Esports Betting: How It Differs From Horse Racing

Context: This article explores esports betting as a comparison with horse racing, not as a current list of licensed operators or games. Titles, tournament formats and local betting permissions change; check the governing event and your jurisdiction before relying on an old example.

Have you heard the term esports lately? Probably so. These competitive events attract video gamers from all over the world. Esports have become so popular that people even bet on them. The future of esports and betting seems to look bright as more people become fascinated with electronic sports.

At Ez Horse Betting, we will take a look at esports and some of the most popular examples. We’ll also discuss how these events have taken on an appeal for the online bettor.

League of Legends Becomes an Obsession

Video gamers have always been passionate about their hobby. For many of them, playing games goes beyond a hobby. It is a complete lifestyle with its own culture.

Esports, or electronic sports, are events which use video games to simulate competition. Players compete through gaming screens, sometimes together at live arena events and sometimes remotely. The competitors are real people; the game environment is digital. They take these competitions seriously. Tournaments are always being held, and cash prizes have grown to six figures or more for the most popular games.

Ask those who play esports about the popularity of the events and you’ll soon arrive at League of Legends. This game is a prominent example of a competitive esports franchise. It was released in October 2009 and has gone on to attract millions of players. Riot’s 2019 esports fact sheet reports 44 million peak concurrent viewers for that year’s Worlds final. This is a dated peak-viewership metric, not an ESPN broadcast total or a current annual audience.

League of Legends is free to play. The franchise makes money by allowing its players to customize their characters in a number of ways. The game is essentially a battle arena in which contests are held to determine which player or team is strongest. Players use a variety of weapons and gear to eliminate other players on opposing squads.

This game and others like it have inspired a devoted following. People that play the games are very serious about the competitions. This seriousness has taken esports to another level, one where individuals bet on the outcome. Virtual sporting events with betting allowed may still feel a little futuristic, but here we are.

Betting Real Money on Virtual Battles

Online betting giant Bovada is just one of the companies to recognize the potential profit in esports betting. An older operator example does not establish today’s market availability or permission to bet where you live. Confirm the listed event, licensed service and settlement rules before treating any lobby as a current option. Esports matches involve actual players and uncertain outcomes; the digital setting does not make the competition imaginary or guarantee a payout.

League of Legends and other esports franchises are able to support the creation of teams. Some of these teams amass a huge following. It might even be proper to say that some esports teams have a larger following than actual sports teams. That translates to a lot of dollars being wagered at online betting sites.

And why not? People love to bet on anything and everything. Esports are no exception. They are actual competitions which feature actual people trying to best one another. You might not be willing to call these players athletes, but no one can deny their rabid fan bases.

Esports Vs. Fantasy Sports

Don’t make the mistake of marking esports and fantasy sports as the same thing. Fantasy sports involve real sports teams in the athletic field. For years it has been possible to wager on contests that use the stats of professional sports teams to determine winners and losers. Fantasy sports are a big deal for sites like FanDuel and DraftKings. They bring in millions of dollars in revenue each year.

Esports wagering usually concerns actual competitors playing an organized match in a named video game. Fantasy contests instead score selected rosters using participant statistics; a fantasy contest can even use esports statistics. Automated virtual sports are another category, with simulated outcomes rather than a live human match. Game characters do not define the wagering product. Identify who competes, how the winner is determined and what the operator settles before comparing odds or entering a contest.

What Horse Racing Bettors Can Learn from Esports Wagering

The rapid growth of esports betting offers some instructive lessons for the horse racing industry. Esports has succeeded in attracting younger, digitally native audiences by meeting them on their own terms — through streaming platforms, social media, and mobile-first betting interfaces that integrate seamlessly into how that demographic already consumes entertainment. Horse racing, which has struggled to attract younger bettors for decades, would do well to study these approaches carefully.

The live data and in-play betting features that define the esports wagering experience also have direct parallels in horse racing. Real-time odds movements, GPS-tracked race positions, and biometric data from horses are all potential building blocks for a more dynamic, in-the-moment betting experience that could appeal to an audience accustomed to the rapid feedback loops of esports wagering. These are possibilities to evaluate, not evidence that a particular racebook offers biometric wagering or that such a product improves outcomes. Verify the actual feed, market and availability. A pari-mutuel race pool also differs from a fixed-odds in-play market. For more on how technology is reshaping the horse racing betting experience, see our articles on real-time data and live analytics in horse race betting and how AI is changing the future of horse betting.

Regulatory Challenges Facing Esports Betting

Despite its rapid growth, esports betting faces significant regulatory hurdles that will shape its development over the coming years. Permissions depend on the jurisdiction, operator, game and event. Horse racing authorization does not automatically cover esports, and the absence of an obvious prohibition is not evidence that a market is approved. This ambiguity creates uncertainty for operators and bettors alike, and has contributed to a fragmented market where standards around age verification, responsible gambling, and match integrity vary widely between platforms. As regulatory frameworks catch up with the market’s growth, the esports betting industry will need to demonstrate that it can meet the same standards of consumer protection and integrity that traditional sports betting has developed over decades.

What Does the Future Hold for Betting on Esports?

One lesson from history cannot be denied. If there is interest in betting, someone will satisfy that interest. It has not taken very long for some online betting sites to recognize that there is money to be made on esports.

What people have to remember here is that hardcore bettors don’t necessarily have to be fans of certain events to make bets on them. Why is this important? Because 50-year-old Bob the Sports Bettor from Indiana could care less that these esports are contested among young video gamers. Bob may not even like video games, or even young people, but he likes to bet and win.

A bettor need not play a game professionally, but understanding its event is essential to evaluating a wager. Rosters, format, game patches, map selection and technical interruptions can change the relevant evidence. Familiarity with another sport does not establish an advantage here. An appealing price is still a risk, and studying a match does not promise a profitable result.

For this reason the future of esports and betting looks bright. The games themselves are more popular than ever. Online betting is becoming legal in more areas, especially in the United States. Everything always comes down to following the money, but industry revenue and a bettor’s net outcome are different things; many participants lose money.

It would also be likely to see online sports betting sites like operator involvement in esports. Other betting sites are likely to join in. Any specific sponsorship or product relationship should be checked against a dated announcement rather than assumed from this forecast.

A thrilling aspect of this is that all of it can be done from home. The players can play games at home. Bettors can now make bets without leaving the sofa. Convenience can make access easier, but does not establish a positive effect on spending, integrity or welfare. At the same time, those who oppose online betting believe esports betting will only create more problem gamblers.

Are you ready to make a bet on the next big League of Legends event? First confirm the approved event and your eligibility; a racebook review does not establish esports permissions. If you are in the United States, check our Bovada racebook review,  AmWager review, BUSR, BetUS, Twinspires review, or Betamerica review. If you are outside the US, online racebook comparison for comparison, subject to local eligibility.

More Topics:

• BetMGM adding a racebook

Compare the Underlying Event Before the Wager

Horse racing and esports both involve uncertain competitive outcomes, but the information a bettor needs differs. For a horse race, the official card, scratches, surface and pari-mutuel pool may be central. For an esports event, confirm the game version, roster, tournament format, match start and how the operator settles a postponement or technical interruption. Neither set of data turns a wager into an investment; track total spending and use only money set aside for entertainment.

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