Esports betting has really grown in recent years. More and more esports lovers are joining the betting platform and seeking trustworthy sites that can offer them security, bonuses offers and a variety of esports to bet on. So this blog will help you to understand esports betting and choose the most reliable esports betting sites.
Introduction
Brief Overview of the Growth of Esports in the U.S.
The U.S. market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 21.9% from 2025 to 2030. In terms of segment, sponsorship was the largest revenue-generating revenue source in 2024. Media rights is the most lucrative revenue source segment registering the fastest growth during the forecast period.
Esports betting is swiftly gaining ground within the casino sector, merging traditional gambling with the challenging world of video gaming. In 2023, the global esports betting sector was estimated at about $1.5 billion, with forecasts suggesting it could reach $6.7 billion by 2028, based on a report by Newzoo.
Why Esports Betting is Gaining Popularity in 2025
Esports betting is growing fast and is not just for hardcore fans anymore. More people are choosing to bet on esports, drawn in by esports betting trends like real-time odds, new formats, and global events. What used to be a niche market now brings in billions each year.
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What Is Esports Betting?
Definition of Esports Betting
Esports betting is the practice of gambling on a video game match. Esports betting can be done before the match starts or during the match. The 3 types of esports betting are fixed-odds betting, private betting, and skin/loot box betting. These include popular esports games like League of Legends, Dota 2, Counter-Strike 2, and Call of Duty.
Types of Bets: Match Winner, Over/under Maps, Props, Outright Tournament Bets
Match Winner Bets
Moneyline betting is a type of match winner bet where you bet straight on who wins a match. So in a BO3 match you would win your bet if the team you bet on wins either 2-0 or 2-1. Similarly, in a BO5 match you would win as long as your team wins, whether it is 3-0, 3-1 or 3-2.
Over/under Bets
In sports betting, an over-under bet is a bet on whether a specific statistic for a game will be higher or lower than a pre-agreed value. This type of bet is also known as a total bet. The most common type of over-under bet is on the combined score of two teams in a match.
Props Bets
A bet made regarding the occurrence or non-occurrence during a game (usually a gambling game) of an event not directly affecting the game’s outcome.
Outright Tournament Bets
An outright bet—also known as a tournament winner bet or a season-long wager—is a wager placed on the final outcome of an entire competition, rather than on a single game or event. You’re predicting the overall champion of a tournament or league
Legality of Esports Betting in the USA
Overview of legal states vs restricted states
The legality of esports betting in the USA varies by state, following the Supreme Court’s decision in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association in 2018, which struck down the federal ban on sports betting. This decision allowed states to legalize and regulate sports betting, including esports betting, at their discretion.
Allowed States: Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania are among the states that have explicitly legalized and regulated esports betting. These states have established regulatory frameworks that include esports within their sports betting legislation.
Restricted States: In contrast, states like Utah and Hawaii maintain strict anti-gambling laws that extend to esports betting, with no legal sports betting operations.
Best Esports Betting Sites in the USA
Criteria for ranking: user interface, bonuses, odds quality, and game coverage.
Attractive bonus systems
The best esports betting sites use attractive welcome bonuses to attract new players to sign up and make a deposit. They also use various VIP systems and loyalty programs to keep their existing customers coming back for more.
Customer Service
As for customer service, we examine all available channels (phone, email, and live chat) and test them on 2-3 separate occasions to find out how fast and efficient the customer service experience is.
Extra Security Measures
It’s no surprise that all esports bookies you look for should offer you enough security options. Furthermore, they must ensure that all of your private data is secure.
Overall User Experience
Top-rated betting sites for esports often come with a range of beneficial features that enhance your user experience. For starters, there should be a clean layout that makes the website easy to navigate. The different esports games should be neatly categorized with different betting types easy to select and place bets on.
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List of Top Best Esports Betting Sites
DraftKings
DraftKings Esports provides an engaging platform that blends online gaming with sports betting. Users can participate in fantasy esports, where they create teams of professional players from various games, such as League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Dota 2. Each team earns points based on the real-world performance of selected players.
MyStake
MyStake offers a wide range of betting options, including esports, sports, live betting, virtual betting, casino, and live casino. Some of the biggest esports coverage with competitive odds concentrates on Dota 2, League of Legends, and Counter-Strike but goes deep into the niche games.
Pinnacle
Pinnacle gives you the complete betting experience with the full range of casino, live casino, sports, and esports betting for you. Offering 13 different esports with great low-margin odds, Pinnacle’s a leader in esports betting. Offers a massive range of payments, including crypto payments
Bet365
The world’s favourite online betting site and certainly one of the world’s largest, offering you everything you could want in esports betting—including Counter-Strike, Dota 2, League of Legends, Valorant, and so many more, all with a great choice of tournaments and betting markets, including outrights
Legal States for Esports Betting
As of May 2025, the following U.S. states have legalized esports betting in some form:
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
Understanding Esports Betting Odds
Explanation of how esports betting odds work (decimal, fractional, American formats)
Decimal odds are the easiest way for bettors to calculate how much they could win if they bet correctly. In essence, the lower the decimal number, the higher the probability that the team will win. The higher the decimal odds, the lower the probability of the team winning.
Fractional odds are often used, as most sports bettors are familiar with them, and they’re easy to understand, clearly showing what you’d win for a small stake. With odds-on bets, you’ll win the larger number if you stake the smaller number. With odds-on, you’ll win the smaller value when you bet the higher.
American odds use the plus and minus sign to convey the potential return for any bet. American odds always use a baseline value of $100. A negative number indicates how much you’ll have to bet to win $100, and a positive number indicates how much you’ll win if you bet $100.
How Odds Reflect Probability and Value
Odds reflect implied probability and include a margin for bookmakers to ensure profitability. This means that betting odds are not always an accurate representation of true probabilities but are influenced by market dynamics and bookmaker strategies as well.
Importance of Odds Comparison Across Platforms
In addition to increasing your chances of winning, comparing odds can also help punters maximize their profits. Even a small difference in odds can have a significant impact on the overall profitability of your bets in the long run.
Tips to Interpret and Use Odds for Strategy
Simply put, the greater the odds against a team, the larger the payout will be for anyone who bets on that team and wins. For example, 7 to 2 odds mean that for every $2 you wager, you could win $7 if your bet is successful, while 5 to 1 odds mean you could win $5 for every $1 you bet.
Final Thoughts
The esports betting market has been growing steadily, and the numbers from 2024 make that clear. Having a proper knowledge helps with your betting and makes you avoid losses. Choose trusted sites for betting. And now you are good to go for esports betting Responsible gambling is essential to ensure that gambling remains a source of entertainment rather than a source of harm.
Courtesy: https://www.covers.com/, https://www.globenewswire.com, https://www.oddsshark.com
