As the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic spreads across the globe, sporting events have been cancelled or postponed leaving sports bettors looking for suitable alternatives. Many have turned to eSports as a viable option with dozens of different markets to choose from and plenty of opportunities to win big. If you have been thinking of taking a punt on eSports, keep reading as we explain the main differences between eSports betting and traditional sports betting.
What You are Betting On?
While the term “sports betting” encompasses a full range of betting genres, traditionally, you will be placing a wager on some sort of sporting match or tournament. Whether is bet Boxing, Formula 1, Ice Hockey, Bandy, or Darts, the action takes place in the real world with the athletes determining the outcome.
With eSports, you will be betting on the outcome of a video game. The games may all be different, but the point is that the skills you are betting on are those of the players controlling the game. There are no athletes competing on the field, what you are seeing is a team vs team or one-on-one video game where a major tournament attracts hundreds of thousands of online viewers.
The Types of Betting Markets
With traditional sports betting, the betting markets vary in number and diversity depending on the sport. With Football for example, you will find as many as 30 different markets from match winner to which team will receive the most cards? With eSports betting, the markets are less diverse and relate directly to the game genres.
With all https://onlinebettingnz.co.nz/esports/ matches and tournaments you will find the regular set of markets such as match winner, tournament winner, and group winner. The games also have “maps” which are like rounds and are usually played best-of-three or best-of-five. You then have the option of betting on a specific round in any match. Other genre-specific bets include First Blood, Total Number of Kills, and Winning Method.
Betting Strategies
While some people liken eSports to online gambling or slots machines, the betting strategies are more closely related to those of traditional sports betting. There are important points to remember though. Unlike traditional sports, eSports matches take place in a controlled digital environment. Therefore, things like home ground advantage and team fatigue cannot influence the outcome of the game.
With eSports, the teams and players usually specialise in one genre such as First Person Shooters or Real Time Strategy games. If you want to successfully predict the outcome of a match, research should be done on the players themselves. Find out what genres they are good at, if they work better alone or in a team, which character they use and if they prefer defensive or offensive game characteristics.
Research and Game Knowledge
As with traditional sports betting, the more you know about eSports games, the greater your chances of predicting a winner. Game knowledge is essential in understanding the skill involved in winning a match. It is recommended the bettors play the game themselves to understand the skills needed to win a match.