eSports Betting For Beginners

The term esports stands for ‘electronic sports’, which is used to describe a video game that has a professional competitive scene that allows for professional play. Some of the biggest esports games are Dota 2, Counter-Strike, Fortnite, League of Legends, and Call of Duty. In recent years, esports gaming has taken the world by storm, with countless celebrities and social-media stars coming into the space and bringing mass attention to it in the process.

Although it might have seemed unthinkable just a few years ago, esports now awards some of the highest prize-money totals in the entire sports and gaming space. In fact, a recent Call of Duty tournament paid out half a million dollars in prizes including a massive $200,000 for the first-place winner. When looking at the numbers – the top five esports games have paid out a combined $578 million dollars – it is clear that esports is a massively growing sector that offers several career options, be it as a player or content-creator.

But before considering trying to make a career in esports, it’s important to consider your motivation. With tens of thousands of players vying for the lion’s share of competition earnings, and likely just as many inspired to make content across Twitch, Twitter, and YouTube, it’s critical that you are motivated to enter this space by a pure passion for the games themselves, rather than the AdSense revenue. That’s because – just as with any other discipline these days – if you are not inspired by the activity itself, it will be incredibly difficult to maintain the level of content creation that can compete with those who live, eat, and breathe esports. So rather than rushing in with a full head of steam only to face quickly dwindling motivation once the inevitable hurtles appear – such as poor engagement numbers or low YouTube views – take some time to ask yourself why you’re heading down this path, and whether it’s a reason that will enable you to grind through the pain.

With that said, let’s take a look now at the five primary ways you can make money on esports.

1. Prize Money – although it’s most definitely possible with enough practice and dedication, unless you are already an incredible player in one of main esport video games, making good money via tournament prizes is likely to take years of hard work and no pay. However, for those passionate enough about the games, this is also one of the most satisfying ways to make money on esports.
2. Content Creation – be it reporting on the matches, making video highlights, or streaming the games yourself, there are a near infinite number of ways for esports fans to get in the action and start building an audience.
3. Sponsorship – for those players who make it to either the professional or high-viewership content-creation level, sponsorship is one of the “easiest” ways to make money on esports, as it generally requires nothing more than featuring the company doing the sponsoring.
4. Merchandise – regardless if you’re a professional esports player or esports Twitch streamer, offering your fans a way to show their support via ‘merch’ purchases is a great way for esports players to build a cashflow stream, especially now with the rise of merchandise printing & dropshipping services such as Redbubble and Teespring.
5. Betting – for those who have significant experience with esports players and teams, esport betting on matches via a sportsbook is a fun way to join in on the action. In fact many online betting sites now offer attractive deposit bonuses, like Americas Cardroom who matches first-deposits 100% up to $2000. It’s among the best esports betting options out there.

Much like any other sporting or event-based betting, actually placing esports bets requires only that you log in to your sportsbook account, find the team or player you believe has the edge, and enter an amount you are willing to wager. However, as with any other bet, remember that e sports betting can be incredibly volatile and thus you should never bet more than you can afford to lose.

1. Bet on what you know – the second biggest mistake people getting into esports gambling for the first time make (keep reading to see the first) is betting on too many different game-titles. Just as with traditional sports-betting, the most profitable approach is to become an expert in one arena before moving on to the next. Therefore, regardless of what match is happening that specific day, make sure the game you’re betting on is one that you know well, both the game itself and the players/teams competing in it.
2. Research the latest news – just as millions are won and lost in traditional sports-betting by staying tuned in to injury updates, so too can e-sport betting benefit from reading the latest news and rumors from around the industry, be it via Reddit, Twitter, or each team’s own Discord channel.
3. Bet small to start – as promised, the single biggest mistake people engaging in esport gambling make is overleveraging and blowing out their bankroll. Rather than seeing it as a get rich quick scheme that will allow you to retire in 3 months, dive into it as a fan first and size-down your bets at the beginning. One thing that professional gamblers understand that very few amateurs fail to consider is that the first goal should not be to win money, but rather to stay in the game long-enough to allow yourself to build up your skills. If you can do that by keeping your bankroll safe in the process, becoming a profitable esports bettor is a much more likely scenario. Besides, if you enjoy betting on esports today, you’ll likely enjoy it in the future as well, so make sure to practice a bankroll-management style that will allow you to continue chasing your passion!