Over the last five or so years, eSports has exploded into a mainstream betting market, with tons of betting options and games sports bettors can enjoy betting on.
That said, aside from the difference of betting on gamers and video games and not sports, eSports differs from traditional sports betting in several noticeable aspects.
Here are the most significant differences between eSports and regular sports betting that you should know about.
Types of Bets
As we’ve highlighted in the intro, one of the main differences between eSports and regular sports betting is the type of bets you can place.
Traditional sports come with familiar types of bets such as money line bets, straight bets, and some handicap bets. This doesn’t change whether we’re talking about sports betting in the US or Europe.
There are other types of bets, but the variety of options is much narrower than what you can bet on in eSports events.
In eSports, you have all of these standard bets at your disposal. You also have a number of specific wagers depending on the video game you’re betting on.
For example, if you’re betting on a first-person shooter like CS: GO or Battlefield, you can place wagers on betting markets like the first map, first kill, and first blood. This extends your betting options and makes for a more thrilling experience.
Different Competition Formats
We’re all familiar with how at least some traditional competitions work. They use either a league-based or tournament-based format spanning several weeks up to an entire year.
Apart from sports like tennis and a few other less-known ones, most traditional sports don’t have a match system. Even in poker, the one-on-one format is arguably the least popular, at least with live events.
In eSports, every event and game combines both league and tournament formats, and most events are decided by a match. From the bettors’ perspective, this makes for a much more exciting and complex betting experience.
Player Fatigue and Injury Factors
When you’re betting on a traditional sport, especially an individual one like tennis or athletics, player fatigue, form, or any persistent injuries are crucial factors that can impact the game’s outcome.
Even in top-tier group sports competitions, there are many personal factors you should consider.
If you want to bet with success regularly, you have to follow all injury updates and can rely on reliable patterns established over the long existence of sports and traditional sports betting.
Oppositely to all of this, in the world of online eSports betting, these factors have a much less significant role in shaping the overall winning odds. Injuries and fatigue still occur, just on a much smaller scale than in traditional sports.
In eSports, players most commonly get fatigued because of back-to-back long gaming sessions or congested match times. These factors are different compared to those in conventional sports, but still worth keeping in mind.
Results Variability
Volatility is a crucial factor to consider when wagering real money. This is something many casino players understand and carefully pick casino games in accordance with this.
But, volatility or variance is also present in eSports and sports betting, just in a slightly different form.
In traditional sports, Cinderella stories are possible. But, they are precisely that – stories that happen very rarely and are impossible to predict.
For example, Leicester F.C. winning the Premier League or Greece winning the UEFA EURO 2004. But, one of these happened five years ago, while the other occurred close to two decades ago.
In most cases, you know who the favorites are, and there will be very few surprises in the grand scheme of things.
Esports betting is arguably much more volatile, mainly because it’s inherently more chaotic than traditional sports betting. There are a lot of events around the clock, and underdog stories are much more common.
Teams or players are rarely dominant for several years, and new faces come up very quickly. Again, from the bettor’s perspective, this makes betting more challenging but arguably more rewarding as well.
Digitality vs. Reality
Lastly, another thing that makes eSports betting different from betting on conventional sports is that there are no external factors that can affect the outcome of your bet.
The game or event you’re betting on is entirely digital. There’s no heavy rainfall, snow, or storm that can postpone the event or affect how the participants are playing. Moreover, you don’t have to sweat about referee mistakes and bad calls.
Sports and eSports Betting: More Similar Than Different?
Sports and eSports betting differ in several significant ways. But, the two industries also share many similarities. Both are very fun, exciting, and offer you a wide range of options to bet on.
Moreover, both sports and eSports betting are available on an abundance of online websites. Regardless of which of the two you prefer, you should consider combining the two from time to time to keep things interesting and spread your bankroll.
