Best Esports Betting Sites in the USA
Esports betting has grown to become a popular form of gambling in the USA, especially in the internet age. In other words, it is widely embraced because people now have unrestricted access to internet facilities. Another factor that contributes to the popularity of this type of betting is its convenience meaning that you can bet on eSports betting sites in the comfort of your room through your internet-enabled devices.
Sportsbooks today offer numerous options to gamers, these options include the forms of betting, choices of wagers, games to bet on, as well as virtually any sports in the world, including video games. With that said, you can easily bet on eSports through a reliable and trustworthy betting site.
If you are new to eSports betting, this is an opportunity to learn more about this unique type of gambling as we are going to take you through our full-fledged guide to eSports betting.
Best Esports Betting Sites USA 2021
BETTING SITE | WELCOME BONUS | EDITOR RATING | PLAY | |
1 |  | 100% Up to $2000 | 5/5 | |
2 |  | $10 & Get $40 in Free Bets | 4.9/5 | |
3 |  | 100% Up to $30 | 4.6/5 |
Everything You Need to Know About Esports Betting
Esports betting is a competitive video gaming where players or teams play against each other. Apart from the fact that it encourages fair competition among players, eSports is an exciting game.
In the past, players can only bet on eSports within the Video gaming community. Then, the sportsbook and the betting sites had not looked in the direction of competitive video gaming. Therefore, players who intend to bet on an online sport had to wager privately with other gamers.
A lot of people were willing to bet then, so it was not hard for punters to find a partner to make their wagers. However, it wasnβt the perfect way as bettors had to rely on the integrity and honesty of their co-bettors.
Pinnacle was the first gambling betting site to get involved in eSports betting. The betting site started offering eSports gambling in 2010. After then, most of the top-rated gambling sites started to offer eSports betting.
Pinnacle announced, in 2017, that it had taken up to 5 million wager on eSports. This shows that people have genuine interest in eSports betting, and it has come to stay.
Some of the types of eSports betting in the USA that you should know include, social betting, challenge betting, real money betting, Esports fantasy betting and so on.Β Social betting involves betting privately with other individuals. Betting with someone you donβt really know is not advisable because it comes with a high risk. You should stick to your family members or friends, if you want to engage in social betting.Β
In challenge betting, you engage in competition with other players for an agreed stake. Real money eSports betting is also known as fixed-odds eSports betting. All you need to engage in real money eSports betting is an experience in traditional sports.
What Should I Look for in an Esports Betting Site?
If you are planning to bet on an eSports betting site, you need to consider some factors. In this section, we will take you through some of the essential features that you must look for in an eSports betting site. Below are some of the vital quality you must consider before registering on an eSports platform:
1. Ease of Use
Before you sign up at any eSports site, you must determine if you can easily navigate the website. You wonβt have to follow any guide or manual for page-to-page navigation of the website. Apart from that, the betting site must be able to load with delay. The three words that define the ease-of-use of an eSports platform are intuitiveness, polish, and speed.
2. Reputation
Though online reviews might be confusing sometimes, you still have to consider them. Online reviews matter a lot as they tend to destroy or build the reputation of anything on the internet, including eSports gambling sites. Therefore, you should not take online reviews with a grain of salt as they tell you a lot about the reputation of a particular betting site.
3. Betting Options Available
Another essential factor that you should consider before registering on an eSports site is the betting options and the Esports Betting Bonus options. These options are not limited to live bets and specials.Β The more, the better options on the platform, the better it is.
4. Quantity of eSports Market
The quantity of the eSports market matters a lot. It must not be limited to Dota 2, LoL, and CS: GO bets alone. A USA eSports betting site must have numerous eSports markets, which should include both popular and those that are not well-known like Rocket League, Call of Duty, and Overwatch.
How to Know If Esports Betting Sites Are Trustworthy?
Before you decide to stake your bet on an eSports betting site, you need to know if it is trustworthy. Some factors will tell you if a platform is reliable or not. If you are looking to stake your bet on an honest gambling site, you should note the following qualities:
β’ Licence
One of the signs that shows whether an eSports betting site is trustworthy or not is the license. Therefore, you must check if the gambling site holds a license from a reputable authority before registering. The licensing bodies have rules and regulations that licensees must follow. They are meant to protect the interest of both players(customers) and the operators.
β’ Customer Care Support
The reliability and trustworthiness of an eSports gambling site also hinge on the quality of customer care service. Some gambling sites give their addresses; this means they donβt involve themselves in anything shady. Furthermore, their customer care agents must be easily accessible and must be able to respond promptly via online chat, telephone, and email.
β’ Payment Options
Another factor that players can use to judge the trustworthiness of an eSports platform is the payment options. A reputable and reliable gambling site will provide a wide range of banking options, leaving its customers to make choices. The payment options must be fast, secure, and convenient. Apart from that, it should not have any hidden charges.
Players sometimes go through a lot of stress when cashing out their winnings from a betting site. This is quite frustrating and unacceptable. A trustworthy eSports must allow its players to withdraw their winnings with delay. Some of the fast and convenient withdrawal options include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, MasterCard, Bank Transfer, Visa, and many others.
What Kind of Bets can I place on Esports Bookmakers?
Like sports betting, eSports gambling allows punters to bet on an individual or a team of players. Gamblers have the opportunity to pick who they think would win a match or tournament. Furthermore, there are several types of betting options for gamblers.
The simplest option in eSports betting is allowing punters to predict the overall winner. Below are the kinds of bets you can place on eSports sites:
β’ Betting Outright
As the name implies, this is a type of bet placed before the competition or tournaments. In this category, the most common bet is to predict the outright winner of the game. Apart from that, you can also place your bet on the team that will not make it to a certain tournament stage. Furthermore, another form of betting outright is to predict the players that will continue to the subsequent stage of the event.
β’ Match Winner
This is a simple and clear bet. It involves picking the winner of a particular match. It is also a common type of bet that is usually placed by both new and experienced players.
Here, the Esports Betting odds are determined by the number of bets placed on the teams. It could also be dependent on the odd compiler a few days before the commencement of the match.Β
β’ Totals
This is a different type of bet. Punters usually bet on total points, total maps, total rounds, as well as total kills. Bear in mind that total betting has nothing to do with the result of the game. Betting on totals has to do with the total stats of the event or match.
Esports Betting in the USA
Legality in the US
Esports as an industry is gradually growing in popularity as well as mass. Given the sheer size of the industry, it has garnered the attention of online punters. As such, it has been possible to place bets on Esports, similar to sports!
However, for punters residing in the US, you may have some queries on the legality of it. The US government has yet to adopt a definitive stance on Esports betting. The Supreme Court previous overturned a federal ban on sports betting and has relegated the authority of determining the legality of it to the states.
Esports betting falls within the umbrella of it. Therefore, individual states have the right to decide whether Esports is legal or not.
Regulatory Authority in the US
The US has a pretty complicated governance structure, given that it is a federal state. This means that both federal laws β which are blanket laws governing the entire country β and state laws β laws governing only a specific state β acts in tandem. The federal law of course supersedes any state laws. On the issue of Esports betting, aforementioned earlier, the state legislative is the one largely responsible for the regulation of Esports betting in the USA.
However, there are existing federal legislations that were passed by the US House of Representatives that could possibly affect the legislations surround Esports betting in the US as well.
Laws around Esports betting in the USA
It is indeed difficult to navigate your way in the US if one is looking to place Esports bets. There are four traditional laws that one has to bear in mind. The first is the interstate wire act which makes it illegal to use bets via wire communication. The second is the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act which states that sports betting is banned countrywide, and finally the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act which disallows businesses to accept bets and banks from processing payments for gambling purposes.
The complication of these laws fall onto a very fundamental premise on whether these laws include sports betting, and in particular Esports, or do they only govern casinos.
Esports market size
As I have stated in the introduction, the Esports market size has been expanding exponentially over the years. It is postulated to reach USD 2,174.8 million by 2023 and the emergence of Esports is expected to transform the entire outlook of the sport industry. The Esports market ecosystem includes game publishers, players, teams, league operators, distributors, audiences. In the US, the major player is Activision Blizzard which I am sure most of you Esports players would be familiar with.
The US is home to approximately 160 million gamers, or around 50% of the total population. Of which, around 61% of this population spends an average of $224 a year.
This makes the US the largest gaming market in the world. The US gaming generates about $25 billion in revenue and is projected to grow by 6 percent yearly. The most populous gaming population is the 21-35 age bracket in both genders.
The total Esports audience in the US reached 42 million in 2016, and the demographics of Esports audience is therefore much younger and male-skewed than that of gamers in general. Based on these statistics, the US is postulated to remains as the lead in the Esports market, although the East Asian market is catching up quickly.
Betting on Esports
The general population highly involved in the Esports betting revolve mainly around the age group between 21-49. Male betters are much younger than female betters. The average for men is 35 while that for females is 44.
It is postulated that around 41% of the US citizens have dabbled in some form of Esports betting. Of course, this calculation is based on the existing data that may not be entirely accurate, given that the ruling surrounding Esports betting is pretty much still shrouded in fog. There is no official stance by the US government on the legality of Esports betting which makes the data even more difficult to attain.
Advantages of USA Esports Betting Sites
Esports betting comes with several benefits. Apart from the fact that it is a booming industry, it is also a perfect choice for gamers looking for something different. Furthermore, eSports are readily available as there are numerous Sportsbooks that offer different eSports categories to bet on. Below are some significant advantages of eSports betting.
- It is easily accessible.
One of the benefits of eSports betting is it is easy to access. As a result, a lot of people view eSports tournaments. For instance, the League of the Legend World Championship in 2019 attracted about 100 million viewers.
- It is a rapidly expanding market place.
The eSports betting market is on a steady increase. This is a remarkable feat when you consider the fact that it is a relatively new sport. Furthermore, there is no indication of growth stopping in terms of the number of audience or participants as it continues to expand yearly.
Also, the game can be played throughout the year, so you donβt need to wait for a season to commence. Besides, eSports features numerous games; therefore, eSports has something all categories of gamers. So check out these best lol betting sites and best valorant betting sites
- You can bet with cryptocurrency
Some of the accepted cryptocurrencies on eSports betting platforms include Ethereum and Bitcoin. Also, there is a specialized crypto known as SkinCoin. Apart from making the eSports more accessible, it offers additional ways to bet.
- eSports betting sites always have something new
Like other software in the gaming industry, eSports software is constantly undergoing maintenance and evaluation. This involves improving and making other changes to the game. These changes might include the addition of new features, items, characters, among others. Furthermore, new games are continually being added to the eSports Portfolio.
Disadvantages of Esports Betting Sites
Despite its numerous advantages, eSports betting comes with some drawbacks. In this section, we will take you through a few disadvantages associated with eSports betting.
- Addiction
Esports can lead to gaming disorder. According to the World Health Organization, gaming disorder is described as impaired control over gaming, as well as given preference to gaming over other essential activities. Addiction should be identified and controlled on time before it gets out of hand.
- Health Risks
Esports gaming some health risks that are associated with sitting for a long time. To minimize this health risk, maintain a proper sitting posture while sitting, and spend more time exercising. Some of the health complications that have been linked with being sedentary for a long time include Heart Diseases, Metabolic Syndrome, Mental Health, Cancer, Muscle degeneration, among others.
- Match-Fixing
Match-fixing in eSports means determining the results of a game before being played. In other words, the outcome of the game is known before its commencement. This is a corrupt practice and should not be encouraged.
- Cheating
Like other games, players indulge in cheating in eSports games. And, there is no perfect solution to put an end to cheating in eSports games.
Best USA Esports Games to Bet On
- Dota 2 Betting
- League of Legends Betting
- Overwatch Betting
- Valorant Betting
- FIFA 2020 Betting
- Fortnite Betting
- Rocket League Betting
- Counter Strike Betting
- Call of Duty Betting
Conclusion
We have covered all the essential aspects that you need to know about eSports Betting in the USA. Some of the areas covered include gambling laws around eSports betting, merits and demerits of eSports gambling, and payment methods on this platform.
All in all, this page serves as a complete guide for players who aim to bet on eSports games.