eSports

How do sportsbooks and bettors benefit from esports?

Published

5 years ago

September 1, 2021

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Betting on esports events has numerous advantages when compared to sports betting. First of all, it’s because of its “always present” nature.

Unlike sporting events, held at a particular time of the year, esports events are available for bettors and fans 24/7/365.

Additionally, it is pretty easy to bet on esports events because there is a wide variety of live esports matches on various gaming and streaming platforms, including sportsbooks. Traditional sporting events: football, basketball or ice hockey are seasonal and follow a rigid schedule, unlike their console counterparts (efootball, ebaskteball, eice hockey). The esports betting world is the complete opposite, it’s all about 24/7 tournaments, a plethora of match formats that are constantly updated, a broad range of markets, and gripping competitions.

However, sports will always drive the esports industry. Even though the Covid-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the schedule of sporting events, they still attract millions of fans to tune in to traditional broadcast television instead of streaming platforms and services. Sports still get more views than esports, but it might only be a matter of time because the esports industry appears to be entering an impressive development stage.

Esports is expanding the betting industry

Thanks to regular broadcasts of esports events that boosted the gaming, esports and betting industries began to enjoy phenomenal demand. Even the international tournaments like the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship have increased the need for esports betting. According to the ESportsBattle tournaments’ organizer, their efootball matches became more sought-after by sportsbooks’ customers during the EURO 2020. The quantity of ESportsBattle efootball matches streamed by one of the leading betting operators has increased x3 from December 2020 to June 2021.

In July 2021, when IEM Cologne 2021 took place, ESportsBattle CS:GO matches chalked up far more views; the numbers have risen dramatically: from 120K in June to almost 200K in July. Furthermore, the number of views increased by 73% from the beginning of 2021. One betting operator stated a nearly 40% uptake in the number of active bettors of EsportsBattles’ CS:GO events (from June to July).

Bettors of ESportsBattle CS:GO tournaments are provided with the following markets to place bets on: match winner (2-way or 3-way), match handicap, total maps, correct map score, map winner (2-way and 3-way), total rounds.

How to bet on esports?

The betting landscape contains lots of companies and brands covering numerous events, including various formats and modes. Let’s say you have only 15 minutes and want to place a bet on the whole match. It is possible with esports because you will be able to watch the game, check the result, and get a quick bet calculation within this time slot.

Sportsbooks offer fast esports content to meet the above mentioned bettors’ needs. Once you have chosen the operator the next step is to select the markets to bet on. We’ll name the most common of them.

Betting Outrights

These are outright bets you usually make before an event begins. One of the most traditional bets in this category is which player or team will be the outright champion of a tournament.

Match Winner

As the name implies, all you have to do is choose which team or player you believe will win. The odds in this market may be fixed, indicating that they are set by an odds compiler some time before the match starts, or they may depend on how many bets are placed on one of the outcomes.

Handicap Betting

Handicap betting is similar to match-winner betting because you are choosing between only two outcomes. However, in this case, the sportsbook tries to remove one of the player’s or teams’ advantages by giving them a head start.

Totals

If you were to bet on this market, you would bet on how many of something (e.g., maps in CS:GO) will be played out in a match. For CS:GO, you can bet on the number of maps played in a match, or the number of rounds played in a map. The thing is that your bet is entirely focused on how long a match will last.

To sum up: if you are new to esports betting, the best way to be good at it is to try it. And the most incredible thing about esports betting is that anyone can do it since the bet types are pretty simple, and you only need to choose your sportsbook.

eSports

Esports Awards adds player-voted EWC Players’ Choice Award, extends Esports Foundation deal

Published

3 days ago

June 19, 2026

Wladimir P.

esports-awards-adds-player-voted-ewc-players’-choice-award,-extends-esports-foundation-deal

The Esports Awards and the Esports Foundation (EF) on June 18, 2026, announced a three-year extension of their partnership through 2028 and introduced a new player-voted honor, the EWC Players’ Choice Award. The announcement was made in London, with voting tied to Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 in Paris.

The EWC Players’ Choice Award will be decided exclusively by professional esports players. According to the announcement, competitors attending EWC 2026 will vote in person, while a secure digital voting platform hosted by the Esports Awards will allow participation from additional eligible players and clubs.

Eligibility requires players to have competed in at least one qualifying S, A or B-Tier tournament during the official competitive season. Players will not be able to vote for themselves or teammates, with the Esports Awards overseeing the process.

“The talent and innovation of our sector should be getting the exposure it deserves.,” said Michael Ashford, CEO of the Esports Awards. “The Esports Foundation has done an incredible job in generating mainstream attention, and industry exposure outside of the standard circuit. Our partnership has enabled us to expand our operations and footprint and it’s through our continued collaboration that I hope we can bring the Esports Awards to the global community, and provide the industry with better visibility all year round.”

The Esports Awards also confirmed its 2026 ceremony will take place in the United States, starting what it described as a rotating host city model featuring “previously unvisited destinations.” The event previously staged its 2024 awards ceremony and the 2025 Decade Awards in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as part of the Esports World Cup program.

EWC 2026 is scheduled for Paris from July 06 through August 23, 2026, with more than 2,000 players and 200 Clubs from over 100 countries set to compete in 25 tournaments across 24 games. Voting for the EWC Players’ Choice Award will run from July 1 through August 18, 2026, with the winner to be revealed during the Esports Awards ceremony later this year. The Esports Awards said additional details about its 2026 event will be announced in the coming weeks.

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chess

ENC 2026 chess qualifiers wrap as 82 nations and territories make the field

Published

4 days ago

June 18, 2026

Wladimir P.

enc-2026-chess-qualifiers-wrap-as-82-nations-and-territories-make-the-field

The Esports Foundation (EF) has completed the online regional qualifiers for the Chess tournament at the Esports Nations Cup 2026 (ENC), scheduled to debut in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from November 2-29, 2026.

EF said the 128-player chess field is now largely set. 64 players from 64 countries and territories received direct invitations via official Champions Chess Tour (CCT) rankings at the end of May, while 61 players qualified through online regional events operated by Chess.com across North America, South America, Africa, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East/India/Central Asia, and East Asia/Southeast Asia/Oceania.

A further slot was awarded to Amani Alazmi (Kuwait) via the Host Region Wildcard as the next highest-placing competitor from the host region. Two Wildcard Solidarity slots for underrepresented regions remain and will be announced at the end of August after all ENC qualifiers are completed. With qualifiers concluded, EF said at least 82 countries and territories will be represented in chess at ENC 2026.

EF highlighted that Jamaica, Paraguay, Singapore, South Africa, Tajikistan, Tunisia, and Turkmenistan each secured two qualifying slots despite not receiving a direct invitation. Honduras, Mexico, El Salvador, Venezuela, Morocco, Nigeria, Algeria, Jordan, Australia, and New Zealand secured one slot each.

The chess competition runs November 2-8. EF said the event will open with a round-robin group stage featuring 16 groups of eight players, before moving to a 64-player single-elimination playoff bracket. The full list of qualified players and nations is available on the ENC website’s chess page.

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1xBet

HLTV Awards returns to Belgrade on January 9, 2027, adding Lifetime Achievement honor

Published

5 days ago

June 17, 2026

Wladimir P.

hltv-awards-returns-to-belgrade-on-january-9,-2027,-adding-lifetime-achievement-honor

HLTV will stage the HLTV Awards presented by 1xBet in Belgrade, Serbia on January 9, 2027, returning to the Sava Center. The company said more than 1,000 players, industry professionals, creators, and fans are expected to attend.

HLTV also confirmed Dust2 creator David Johnston will feature as an award announcer. HLTV linked the booking to the 25th anniversary of Dust2.

For 2026, HLTV is updating its Hall of Fame process and eligibility rules. Four players will be inducted again, with “at least two and up to three” slots reserved for players from the Counter-Strike 1.6 and early eras. HLTV also removed the former “neo rule,” allowing players to be inducted for their playing careers even if they remain active in other roles such as coaching.

HLTV is adding a Lifetime Achievement Award, which will be decided by the Hall of Fame Board. The ceremony will also move Community Awards onto the main stage show for the first time, rather than the pre-show segment.

Separately, HLTV will kick off the 2027 Awards season with an invite-only “HLTV Awards by 1xBet Launch Party x GRID” in Cologne during the Major. HLTV said industry members can apply for an invite to the ceremony via its awards page.

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