Canadian Esports Betting Made Easy

With Esportbetting101.com you’ll get more familiar with esports betting. On this site, you’ll find professional guides on how to bet on esports online, what the most popular esports games are and how to beat Canadian bookmakers. Continue reading to become a better punter, once your ready to start betting you’ll find our in-depth reviews of the best esports bookmakers available online in Canada. First off, we will start explaining what esports betting is and how it works. For your convenience, at the bottom of this page, you can find a FAQ section for some answers to common questions related to esports, betting and legality of online betting in Canada.

Canadian Esports betting sites

Online betting on esports in Canada is a relatively new phenomenon that exploded in recent years. Rising stars on the esports betting scene are Cbet.gg who offer bookmaker services in Canada. You can also place bets on esports with other prominent bookmakers like Pinnacle Sports and WilliamHill. While there are few dedicated esports bookmakers, most Canadian bookmakers today offers esports betting in their sportsbooks with lots of betting markets and live matches. As prize pools grow, new esports games are developed, and more and more gamers become fans of esports, we’re confident that esports betting has a very bright future. Below we’re proud to present you with the safest and best legal esports bookmakers available to the Canadian market. Find useful information that can help you make the right decision when choosing your next bookmaker to bet at.

Deposit bonus for esports at Canadian bookmakers

When you first sign up to a new bookmaker, you are usually offered a type of welcome bonus. For example, if you sign up to the bookmaker we mentioned previously, Cbet.gg, you’ll receive a up to €200 welcome bonus. Welcome bonuses can include bonus funds to bet with, free bets, risk-free bets or cashback offers. In the tables below, you can find different bonuses available from our favorite bookmakers.

Featured esports games available for betting

If you’re new to esports betting, you’ll quickly notice that there are three major Esports Games that are incredibly popular with betting. These esports games are CSGO, Dota 2 and League of Legends. Almost every sportsbook in the world today offers betting markets on these game titles daily. You’ll find plenty of betting markets for both pre-match betting and live betting on CSGO, Dota 2 and LoL. The three major games are often referred to as Tier 1 esports. Outside of Tier 1, there’s plenty of other esports which can be classified as Tier 2 and Tier 3 esports which includes titles such as Starcraft II, Rocket League, Call of Duty and Rainbow Six Siege. You will find odds on Tier 2 and Tier 3 esports at Canadian bookmakers but with less availability and fewer markets.

History of esports online

Esports has been booming in recent years. For many people outside of the esports sphere, it’s an entirely new phenomenon. We’d bet that many people would be surprised to learn that the first types of competitive gaming tournaments were held back in 1972 when an arcade game circuit engaged gamers across North America. The legendary game title Space Invaders later innovated the gaming scene in 1980 through the Space Invaders Championship. The tournament had more than 10,000 participants across North America. Fast forward to the 1990s where personal PCs and the internet started invading everyone’s home. This was when esports set the course of its current trajectory. In the early 90s, fighting games that are still popular today popularised the concept of player-vs-player tournament type competitions with prize pools. These titles included the legendary Street Fighter series, Marvel vs. Capcom and Nintendo Smash Bros. While Nintendo is not actively engaging in esports today, back in the 90s the company helped pave the way through the Nintendo World Championships and the Nintendo PowerFest. Towards the end of the 90s esports household names like Counter-Strike, Starcraft and Quake led esports to new heights. Through the 2000s and the past ten years, esports has grown into the worldwide phenomena it is today. Through popular streaming services like Twitch and YouTube gaming, hundreds of millions of fans from every corner of the world can enjoy esports online 24/7.

Is esports betting legal in Canada?

When it comes to legality around betting on esports, there’s no difference between betting on CSGO or conventional sports like ice hockey and basketball. Betting on esports at Canadian bookmakers as a Canadian citizen living in Quebec, Ontario or any other province of Canada is legal. The bookmakers you place bets with needs to hold valid gaming licenses to offer online betting services. When you enter a bookmaker site, the first thing you should do is to check if they have a license, such as an MGA license, UKGC or Curacao license. If you, for example, visit Cbet.gg and navigate to the bottom of the page, you will find information about their licenses. Always lookout for this information when you’re deciding on a new bookmaker. The esports bookmakers you find on Esportbetting.com are fully licensed and safe to use for punters in Canada.

What is esports betting?

Punters place bets on competitive gaming. Esports betting only sprung to popularity in recent years, where this form of online betting has seen massive growth. However, esports as a form of competitive gaming has been around since the 1970s where players would play in competitive arcade tournaments. Fast forward 20 years to the 1990s when the Cyberathlete Professional League started, where professional esports leagues and tournaments were held online and offline in esports games that are still relevant today; Counter-Strike, Starcraft, Quake and Warcraft. During the 90s and 00s, no bookmakers were offering esports odds due to lack of adoption and commercialization. However, at the end of 00s and early 10s, esports had gained enough momentum and growth for bookmakers to start offering esports odds semi-frequently. Fast forward another ten years, esports betting in the 2020s is available 24/7 where punters can bet on everything from CSGO to Rocket League.

How to bet on esports games?

If you ever placed a bet on Montreal Canadiens to win against Ottawa Senators in the National Hockey League, then you’ll know how to bet on esports games. As with any form of online betting, first, you’ll have to find a bookmaker, for this you can check our recommended Esports bookmakers in Canada. Once you found a bookmaker you like, you’ll have to to register and deposit money before you can place any bets. After you registered, you need to choose one of the available payment options to make your first deposit. Normally, when you deposit for the first time, you’ll be offered a deposit bonus. Make sure to utilize any welcome bonuses when you deposit, this way you’ll get a free bet or extra bonus money to bet with. After depositing, head over to the esports section of the sportsbook and start betting! Check out our betting guide If you’d like to learn more about different esports markets and how to become better at esports betting.

How to calculate odds and how much you can win?

Take the example of a CSGO match between FaZe and Team Liquid. If the odds for FaZe to win the match is priced at 1.65, then you should multiply your stake with this value. For example, you bet $25 for FaZe to win at 1.65. Take 25 x 1.65 = 41.25. This means that if you win, you will get 41.25 back. Your net game win is, however, lower since you’d get your stake and game win returned. So, the actual game win in this example would be $41.25 minus your stake of $25, 41.25 – 25 = 16.25. So if you placed this bet and FaZe manages to beat Team Liquid, you would win $16.25.

Formula: {stake} x {odds} = {win amount} – {stake} = {net game win}

Do I have to pay taxes on online gambling wins in Canada?

If you are like most people, a recreational punter, take a breath and let go of your worries about paying taxes in case you win big while betting on esports online in Canada. No, Canadians do not have to pay taxes for any gains derived from gambling wins, whether it’s esports, traditional sports, horse racing, online casinos or lotteries. However, if you classify yourself as a professional gambler who earns a living from gambling, online or offline, then you’re required to file taxes. Professional gamblers are viewed as running a freelance business in the eyes of Canadian law. If you fail to file for taxation as a professional gambler, you risk getting fined by the government.

What are some examples of the most popular online games with esports?

CSGO, League of Legends and Dota 2 are considered to be the most prominent esports games. When talking about the big three esports both the number of competitors and tournaments, audience and number of bets in sportsbooks are factored in. This three esports have the most significant tournaments with the biggest prize pools, large fan bases in and outside of Canada and consistently keeps the bookmakers busy. Compare this three esports to another immensely popular game, Fortnite, which pays out millions of dollars in prize money and attracting massive viewership numbers on Twitch and YouTube gaming. One would assume that Fortnite should be classified as one of the major esports related to betting. Contrary to one’s belief’s, Fortnite is not very popular for esports betting due to the game format, a type of battle royale/king of the hill that is difficult to offer a lot of betting markets on both in pre-match and live betting.

One rising star to keep an eye out on the esports radar is Call of Duty. In 2020, they switched to a franchise model promoting the Call of Duty League. Along with a new official esports league, they added new teams, new players and a large prize pool of $6 million.

Which esports tournament is the biggest?

The biggest esports tournament currently and for the past couple of years has been Dota 2 The International. Each year this tournament is held offline in a major capital city around the world, with 1000s of spectators inside the arena and millions watching it online through Twitch or YouTube Gaming. Every year this tournament breaks the record for esports tournament prize pools, in 2019 the prize pool was a whopping $34,3 million. The next edition of The International, TI10, has already surpassed the $40 million mark. TI10 was postponed in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and is scheduled to be played in 2021.

Where can I watch esports online?

One primary reason behind esports explosive growth is the ease of access to watch esports online. If you watch a soccer match you usually have to pay for a subscription, use a lousy pirate stream that has 30-sec delays and you can’t make out where the ball is on the screen, or watch the match through a minimized stream at a bookmaker. With esports there’s no silver-tape, most esports matches that are available for betting are broadcasted for free through popular streaming services. Popular Canadian bookmakers like Cbet.gg have Twitch streams available inside their sportsbook for your convenience. The biggest streaming service of live esports is Twitch.com. The second biggest is YouTube Gaming. In 2020, Facebook launched Facebook Gaming to rival Google’s YouTube Gaming. Also, you’re able to watch esports online at Mixer, Caffeine, Steam TV and in legacy media such as cable TV and subscription streaming. In short, if you like to place live bets on in-play matches, then you’re in for a treat when it comes to esports with action available 24/7.

Summary

The global esports market value is enormous; it’s set to surpass the $1 billion mark during 2021. The number of casual viewers watching esports will exceed 300 million worldwide. Roughly 40% of the people watching esports doesn’t even play the games they watch. Like us at Esportbetting101.com, almost most half of the audience watch it for entertainment and betting. This continuous growth will enable esports to overcome current challenges and gain more commercial adoption. New esports will be added, more betting markets and better bookmaker coverage for more esports matches to bet on. This is only the beginning!