer game, thousands are watching, and major competitions gather stadiums. There are a lot of people who want to bet, and the bookmakers decided not to delay the start of accepting bets.
Any office - offshore or legal - includes it in its line. , and are ready to satisfy the need of players to place a bet, as well as Western bookmakers like Pinnacle and William Hill.
There are narrow-profile offices that accept bets only on this sport, for example, Egamingbets. But most bettors prefer Pinnacle.
Currency for betting on cybersport
Betting is made by both the usual bookmakers and narrow-profile bookmakers. In the more familiar bookmakers for the player, they accept bets in rubles or another currency, that is, in money.
But on narrow-profile sites, you can bet on eSports with things. For example, VPGame, Dota2bestyolo, and Dota2lounge resources make it possible to bet on things. CS GO bets skins Appearance character or weapon that differs from the standard model in the game. accepted on the Csgolounge resource.
What markets are available
Bets are made in the usual form for the player: outcome, handicap and total. BaltBet accepts bets on eSports transfers.
What games are betting on?
There are a lot of games that are in demand in the eSports arena - these are League of Legends, FIFA, StarCraft 2, World of Tanks, Overwatch and even Quake. But the most popular betting games are Dota 2 and CS:GO(modern version of the usual Counter-Strike). These are the two main games that are most popular.
Pros and cons of eSports betting
Watch betting fans love it when a bet makes even the dullest match interesting.
The real advantages lie in the fact that this is still a very young direction in betting, where the bookmakers themselves have not yet received advantages, have not fully mastered everything or set up the software.
Players still have an advantage over the lane, and they can find values more often, whether it's prematch or live esports. If you are serious about betting #right now, then the chances of beating the bookmaker more often are high. Indeed, not so long ago, BC Leon reported that Russian bookmakers are experiencing a shortage of specialists in this species sports.
about esports at Geektimes, I touched on the topic of a new type of betting in bookmakers. One entertainment breeds another. It seems to me that it is possible to talk about the perspective of any phenomenon, phenomenon or just some topic after we see something derived from it. As in living organisms, the ability to produce offspring indicates maturity.
Most people who place bets or watch football (hockey, basketball, and other sports) have not played for a long time, and some have never played the subject of their entertainment. Today we are watching a similar picture in esports. There is an audience, quite large, that follows the performances of their favorite teams, tournament schedules and tables, makes bets, but does not play.
89 million consider themselves fans of virtual sports. This compares to the 94 million hockey fans or 79 million spectators who regularly follow swimming competitions. Analyst agency Newzoo predicts that the number of eSports fans will grow to 145 million by 2017, which is equivalent to the American football audience (151 million people).
Well, apparently, esports has grown to a new level, when it gives rise to new formats of entertainment.
I'm sorry for philosophical digression, but I wanted to voice the idea of how trends are born in all areas human culture. But this is a topic for a separate and long article. Now let's see how the life of bookmakers is changing with the development of eSports.
In 2014, video game enthusiasts placed over 350,000 bets on the Pinnacle site, making it the eighth most popular species sports. With this reputable office, we will begin our short review of bookmakers with an esports bias.
Pinnacle(http://www.pinnaclesports.com)
Pinnacle Sports was founded in 1998. Accepts bets on such esports disciplines as: Dota 2, League of Legends, Starcraft 2, Fifa Interactive World Cup. Perhaps the first office that began to accept such bets.
Unibet(http://www.unibet.com)
British “hodgepodge” of bets, online casinos, and other games. Founded in 1997. They accept bets on Dota 2.
Egamingbets(http://egamingbets.com/)
Specialized bookmaker exclusively for eSports fans. You can bet on StarCraft 2, Dota 2, Counter Strike, League of Legends, World of Tanks. One of the leaders today.
Cybbet(http://ru.cybbet.com)
A fairly young, but already well-established office in specialized forums. They accept bets on StarCraft 2, Dota 2, CS:GO, League of Legends, World of Tanks, Smite, Quake, Hearthstone, WarCraft 3. systems.
Of course, there are other players in this market, but these offices are discussed on the forums more often than others.
Esports betting is not much different from regular betting. There are some nuances shared by the authors of blogs and comments on niche sites. For example, it is not recommended to bet on competitions that are of little importance for teams or those that no longer decide anything for the tournament leader. It is assumed that unscrupulous players can “merge” the game and earn an extra hundred in the office. Such cases are indeed mentioned, which is probably why there are almost no bets on small tournaments in bookmakers.
Bookmakers play not only on users' money, but also on their interests. If in society, for example, there is an interest in who will be born to a crowned couple and what the prince or princess will be called, you can open a line. With eSports, everything is clear: more and more offices will include Dota, Counter and other games in their tables.
