The term eSports refers to the art of playing computer games professionally and has recently become recognized as a competitive sport in its own right. From it has sprung a multi-million dollar industry, with stadium-filling tournaments now taking place regularly around the world. In a recent review on the eSports industry, tech publication TechCrunch estimated it to be worth over $43 billion, with Reuters forecasting the 2019 annual revenue alone to top $1 billion.
As with many traditional sports before it, eSport tournaments has now become popular amongst the gambling and betting world. An increasing number of online casino and betting platforms that support Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are now adding additional options to bet on eSports matches. In fact, in April this year, the popular crypto news site Bitcoin.com published an article detailing the close relationship that eSports has with cryptocurrency.
Let’s have a look at some of the top sites where you can bet on eSports with Bitcoin:
Pinnacle.com
Pinnacle is an immersive sportsbook offering bets on everything from Tennis to Basketball. It recently added eSports to its range of services, with bets available currently on the ‘Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’ European Championships.
Pinnacle is popular for offering the best odds in the industry with low margins but lacks real-time customer support and requires a conversion of crypto to fiat.
OneHash
OneHash is a dedicated Bitcoin sports betting site offering odds on a range of sports around the world. For its eSports offerings its currently taking bets on the ESEA Premier Season Tournaments in Europe, America, and Australia.
Users of the OneHash site benefit from full anonymity and mutual betting options but the platform lacks much variety when it comes to bonuses or special events. Deposits and withdrawals can only be made directly in Bitcoin.
Sportsbet.io
Sportsbet.io is an online sportsbook and casino that offers a wide range of traditional sports, fantasy sports, virtual leagues, and eSports. It’s eSport offerings cover Counter-Strike, Dota 2, and League of Legends.
Customers can make deposits and withdrawals through several channels, including credit card, Neteller, AstroPay and Bitcoin. Sportsbet.io offers a welcome bonus of 3x your initial stake and accepts up to 100 BTC per bet.
1xBit
1xBit is one of the largest and most popular cryptocurrency betting platforms, accepting deposits and withdrawals in a wide range of coins including Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), Ethereum (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), DASH, Monero (XMR) and ZCash (ZEC).
In addition to eSports, it offers a wide range of traditional sports, slots, and a casino. eSports betting currently on offer include the ESEA Counter-Strike championships, Dota 2, Starcraft 2, and Rainbow Six.
Bovada
Bovada is a US-only sports betting and casino platform that recently began taking bets on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, Overwatch, Starcraft, King of Glory, and Rainbow Six.
The popular and long-running site is simple to use and features excellent customer support, along with deposits in both Bitcoin and credit card. Withdrawals, however, are only available either by Bitcoin or couriered check.
