Betting on eSports is becoming increasingly popular these days. The appeal of betting on eSports is down to the fact that it is one of the most exciting forms of betting, and if you understand the sport you have an excellent chance of making some money.
In addition to this, betting on eSports is much better regulated now than it was 5 or 10 years ago. This means that the chances for match fixing or other forms of fraudulent player behavior are almost non-existent in the sport.
And a good indicator of whether a sport or a game is well regulated and safe to bet on is live betting. If punters are given the chance to bet on an event live it means that the bookmaker is sure that fair play will be maintained throughout the match up.
That’s why, when live betting was introduced to the eSports betting offer, betting enthusiasts around the world rejoiced as they could finally place wagers on an event as it happened. With the introduction of live betting, betting on eSports was officially on the same level as betting on other popular sports.
In a nutshell, live betting is having the option to place wagers on eSports events as they happen. It often is much more popular than regular pre-match betting because of the excitement it brings and because it engages the punter much more than a regular wager does.
In live betting, the odds change during the game or event and they sometimes disappear and resurface depending on how the game is played. The modification of odds is as a result of the changes in play over the course of the match up. For example, when betting live on DotA 2 or League of Legends early kills or objectives will have a direct impact on the change of the odds for the event.
Live betting is often considered as the betting arena for the professional punter. In many aspects it is completely different to regular pre-match betting and that’s why only a special type of punter can fully enjoy the fruits of in-game betting.
To be successful at betting on live events you have to understand the game. This doesn’t mean that you have to play the game yourself, but that you have to have experience in following a specific eSports event.
Sometimes punters focus on specific teams and players and follow them in all of the competitions they enter. This gives them a chance to understand how a team or a player will react in a certain situation. For example, if a DotA 2 player often starts an event more aggressively, but then eases off as the game progresses, you will know that you can expect this same behavior in future events as well.
This strategy can also be used with regular pre-match betting, but in that situation you won’t have the chance to see if your chosen player will approach the game as he usually does. You will only be able to hope that he will follow the same pattern of play as he always does.
With live betting however, you are right there in the action. If you see your chosen player starting aggressively, as he usually does, then you know what to expect. On the other hand, if you see him taking things slowly, you will have the opportunity to bet on the opposite outcome or keep your money for a safer wager. Either way you are in a better position than with a pre-match bet.
Almost all reputable bookmakers offer betting on eSports, and most of these give you the chance to bet live as well. Bookmakers such as Betway, Bet365, Pinnacle, 188Bet, Betsafe, and Unibet all offer the chance of betting on live eSports events.
The games which are usually in their betting offer are Starcraft 2, DotA 2, Call of Duty, Heroes of the Storm, World of Tanks, Hearthstone, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, Overwatch, and Magic the Gathering. It should be noted however, that different bookmakers offer live betting on different games and that the live betting offer is often smaller than their regular, pre-match offer. This is because bookmakers have to put a lot more effort and manpower in covering live betting events.
As with regular pre-match betting on eSports, the most common type of live bet is the moneyline market. If you are new to betting, moneyline simply means that you are choosing the winner of a match up. For example, if you are betting on League of Legends and you think that Splyce are going to triumph over G2 ESports, you will place your bet on Splyce to win the match up. If they win, you win. If they lose, you lose.
Another popular type of live bet is the handicap market. In this market one of the teams is handicapped so that both teams would have more similar odds. For example, in the match up between Splyce and G2 ESports, Splyce can be considered as the underdog and the bookmaker can handicap G2 ESports with -1.5 so that both teams would be more evenly matched.
Another live bet that most bookies offer is the individual game winner or as it is also known as the individual map winner. In this market punters get the chance to predict the winner of each map in 1, 2, 3, 5 or 7 map series.
When you are betting on a live eSports event it is crucial that you watch or listen to the match as it happens. If you don’t do any of this, you are basically just riding your luck, and you will be much better off keeping your money in your pocket.
Some punters will argue that you can bet live on an event by following internet box scores or live match sheets, but in the long run we guarantee you that the only way to beat the bookie is by having a reliable stream of the event you are betting on.
This is because the art of betting live is in essence a duel between you and the bookmaker. The first one to blink loses his money. Bookmakers are highly experienced in their job, so if you want to have any chance, you should be diligent in doing your pre-game homework and you should be fully focused on the in-game action.
For example, if you are betting on StarCraft 2 you should focus you attention on several key factors such as build orders, scouting, spawning locations and the importance of the map in the match up. For DotA 2 and League of Legends on the other hand, you should focus on hero and lane match ups, team composition, early kills, variations in gold and experience, pre-match and in-game form of the team and other game related factors.
A seasoned punter will always pick on the smallest of hints and signals and will be prepared to back the underdog if he feels that they have been better than the favourite in the match up, despite the odds they have been given.
However, one thing that an experienced betting enthusiast will never do is betting against the run of play. Seeing how the event plays out is the biggest advantage of live betting and betting against that is something that you should never do.
