Esports Betting Strategy & Tips

More than 350 million people watched esports events in 2019. More and more South African bookmakers are now also offering and taking bets on Esports. Read our Esports betting strategy and tips if you are interested in betting on Esports.

Why Bet on Esports

Esports popularity is increasing year on year. Bookies are getting more involved from sponsoring tournaments to even sponsoring professional teams. Prize pools in some tournaments run into 7 figures and this alone makes it exciting enough to bet on.

Betting on Esports is the same as betting on any other sport. You are either betting for fun while watching a thrilling tournament live or for making money. Whatever your reason, please gamble responsibly.

How do you pick a league to bet on?

There are plenty of leagues and tournaments around the world. Online bookies in South African mostly offer markets on the top 10 Esports games. The list includes CS:GO (Counter Strike: Global Offensive), Dota 2, Hearthstone, Overwatch, LOL (League of Legends), and StarCraft 2.

There are suggestions that you should play the game before you bet on it. Personally, we do not feel that playing a game is necessary for punters to place a bet. Skill and knowledge could however prove valuable in the long run. We think overall knowledge of the teams in a specific game or league will be more valuable to start with. You can always grow from there.

As with any sport and subsequent sport betting, if you do not have a baseline understanding of the sport, the players and teams, your bets are going to be a shot in the dark.

Create a Betting Strategy

It is important that you have a strategy to work from. Below are some tips on creating an Esports betting strategy.

Look for the leagues you can find the most information on. Some of the smaller leagues follow a round robin format. This means you get to see the teams competing multiple times on route to the finals. You get to know the players and teams’ strengths and weaknesses. This gives you data to work with, the more recent the data the better to identify the value.

Some leagues also supply team and player information, for example in China. Compared to some of the South Korean leagues whereas a result of there not being a gambling culture, data is not freely available.

Build different esports betting strategies

Each tournament is different. Work on a strategy for each of the tournaments you plan to bet on.

Understand the number of events in each of the tournaments. Some tournaments might have a series of qualifiers leading up to major events. This again gives you an opportunity to place more bets. You might lose more bets, but in the long run you could still be making a profit.

Other tournaments, for example in China, have massive prize pools but there are not a lot of rounds to bet on leading up to the main event. As a result, chances of recouping losses are slimmer although the reward might be much bigger.

Where there are new tournaments or games try to get involved early. You are bound to get good odds as there is not a lot of data available for the bookies just yet. This makes it harder for them to properly set the odds.

Review your betting history. Look at what worked for you and what did not. Again, use the data available to you to drive your strategy and decisions going forward.

Underdogs or Favourites

Never underestimate the power of the underdog. The markets are still not 100% efficient in Esports. It does not mean always back the underdog. You should look for value. If the value lies with the favourites – great. If there is value in the underdog – even better. There is an old saying in the betting world, “bet on favourites early, bet on the underdogs later”. Odds on the favourites, as in any sport, change rapidly whereas with the underdogs you can always get in on the action later down the line with still good value.

Create and Stick to a Budget

Create a betting budget and stick to it. A budget helps you manage your spending, especially when you are on a losing streak.

Put a betting plan in place. With a betting plan, you know how much you can stake on each bet. Sticking to your betting plan will help you manage your budget and have a more calculated approach to betting.

Look to spread your bankroll across multiple bookies. Some bookies will offer different markets and odds compared to others and you could use these to your advantage.  

And always remember: Gamble responsibly. When the fun stops, stop.

Esports betting strategy & tips in a nutshell

Betting on Esports can be very exciting. If you create and stick to a betting strategy, picking a winning bet is probably not that difficult. Use the data available to you to drive your decisions, including your own historical bets and outcomes.

Stick to your budget and betting plan, keep it fun. Ensure you do not bet more than you can afford to lose. Don’t chase your losses.

Picking the right bookie to bet with is important. Look for one who is actively pushing Esports, is involved in esports events or sponsors teams. This gives some credibility that they understand this sport and betting markets.

We hope our Esports betting strategy & tips guide helps you to get started. Now it is your turn to pick an online bookmaker. Read our reviews on the best betting sites for Esports in South Africa and enjoy the esports excitement.