The chief difference between eSports betting and the more traditional, well-known, system of wagering is that, instead of bettors laying wagers against the house, as is the case with betting on more conventional sports, fantasy sports betting, as wagering on eSports is also known, has the punter competing with his or her counterparts across the globe on the outcome of the event in question.
The Growing Popularity of eSports Betting
eSports betting and the games the wagers are laid on can definitely still be said to be a niche product, but the extraordinary growth of this industry, thanks to the debut of daily fantasy sporting events that welcome players to compete in fresh contests each week instead of the spreading of competitions over months or even a full year, is hard to overstate. At this point in time there are almost a quarter of a million players in the United States of America alone competing for prizes of millions of dollars every month at the leading fantasy eSports websites.
Item eSports Betting is a Popular Pastime
Item betting is the most commonly used term for eSports betting, in both its formal and informal states, and it refers to wagering that takes place within, or alongside, the marketplaces set aside for in-game items. It is not easy to quantify the full size of this specific aspect of eSports betting, however, as there is not very much visibility into volume: anecdotally, however, there is enough evidence to suggest that tens of thousands of different players are taking part in this kind of wagering, and the stakes are often surprisingly high to boot.
Generally, eSports betting sites do not make use of cash, at least not in a direct fashion. Instead of money, bets and prizes are carried out entirely by means of transferrable items of in-game property, like that of abilities or weapons. In a lot of cases, however, these items are also exchangeable for cash at third-party destinations, and so the lines become blurred.
Social eSports betting is the phrase given to this kind of wagering when it takes the form of a more relaxed bet, such as one placed between friends, on the outcome of an event or match. It can also include challenge betting, wherein individuals will complete directly for a wager.
The main advantage of social fantasy bets is that they provide a low-friction way of adding an extra element of fun and engagement to an already enjoyable community experience.
Thanks to how quickly this pastime is gaining popularity, more and more well-known bookmakers are offering markets for it, and punters are offered the kind of protection that bettors who have been laying wagers on football games; golf matches and the like have been enjoying for years. Total safety and security is provided by these sites by means of the state-of-the-art 128-bit secure socket layer, or SSL, software in place, and there is zero risk of the bettor’s sensitive personal and financial information being threatened at any point in time.