Esports Betting Sites

Esports Overview

Canadian esports betting markets are moving fast, with many options available. Whether you’re into first-person shooters, MOBAs or sports simulation, there’s something for you. If you’re thinking of taking steps into the esports market, or want to learn more, our detailed guide is here to help you along the way.

Top Sportsbooks for Esports Betting

View our team's review process for finding the best esports casino sites.

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Betting on Esports

When it comes to betting on esports, there are more options than you could ever need. From tournament winners to match results and even game specific markets, such as how many kills a player will get in a match.

That is why we have developed this guide, featuring some of the best sportsbooks that offer esports markets, to help you get to grips with esports betting.

How to Bet on Esports

1. Pick your favourite sportsbook offering esports betting
2. Sign up with the necessary details and make your first deposit
3. Find the esports section of the casino, where all available games will be listed
4. Choose an esport from the options available
5. Find a tournament or match to bet on
6. Place a bet using one of the available options
7. Watch the match, wait for the result and see if you win

What are the Most Popular Esports Bets?

This is the most similar form of betting to conventional options. Sports betting is simply to bet on an esports match or tournament with real money. If you bet correctly you will get your stake and some extra cash back, bet incorrectly and your stake is gone to the bookmaker’s pocket.

Markets are usually offered on the winner of a match, specific match results or overall tournament winners, with some sportsbooks offering more in depth options that are often game or player specific.

A growing market, fantasy esports is fairly small at this point, but gaining some traction.

It mirrors conventional fantasy sports, where players choose a roster using salary cap restrictions set by the online casino, and score points based on performance.

Fantasy is not available for all esports, and in some titles it is only available in free options where no money changes hands. It is, however, a rapidly expanding market and could become standard across all titles in the next few years.

What Is In-Play Esports Betting?

In-Play esports bets are wagers you make while a live game is taking place. This gives you the chance to see how a game is going before betting on a winner.

In some esports titles there are also gameplay options to bet on, such as the next team to score a point, the total kills in a match or accomplish a certain objective.

Top 5 Esports Betting Tips

1

It’s important to know how the esports game you are betting on works. Whether playing or watching, it is sensible to get used to the intricacies of a game before betting on it.

2

There is information available on most high-profile esports teams and players. It’s best to read this information and watch some previous games to make an educated judgment on who you think will win a certain match.

3

Shorter odds offer the worst value, but also the lowest risk. However, that isn’t to say that betting on the team with the lowest odds is a sure-fire way to win. Sometimes, you may find good odds on a team you think may win due to form. This is where tzhe above research comes in handy.

4

We only list trustworthy and secure online casinos, use this resource to pick your favourite. This way you can be sure you and your real money will be taken care of.

5

Win or lose, it’s important to have a set budget and stick to it. Cash out at the right time, and never bet money you can’t afford to lose.

Esports Games Info

Fortnite

Fortnite is a battle royale game that rapidly gained worldwide acclaim, thanks as much to its celebratory dances as its gameplay.

The aim is to outlast 100 other players on an island where a dangerous circle is forcing you closer together. Players must find weapons to take out opponents and build structures to keep themselves safe.

Developer Epic Games

First Played as Esport 2018

Genre Battle Royale/Sandbox

Platform PS4/Xbox One/Nintendo Switch/Mac/Windows PC/Android/iOS

$90 Million Total Prize

562 Tournaments

Top Players

Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf

27 Tournaments

$3.06 Million Prize

David "Aqua" Wang

31 Tournaments

$1.89 Million Prize

Harrison "psalm" Chang

16 Tournaments

$1.87 Million Prize

Emil "Nyhrox" Bergquist Pedersen

16 Tournaments

$1.52 Million Prize

Shane "EpikWhale" Cotton

23 Tournaments

$1.32 Million Prize

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Top Tournament Prize Pools

$15.28 Million Fortnite World Cup Finals 2019 (Solo)

$15.1 Million Fortnite World Cup Finals 2019 (Duo)

$1.94 Million Fortnite Fall Skirmish Series Grand Finals

Top Bets

Fortnite is a very popular esport, but rarely features top level LAN events, so it is rarely offered for betting at the majority of high profile online casinos. When Fortnite betting is available, you can mostly find outright bets such as the player/team with the most kills, and the winning player/team.

In the future there is also likely to be wide scope for in-game betting, such as players killed by the storm, next player to be killed and so on. Some bookmakers have experimented with similar markets but these are not commonplace yet.

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Who are the Highest Earning Esports Players?

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How to Watch Esports

The esports revolution came into fruition on Twitch, and this is still the most popular place to watch esports. However, as the industry grows, more options are becoming available for esports fans in Canada.

Many tournaments are shown live on YouTube, with others also airing on Microsoft’s streaming platform Mixer. Some competitions are exclusive to a single platform, so if you can’t find an event on Twitch you may have to look at these options, but many events are streamed across multiple locations.

GINX is Canada’s first 24 hour esports channel. For a small fee, you can watch esports from around the world at any time. Programming includes live events, news and shows on gaming lifestyle. This is a great way to get familiar with esports before starting to bet.

Esports History

• 1972 Students at Stanford University take part in the first known video game tournament, playing Spacewar to win a subscription to Rolling Stone.
• 1980 Atari hosts Space Invaders Championship in the USA. The largest scale video game tournament of the time attracted over 10,000 players.
• 1990 Nintendo hosts its first World Championships.
• 1996 The first EVO fighting game event is held, with the tournament continuing annually to this day.
• 1997 Quake II launches, and goes on to become one of the first major online esports.
• 1998 StarCraft is launched, becoming massively popular in South Korea and kicking off the esports boom.
• 2000 Counter-Strike launches becoming a major esport that is still popular today in the form of CS:GO.
• 2004 EVO Moment 37 takes place, instantly becoming one of the most iconic plays in esports history.
• 2007 The Championship Gaming Series kicks off, with broadcasts on DirectTV and Sky.
• 2008 The Championship Gaming Series folds and is credited as a massive failure, destroying trust in the esports world by mainstream broadcasters.
• 2011 Twitch is launched as a dedicated esports channel and becomes the unofficial home of esports broadcasts.
• 2011-0 The Dota 2 International becomes the first-ever esports tournament to give away $1 million to the winners.
• 2013 Valve adds skins to CS:GO, inadvertently starting up a new way of esports gambling that would prove controversial down the line.
• 2016 Blizzard founds the Overwatch League, the first major franchised league in esports.
• 2017 The League of Legends World Championships final is held in the iconic Birds Nest Olympic Stadium in Beijing, China.
• 2019 The Fortnight World Cup, takes place giving $3 million to winner Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf in the single biggest payout to an individual player in esports history.
• 2019-1 The International 9 Dota 2 tournament has the largest ever prize pool in esports history sitting at 34,330,069.

How We Review Esports Betting Sites

Our experienced team reviews the very best esports casino and betting sites based on the following criteria:

Security

We only recommend sites that use state-of-the-art encryption and firewall technology, to ensure you and your money are safe at all times.

Licensing

To make our list, an online casino or sportsbook needs to be certified and licensed by a reputed regulator such as the UK Gambling Commission.

Payments

For esports sites, this includes real money betting options. We expect a wide range of payment methods available to online gamblers in Canada.

Game options

Some sportsbooks offer more esports titles and betting markets than others. We only shortlist sites with a varied selection of esports options.

Bonuses

Esports is a competitive market. To stand out, a site needs to provide good welcome bonuses and regular promotions for existing customers.

Esports Betting FAQs

What is the biggest game in esports?

In terms of prize money at tournaments, Dota 2 is the biggest game globally. Fortnite is another hugely popular game.

These are some of the biggest esports games in Canada:

• Fortnite
• League of Legends
• StarCraft II
• Overwatch
• Hearthstone
• Rocket League
• Dota 2
• CS:GO
• Call of Duty
• Rainbow Six Siege

Is esports in the Olympics?

Esports is not currently in the Olympic Games. But, as of 2026, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognized esports as an official sport.

With the ever-growing interest in esports, it is certainly a possibility that in future it will be a part of the Olympics. Esports will even be given demonstration events at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.

Is esports safe to bet on?

Yes, all of our top recommended sportsbooks are safe and secure when betting on esports and other sports.

They are approved by reputable online casino testing agencies such as eCOGRA, and certified by local governments.

What are the top esports betting sites?

Our experts have reviewed and rated the following as the top 5 sportsbooks to bet on esports in Canada:

• Betway Sports
• 888Sport
• Spin Sports
• Pinnacle Sports
• Sports Interaction