Esports vs. Sports Betting: Understanding the Distinctions
1xBit delves into the growth of esports and highlights the distinctions between traditional sports and esports regarding gambling.
Table of contents:
- Esports has come a long way to recognition in both sports and gambling.
- Betting on esports - a more intricate matter than it seems.
Esports has come a long way to recognition in both sports and gambling
In the past, esports were often looked down upon by people from sports and gambling. No one in these industries has taken competitive gaming seriously for years, even decades. A bunch of computer geeks can't be considered athletes, they said. Look at the geeks now, making more than some jocks and playing for teams with armies of fans worldwide. It is now a legitimate form of sport acknowledged by reputable organizations and gambling platforms.
Electronic sports earned a place under the gambling sun in the mid to late 2010s thanks to the further spread of high-speed Internet and the booming popularity of online games like League of Legends, Dota 2, StarCraft, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO). The establishment of the Esports Federation (IeSF) in 2008 and the recognition of esports by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2017 placed esports on par with traditional sports. In the past five years, we saw an exponential growth of esports gamblers from 190 million to 520 million, with the tendency to increase at an even higher rate in the near future.
Today, 1xBit and other online sportsbooks have a separate section dedicated to esports on their cryptocurrency gambling websites. This section typically includes a variety of esports titles and events, along with relevant information such as odds, match schedules, and results.
Betting on esports - a more intricate matter than it seems
On the surface, betting with fiat or crypto on electronic sports is generally not much different from betting on traditional sports: one has to choose a reputable betting platform like 1xBit, find the corresponding section and then a game or a tournament of interest, check the offered odds and bet type, place the bet in mBTC or another currency, and then bask in the thrill of high-paced action.
However, if we dig a little deeper, we will discover that esports has already begun to outgrow classic sports in terms of the variety and complexity of betting options. The latter has a long-established framework for betting and odds setting based on certain limitations, such as match duration or the maximum number of points or sets required to win (volleyball, tennis, badminton), whereas a far greater number of variables impacts esports betting.
In Dota 2, each team member has to pick a character from a pool of 120, each with 4 unique abilities that have the potential to turn the tide of the game and influence the team's overall strategy and performance. Some heroes excel at the start of the game, while others display their prowess during the closing stages. Moreover, the game features more than 100 artifacts that can grant heroes new, more powerful abilities or significantly boost their default skills. That's why all Dota 2 bouts have an immense number of potential outcomes that are very hard to predict. Differences in maps also become a significant factor when calculating odds in games like Valorant and League of Legends.
This all shows that esports betting is already more complex than traditional sports betting to the extent that special analytical tools are being developed to help esports gamblers with decision-making. Examples of such software include Grid Esports, Esports One, Pinnacle, Abios, and ShadowBet. Taken together, these factors indicate that esports gambling has rapidly evolved into a highly intricate and engaging activity that cemented its place in the global gambling industry.