Esports Betting: The Fastest-Growing Segment in iGaming

Esports betting has emerged as one of the fastest-growing segments in the iGaming industry, with global wagering volumes increasing by over 30% year-over-year. Major tournaments for games like League of Legends, CS2, Dota 2, and Valorant are attracting millions of viewers and significant betting activity.

Global esports viewership reached approximately 640 million unique viewers in 2025, with the League of Legends World Championship attracting 6.4 million peak concurrent viewers — bigger numbers than the NBA Finals. The Counter-Strike Major tournaments, Dota 2's The International (with its $40 million+ prize pools), and Valorant Champions are similar marquee events.

The professionalization of esports leagues, with structured seasons, franchised teams, and broadcast deals, has created a more predictable and regulated environment for betting operators to offer markets. The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) provides match-fixing monitoring and player background checks similar to traditional sports integrity bodies.

Live in-play betting on esports matches is particularly popular among younger demographics, who are familiar with the games being played and can follow the action in real-time through streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube. Markets like first-blood, round-winner, first-tower-down, map-winner and total kills provide granular betting options unique to esports.

CS2 (Counter-Strike 2) and League of Legends remain the dominant betting markets — together accounting for roughly 60% of global esports wagering. Valorant has emerged as the fastest-growing market for new bettors, with its Riot-published structured tournament calendar making market scheduling straightforward.

Skin betting (using in-game cosmetic items as wagering currency) was a major Wild West phase of esports gambling in 2015–2018 before being largely shut down by regulatory action and Valve policy enforcement. Today's regulated esports betting uses fiat currency through standard sportsbook accounts.

Operators offering competitive esports books need different infrastructure than traditional sportsbooks. Game-specific data feeds from providers like GRID, BetGenius eSports and DataPower require operators to build dedicated trading and risk-management capabilities for the genre.

As esports continues to grow, more traditional sportsbooks and casino platforms are adding comprehensive esports betting sections to their offerings, recognizing the segment's appeal to a new generation of bettors. Wintino's sportsbook covers all major esports including CS2, LoL, Dota 2, Valorant, Rocket League, and FIFA esports with live in-play markets during major tournaments.