Overwatch is taking over the world of esports. Ever since the introduction of OWL, the game has gained a ton of traction, challenging the viewership of established titles like CS:GO, Dota 2, and League of Legends. With that, more and more fans are asking the “how to bet on Overwatch” question.
However, it might be difficult to go through hundreds of esports bookmakers, betting markets, and competitive organizations on your own. So, we’re bringing you the ultimate Overwatch betting guide to give you a head start in the world of esports gambling!
Pick a good Overwatch bookmaker
If you want to set yourself up for success, you need to pick a good Overwatch bookmaker.
Granted, it also helps to read esports betting tips and make accurate predictions, but all of that is meaningless if you didn’t bother to pick a good gambling platform. After all, this is where the majority of your betting action will take place. So it makes sense to choose the site that gives you all the necessary tools for successful Overwatch match betting.
Here are some things to look for:
- Trustworthiness: Even though you want to start betting as soon as possible, money is hard to come by in this world. That’s why you want to do some research and avoid accidentally giving away your deposit to some shady company. Cross-reference bookmaker reviews. Look up licenses and affiliations. Check how long they’ve been in business—an older company is more credible, provided it isn’t involved in any scandals. In short, search for anything that proves you can trust your bookmaker.
- Odds: In the end, there’s no reason to figure out how to bet on Overwatch if you can’t get good odds for your wagers. This is the most important thing to consider, as it will determine how profitable you are in the long term. Keep in mind that bookmakers tend to have their own opinion on esports matches, so you might encounter very different deals on different platforms. That’s where you can use your game knowledge to decide which offers present more value. Otherwise, look up trusted reviews or make an odds comparison of your own.
- Customer support: Just like most things in life, Overwatch match betting isn’t secure from accidents. However, few things are worse than encountering a technical issue when you’re trying to withdraw your money or attempting to place a wager. The best Overwatch betting sites will help you resolve these issues, but you might have a hard time getting the same treatment from other platforms.
- Other factors: We all have our personal preferences. Maybe you want to keep your gambling to your smartphone, so you need a site with a good betting app. Or you prefer to follow the action on a live stream while you tailor your wagers to the state of the game. Or you wish to use bitcoins because you value extra privacy and security. Whatever your taste, chances are you’ll find a site that’s perfect for it.
Still not sure how to choose a good esports bookmaker?
Don’t worry because we’ve prepared a comprehensive list of the Top 10 esports betting sites. Each platform there has a solid reputation as well as a variety of traits that make it stand out from the competition. So, feel free to choose the one that suits you best.
Take advantage of Overwatch promotions
Every Overwatch betting site wants to draw in more customers. And to do that, most of them provide lucrative offers and deposit bonuses. So before you decide how to bet on Overwatch, it’s smart to set yourself up for success by taking advantage of these promotions.
The majority of the offers depend on the specific site, so you should check for good deals when you’re doing your bookmaker research. Most betting companies will offer to match your deposit, provided you gamble enough on their platforms. However, you can also find discounts, cool prizes, and even risk-free bets.
Make sure to pay extra attention to the offer’s conditions. If the promotion sounds too good to be true, chances are it’s excruciatingly hard to fulfill its requirements. Still, don’t settle for mediocrity. You want to strike a good balance that gets you over the initial hump of starting out in Overwatch match betting without forcing you to take unnecessary risks. Also, remember that most promotions apply to new customers only, so you won’t be able to keep using them.
Make a deposit
Now that you’ve picked a suitable bookmaker, it’s time to make your deposit. But first, visit the site to make sure it supports your payment method. Most platforms have no issues accepting money from Visa and MasterCard, and you can count on them to support common e-wallets like PayPal and Skrill. Still, things can get problematic if you want to make a direct bank transfer or perform a Bitcoin transaction.
Another thing you have to check is whether you can make a withdrawal. There’s no reason to browse esports betting tips and make accurate predictions if you can’t take your money out, and that situation is all too common. After all, even the best Overwatch betting sites tend to be very generous with their online betting deposit methods while offering fewer ways to make withdrawals.
And before we get to the ins and outs of how to bet on Overwatch, it’s a good idea to pick up some tricks from bankroll management. Every experienced punter knows to draw a distinction between gambling funds and life savings, so don’t put all of your money into Overwatch betting. Otherwise, you might end with nothing to sustain your daily life.
Learn how to bet on Overwatch Games
Finally, we can get to the actual betting aspect. Overwatch is a thriving esport, but it’s also very young, so it doesn’t have as many betting markets as other titles. Still, it’s easy to get lost if you don’t have much gambling experience, so here are some markets you should always remember:
Overwatch tournament winner betting
OWL might be dominating the scene, but there are still many other Overwatch tournaments around. And if you’re looking to follow events like Contenders, World Cup, or Team Story, you will often get the chance to bet on the tournament winner.
This is a fairly straightforward wager where you try to predict who’s going to take the trophy. Keep in mind that timing is everything here, and the sooner you make this bet, the better your odds. So, if you think British Hurricane are going to win Overwatch Contenders: Europe, place a wager on them in advance.
Overwatch match winner betting
This is a very basic bet where you decide which of the two teams will take the win. If your prediction is accurate, you get the money. If not, tough luck. But even though the concept is simple, it lays the foundation for your other Overwatch wagers. After all, it’s quite hard to navigate other betting markets if you can’t tell the underdogs from the favorites.
Overwatch correct score betting
The correct score bet is an advanced version of the wager above. In this case, not only do you need to tell who’s going to win, but you also have to guess how many maps they win and lose in the process. Most Overwatch games take the form of Bo5s (best of five games), so the format is already tricky enough, but things get really out of hand in Bo7 (best of seven) matches. The risk is high, but lucrative odds make these bets worth considering.
Overwatch map winner betting
Much like in other esports, you can place a bet on which team is going to win a certain map. However, Overwatch still stands out from the crowd. For one, maps will often switch between game modes like Escort, Assault, Control, and Hybrid.
With that, making a good map winner bet comes down to how well you know your Overwatch teams. For example, if Seoul Dynasty is a strong Control team, it makes sense to put money on them when they’re playing on Nepal. And if they have a losing streak on Escort maps, you should probably avoid betting on them on Junkertown.
Overwatch handicap betting
Overwatch handicap bets might seem confusing, but they’re much more straightforward than you think. Basically, every handicap scenario adds (or subtracts) a number of wins from the team you’re betting on, artificially increasing (or decreasing) its chances. Still confused?
Here’s an example: Let’s say OpTic Academy meets Fusion University at Overwatch Contenders: North America.
You’ve assessed the situation and came to a conclusion that OpTic have a chance, but it’s not a very big one. So, you place a +2.5 handicap wager on them. Now, if OpTic win the series 3-0, 3-1, or even 3-2, you’ll get your payout. However, even if they lose, you can still win the bet if they take one of two maps because 2.5 maps will be added to their final score.
By the way, this example actually happened, and the scoreline looked like this: Fusion University 3:1 OpTic Academy. But if you’ve made the abovementioned handicap bet, the bookmaker would add 2.5 maps to OpTic’s score to make the final outcome look like this: Fusion University 3:3.5 OpTic Academy.
So, even though your team lost, you win the bet. The only time you can lose this wager is when Fusion 3-0 OpTic, but if you’re confident that’s not going to happen, a handicap bet presents a good way of reducing variance.
Overwatch maps total over/under betting
Sometimes no amount of esports betting tips will help you predict a winner. Certain matchups are just too close, or there’s not enough information for an accurate forecast. Still, you can work around this issue with an over/under bet.
Let’s go back to our Fusion University vs OpTic Academy example. If you place a wager on the maps total being under 3.5, you’ll get your payout if either team scores a 3-0 victory. In that case, both teams play three maps, so the bet condition is fulfilled. But considering the actual result was a 3-1 victory for Fusion University, you would have to predict the maps total to be over 3.5 to win this bet. Of course, if Fusion find a 3-2, you also get your payout (the total is still above 3.5), and the same applies to the cases where OpTic wins 3-1 or 3-2.
In short, over/under bets are decided by the length of the series. Usually, you want to put your money on the maps over if teams are evenly matched. And the maps under bet works well if you’re dealing with two momentum-based lineups.
Other Overwatch bets
In the end, even the largest Overwatch betting guide wouldn’t be able to cover every single market. Different bookmakers offer different options to their customers, and you might very well encounter unorthodox wagers.
Approach these with a cool head. Granted, some bets will open up new gambling opportunities, but oftentimes their win conditions are so narrow it’s next to impossible to fulfill them.
Overwatch live betting
While this isn’t exactly a separate betting market, you can improve your gambling experience with live betting. Of course, many bookmakers don’t provide this option, but if you find the right platform, they’ll allow you to bet while the game is in play. And if you have enough Overwatch knowledge, you’ll be able to adjust your bets to the state of the game. Just don’t take too long because bookmakers also tend to change their odds.
A good example of this is when you see an Overwatch team pick a team comp it historically struggles to execute. Or maybe you spot attackers blowing their ultimates and not achieving much in the process. Keep in mind, though, that most streams have a delay, so make sure you aren’t too far behind the official broadcast. Otherwise, you might end up making bad decisions.
Choose your Overwatch tournament
Unlike many popular esports titles, Overwatch doesn’t have a constant stream of tournaments. Most viewers will be naturally attracted to the Overwatch League (OWL), but you could still branch out to other events. For example, Overwatch: Contenders provide great wagers if you know the amateur scene. And while it tends to be volatile, few events are as thrilling to bet on as the Overwatch World Cup.
Finally, other competitions like Overwatch Team Story or Overwatch Saudi Regional Tournament show up from time to time. So if you have knowledge of the local esports scene, you could find good value there. Of course, don’t chase lesser-known tournaments just for the sake of it. It’s always best to bet on familiar events since you want to take full advantage of your Overwatch insight.
Hopefully, this guide answered the question of how to bet on Overwatch. Keep in mind that you can increase your chances by using resources like Winston’s Lab or official OWL standings to get a good grasp of the competitive scene. And if you’re diligent about it, you can definitely kick-start a successful Overwatch betting career.