The world of gambling has continued to evolve in betting styles and overall gameplay. Players now have more in terms of variety and are not limited to playing only on casino floors. Gambling has moved on from its simple days to feature more gaming options such as sportsbook betting. But it doesn’t stop there.
Sportsbook betting has subsequently begun a new wave in the gambling community. Today, we no longer have just regular sports betting, but also eSports betting, which is a relatively new type of gambling made solely for video games. Blockchain technology has also made giant strides in the gambling community as well.
In this article, however, we will take a look at the two main sportsbook types—traditional sports betting and esports betting. Here, we will explain what sports and esports betting are, before discussing the differences between them.
Read on.
What Is Sports Betting?
Since sports betting became a thing in Nevada back in the year 1949, the world of gambling has taken on an entirely new dimension. Sportsbook offered gamblers the unique opportunity to bet on live games of their favorite sports which were different from regular casino games.
Sports betting has since grown from infancy to worldwide domination. Now, with the advent of online gambling, players can bet on any type of sport of their choosing from the comfort of their mobile devices. Sports betting typically features any type of regular sports, including the following:
- Soccer
- American football
- Basketball
- Baseball
- Cricket
- Hockey
- Rugby
- Handball
- Volleyball
- Badminton
- Car racing
- Boxing, etc.
Sports betting also features not-so-regular sports such as dog and horse racing; basically, anything that involves competition.
What Are eSports?
eSports betting is the practice of wagering money on types of sporting competitions popularly known as electronic sports. These types of sporting competitions typically revolve around video games and are played between two or more players. At csgobettings.com, for example, you can find the most reliable and top-rated CS:GO betting sites.
Electronic sports competitions have existed for quite some time, stretching as far back as the late 1990s. In the early stages, esports were played at a more amateur level and mainly for fun. However, by the late 2000s, esports took on a different dimension when they began to feature in major gaming events.
Since then, they have become a big pop culture showpiece and have since emerged as a formidable part of the online betting industry. The popularity of esports has continued to soar courtesy of live streaming technology which forms an integral part of esports tournaments.
Video game manufacturers have also made substantial contributions to the growth and structure of esports. Some common examples of esports games are Call of Duty, Warcraft, League of Legends, CSGO, and Fortnite.
eSports are also however grouped into 4 main categories or types in terms of their organization. These include:
- Player versus Player (PvP) – this features two players playing against each other.
- Multi-Player Online Battle Arena (MOBA) – this one involves a team of players playing against each other, for example, a team of four players playing against another team of four. League of Legends is a common example.
- Real-time Strategy (RTS) – this type of gameplay involves a player playing with a strategy in mind. The player is usually placed in a situation where he has to use tools and resources to navigate his way around various obstacles and opponents. Warcraft is an example of a game that involves RTS.
- First Person Shooter (FPS) – in FPS, the player sees the game through the eyes of the game’s protagonist. Call of Duty is one example that comes to mind.
Differences Between Sports and eSports Betting
Here are five differences between sports and esports betting:
1. Statistics
Traditional sports betting usually has fewer stats for players to use when predicting, while esports betting usually has more stats for players to use when predicting games. There are sites dedicated to all types of esports. One example is Liquipedia. Traditional sports bettors, on the other hand, have to find individual sites that give information on different games.
2. Legality
Both sports and esports betting vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction in terms of legality. Countries like the US and Australia have state or regional laws that regulate the activities of both traditional sports betting and esports betting. However, when it gets to the federal level, things start to look a little different, especially for traditional sports betting in both.
There are generally no federal laws in the United States or Australia that prevent players from betting on sports on foreign sites.
3. Game Formats
Conventional sports betting is usually based on tournaments like leagues or international features. These offer an opportunity for players to wager on competitions between teams in each of those tournaments.
On the other hand, esports makes use of different gaming titles such as League of Legends, Overwatch, CS:GO etc. Wagers are made based on games that result in a one-time knockout of one opponent against the other. Esports may also incorporate league formats, although rarely.
4. Wagering Types
Sports betting usually features money line bets and handicaps. Wagers are made with different conditions to include the score line, the number of goals, wins, draws, first and second half results, etc. It could also extend to player performance and the number of fouls recorded in a match. Traditional sports bets usually have more wagering options and ways to increase odds than esports.
Esports games may have players wager on a winner or loser situation and can also include different types of handicaps.
5. Knowledge Base
Another major difference between esports betting and traditional sports betting is that you do not need to understand any sport to play the latter. You only need to understand each wagering option and you can make a bet. This is quite different with esports. In esports, one needs to understand, play, and master the games before they can make bets on them.
Final Thoughts
Gamblers often make the mistake of thinking that esports and traditional sports betting are the same thing. This is hardly the case. However, that is not to say exclusively that both do not share some striking similarities. If you are an expert in traditional sports, never go into esports with the same attitude thinking you can make the same impact.
Esports requires a different level of knowledge in gaming titles and also learning how to play them.