Esports and Esports betting has gone from niche interest to huge mainstream sport for millions of players – but just what is Esports betting?
When almost all traditional sports and sports betting shut down thanks to Covid in 2020, Esports and Esports betting not only carried on but thrived, attracting more and more fans across the world to a new and incredibly exciting sport – but you can be forgiven for not knowing just what is Esports betting. After all, this is a relatively new thing in sports and betting. So, for Esports betting meaning or Esports wagering meaning – just read on!
What are Esports anyway – a brief history
When you want to know what is Esports betting, you need to know about Esports, and that’s just the shortening of electronic sports, competitive online video games played by professionals and amateurs alike.
It all began in 1972 with Stamford University students playing Spacewar for the prize of a year’s subscription to Rolling Stone – a far cry from the millions in prizes today! Since the advent of the Internet, more and more online gaming has developed, beginning with 1988’s Netrek, the world’s first online sports game. Following that, the 1990s not only spawned tournaments and organisations such as the international Evolution Championship Series (EVO) Esports tournament, Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL), and the Professional Gamers League, but also introduced the games that became the basis for modern Esports – including Counter-Strike, StarCraft, and Warcraft.
Increasing Internet speeds and high-profile tournaments went hand in hand. Over the last two decades we’ve seen huge global tournaments and competitions, watched by hundreds of thousands of people, with superstar pro-players competing for prize money in the millions. The world of competitive Esports has taken off like no other; all streamed live via Twitch to billions of people worldwide. And of course, whether it’s CS:GO, Dota2, League of Legends, Fortnite, StarCraft, or whatever else is coming in the future, as long as there are gamers playing at the pro level, there’s going to be the opportunity to bet on Esports.
How does Esports betting work?
The simple answer to the question of what is Esports betting is that it’s just the same as any other sports betting – you bet on the outcomes of matches, games, and tournaments, with an estimated $1.5 billion plus of betting on Esports worldwide. You can find dedicated Esports bookmakers and Esports sections at most of the big names in online betting.
Types of Esports you can bet on
When you’re asking what is Esports betting, and looking for an Esports betting meaning, you need to know just what you can bet on, and that can be broken down into just a few broad genres of games. Most popular would be the First-Person Shooters, popularised by Counter Strike and Call Of Duty. Similar to FPS, you have the growing worlds of Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) gaming, where teams battle to victory in games such as League of Legends. And then you have fighting games, such as Street Fighter. And finally, there’s sports gaming, where players compete in virtual worlds of their favourite sports, including soccer with FIFA and basketball in NBA2K.
Types of Esports bets
- Outrights & Futures – a simple bet on the outcome of a competition, tournament, event, or even a particular stage in the event, either during the match (outrights) or in advance (futures).
- Match Winner – another simple bet, to pick the winner of a particular match.
- Point Spreads & Handicaps – just as with traditional sports, you can bet the spread or handicap on your Esports.
- Totals & Prop Bets – Here’s where Esports betting really gets interesting. Totals and props are any bets not depending on the result of the match or game. And with every different Esport, there are so many different totals and prop bets available. You could bet on maps played, total kills, first kills, and so much more – fancy betting on who gets the first Dragon, inhibitor, or a tower in LoL? Or betting on who wins the pistol rounds in CS:GO? There are all those and more available!
What is the Meaning of GG in betting
Video games are immersive and provide people with the impetus to give their best while playing. Esports are particularly competitive and quite often those involved get a bit too passionate about the game. Pro-players, as well as recreational punters know that proper etiquette is needed and that it benefits the entire community. Being polite and observing common sayings at the beginning and end of games goes a long way. In these paragraphs we’ll take a closer look at what is the meaning of GG in betting why it is considered polite to type these words at the end of the game.
When the game begins, it is customary for players to say GL HF. These abbreviations of “good luck” and “have fun”, suggest the willingness of players to be polite regardless of how competitive the games might get. During the match players can type WP and GJ, which stand for “well played” and “good job”. These sayings are commonly used mainly in team chat, as they acknowledge the contribution of teammates to amazing plays. At the end of the game, both the winning and then losing teams are supposed to say GG. This means “Good Game” and indicates the fact that both teams have enjoyed the match.
The Future of Esports betting
Esports has grown massively in the last few years, with more and more of us getting involved, the tournaments getting bigger and better, the pro players becoming legends. And Esports betting is getting bigger and bigger as well, with more and more bookmakers offering Esports betting on more and more Esports.
So now you know just what is Esports betting, you’re in a perfect position to get involved, get playing, get betting. And for more information, make sure you take a look at our bettingtips.gg Esports betting guide, where we go into more detail of just how you can get the best from your Esports betting.
