Betting on the Video Games: Markets and Scandals

Who would have thought that gaming and online gaming would have gotten this popularity level? When the PlayStation was first released with games like Worms, Crash Bandicoot, and FIFA, nobody knew that many years on, people would be going on to sports betting sites to place real wagers on the outcome of video game battles!

First-Person Shooter Markets

First-person shooter games usually occur where teams face off against one another, meaning bettors can make a selection like any other team sport. They might think that the ‘Flaming Shooters’ will win against the ‘Rancid Rulebreakers’ in their upcoming Call of Duty matchup, so they will place money on it. It’s worth noting that these events are now massive spectator sports, with hundreds of people packing out venues to watch them just like other sports. Call of Duty is just one example of the type of games that are played by these hardcore gamers. There’s also a lot of Counter-Strike, Rainbow Six, and VALORANT, as some of the most followed.

Sports-Games Betting

Sports betting and e-sports betting go hand in hand. The football-style games have similar markets as the actual matches, albeit not as many. Sports betting sites from overseas that accept most players offer traditional markets such as the over/under outcome on games, which you’ll find in real-life matchups. Basketball gaming is also becoming very popular, with more and more markets becoming available for NBA games.

The NFL always likes to make a song and dance out of itself. Therefore, it’s unsurprising that the sport’s video game franchise, MADDEN, has a competitive division. Bettors should be able to pick the results for this in the future, much like other virtual sports selections.

World of Warcraft Betting

World of Warcraft has long been a popular game for specific gaming demographics, offering an expansive fantasy world for players to delve into. The game has developed over time and is now available for non-players to bet on the results of specific competitions within this e-fantastical realm. The most pertinent is when the game developers host special events where players are invited to make teams (known as guilds in WOW) for ‘Mythic Raids.’ Bettors needn’t worry about overcoming legendary difficulty bosses, simply predicting the team that does.

Age of Empires Gambling

The first Age of Empires came out in 1997 and was a single-player game where the user had to become the ultimate warlord with a tactical strategy to defeat the CPU. Not anymore! These days, like many games, it’s all gone online, and users must face off against one another. Today, bettors can view matches between specific players and bet on the winner. Do you think the Roman Empire or the Greek Dynasty will win?

StarCraft Selections

Another PC game that has origins in the 1990s is StarCraft. The graphics might be much cleaner and have a facelift, but the overall game is the same. Command an alien army to victory against multiple rival factions. While players used to fight the CPU, playing online’s now universally preferred. This is where online gambling comes in, as there are multiple competitions, like the ESL Pro Tour and the Bombastic Star League, where the best players compete. While the selections are usually limited to picking the winning player, other options like margin of victory could follow soon.

Known Scandals in Video Game Betting

It’s well known that professional athletes are not allowed to bet on sports in any capacity. They are a person of significant control or influence on the results of their games. Therefore, the same should be expected of gamers, as they have the same amount of control over the games they play. In 2014, there was a big scandal between two teams in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive match. The team was considered the heavy favorites and ended up losing pretty badly, and many online gaming communities banned the participants on the said team.

Many other issues and known cases stem from match-fixing allegations where players have often bet on themselves to lose and then actively perform badly to receive financial gain. While there are many e-sports competitions without these issues, there are enough to cause concern. Some call for a global body to better regulate professional gamers to ensure such instances don’t occur.