Menu

Ultimate Esports Betting Guide for Canadians

Did you know esports has a global viewership to rival the Super Bowl? Read on as we take you through how esports betting works.
Esports Betting
Betting Sites
Top Games
What is Esports
Top Earnings
How to Watch

Betting on Esports

There are a huge range of esports odds and markets on a number of games to choose from. Including tournament winners, 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 markets, to help you get to grips with esports gambling:

How to Gamble 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

Popular Esports Bet Types?

Top 5 Esports Betting Tips

Most Popular Esports to Bet on

Top Esports Betting Sites

How we review
Wondering how we review?

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

Top Esports Games Info

Choose your Game

Fortnite background

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

Bugha Logo
USA Flag Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf
27 Tournaments
$3.06 Million Prize
Aqua Logo
Austria Flag David "Aqua" Wang
31 Tournaments
$1.89 Million Prize
psalm Logo
USA Flag Harrison "psalm" Chang
16 Tournaments
$1.87 Million Prize
Nyhrox Logo
Norway Flag Emil "Nyhrox" Bergquist Pedersen
16 Tournaments
$1.52 Million Prize
EpikWhale Logo
USA Flag Shane "EpikWhale" Cotton
23 Tournaments
$1.32 Million Prize
Show More

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.

Betway Sports
C$200
Welcome Bonus
  • Check iconEsports Club Weekly Free Bet
  • Check iconBetway Boosts Enhanced Odds
  • Check iconCS:GO slot One Shot Multiplier

What is Esports?

Esports is a recognized competitive sport that can be played by professional gamers in tournaments that command both cash prizes and global viewers into the millions.

Watch our video below, to give you a glimpse into the world of the lucrative phenomenon that is esports. You’ll see actual footage and bet types of the top esports games:

 

Who are the Highest Earning Esports Players?

Player Rank Nickname Game Team Earnings
Johan SundsteinDenmark Johan Sundstein N0tail Dota 2 / Heroes of Newerth OG $6.90 Million
Jesse VainikkaFinland Jesse Vainikka JerAx Dota 2 / Heroes of Newerth Inactive (Previously OG) $6.47 Million
Anathan PhamAustralia Anathan Pham ana Dota 2 OG (inactive roster) $6 Million
Sébastien DebsFrance Sébastien Debs Ceb Dota 2 OG (coach) $5.5 Million
Topias TaavitsainenFinland Topias Taavitsainen Topson Dota 2 OG $5.41 Million
Stats correct as of September 2020
Show more

What are the Top Esports Teams?

Rank Team Country Top 3 Games Earnings
#1 Team Liquid Netherlands Dota 2, Counter-Strike, StarCraft $36,083,860
#2 OG Europe Dota 2, CS:GO, Super Smash Bros $34,342,223
#3 Evil Geniuses USA/Canada Dota 2, CoD, CS:GO $24,292,198
#4 Fnatic UK CS:GO, Dota 2, LoL $15,981,725
#5 Virtus.pro Russia Dota 2, CS:GO, Counter-Strike $15,322,174
#6 Newbee China Dota 2, StarCraft 2, WarCraft 3 $14,225,385
#7 Vici Gaming China Dota 2, CS:GO, CrossFire $13,183,487
#8 Natus Vincere Ukraine Dota 2, CS:GO, PUBG $12,168,007
#9 Team Secret Europe Dota 2, Fortnite, Rainbow Six $12,152,574
#10 Invictus Gaming China Dota 2, LoL, StarCraft 2 $11,759,710
Source: esportsearnings.com | Stats correct as of February 2021

Top Canadian Esports Teams

Some top Canadian esports teams include:

  • Vancouver Titans (Overwatch)
  • Luminosity Gaming (CS:GO)
  • Team Tinker (Dota 2)
  • Team NP (Dota 2)
  • subtLe (CS:GO)

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 Facebook Gaming. 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 & Growth

Students at Stanford University take part in the first known video game tournament, playing Spacewar to win a subscription to Rolling Stone.

1972

Atari hosts Space Invaders Championship in the USA. The largest scale video game tournament of the time attracted over 10,000 players.

1980

Nintendo hosts its first World Championships.

1990

The first EVO fighting game event is held, with the tournament continuing annually to this day.

1996

Quake II launches, and goes on to become one of the first major online esports.

1997

StarCraft is launched, becoming massively popular in South Korea and kicking off the esports boom.

1998

Counter-Strike launches becoming a major esport that is still popular today in the form of CS:GO.

2000

EVO Moment 37 takes place, instantly becoming one of the most iconic plays in esports history.

2004

The Championship Gaming Series kicks off, with broadcasts on DirectTV and Sky.

2007

The Championship Gaming Series folds and is credited as a massive failure, destroying trust in the esports world by mainstream broadcasters.

2008

Twitch is launched as a dedicated esports channel and becomes the unofficial home of esports broadcasts.

2011

The Dota 2 International becomes the first-ever esports tournament to give away $1 million to the winners.

2011

Valve adds skins to CS:GO, inadvertently starting up a new way of esports gambling that would prove controversial down the line.

2013

Blizzard founds the Overwatch League, the first major franchised league in esports.

2016

The League of Legends World Championships final is held in the iconic Birds Nest Olympic Stadium in Beijing, China.

2017

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

The International 9 Dota 2 tournament has the largest ever prize pool in esports history sitting at 34,330,069.

2019

How We Review Esports Betting Sites

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

Security
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
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
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
Game Options

Some sportsbooks offer more esports games and betting markets than others. We only shortlist sites with a varied selection of the best esports odds.

Bonuses
Bonuses

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

FAQs

Is esports betting legal in Canada?

Yes. Esports, or video game, betting is legal. As long as you are betting at a legitimate sports betting site that is based outside of Canada.

You must be of legal gambling age, which is 18 or 19 depending on which Canadian region you are in.

Is esports safe to bet on?
What are the top esports betting sites?
How does esports betting work?
How much can you make betting on esports?
What is the biggest game in esports?
Is esports a sport?
Is esports in the Olympics?