With one of the biggest and most active communities in the world, League of Legends is definitely a proper powerhouse on the esports stage. The community is only a portion of LoL’s success, with other factors being its highly developed competitive calendar and the abundance of lower-tier tournaments.
With that said, a good portion of the game’s highly active community seems to be into real money esports betting as well. It’s not a new thing; esports betting and League of Legends betting has been a trend for a bigger part of the last decade, ever since the first proper mainstream esports events started rolling in.
However, unlike betting on other esports, betting on LoL is still going strong, further boosted by increasingly higher viewership numbers.
As the title implies, today’s topic is League of Legends betting. More precisely, this is a real money League of Legends betting guide! You can consider this your very own esports betting bible focusing solely on LoL bets.
But before we can move onto more advanced subjects regarding betting on LoL, let’s say a few words about the game itself as well as the key factors that make it so darn popular!
What Is League of Legends?
League of Legends is made by Riot Games and it belongs to the highly popular multiplayer online battle arena genre (MOBA). The gameplay is not round-based as is usually the case in most esports games. Instead, MOBA games have one simple goal: teams have to destroy each other’s base.
With that premise, the matches usually last anywhere from half an hour to an hour. In some cases, the matches can end after as little as 20 minutes, but these sorts of blowouts aren’t that common these days.
As far as diversity goes, LoL is ensuring there’s always a ton of it, featuring a total of 148 champions. Each of them has unique abilities and can contribute to the team in many different ways. In addition to diversity, LoL also sports more than 175 purchasable in-game items. These offer various special abilities, both passive and active, as well as stats increases which are crucial in the game of League of Legends.
LoL’s map is divided into three lanes with minion waves constantly spawning on both ends. Between the lanes is the so-called jungle which features neutral monsters of various sizes. The biggest one is called Baron Nashor, and it represents a massive global objective due to the buff it brings to the team that kills it.
League of Legends packs much more complexity than what we’ve explained thus far, but going into too much depth is counterproductive for our real money LoL betting guide. Instead, let’s switch our focus from the basics behind LoL to the thing you’re all interested in, the top League of Legends betting sites.
Top League of Legends Betting Sites
Now that you know what League of Legends is, and how it’s played, here are the best online betting sites with League of Legends odds!
When looking for a new place to use for real money betting on League of Legends, you should always ensure it passes the so-called key characteristics test. The key characteristics are as follows:
- Customer Service
- Special Bets Availability
- Reputation
- Payout Speed
- User Interface
For a much more detailed look into the key characteristics of real money League of Legends betting, please refer to our comprehensive LoL betting sites guide!
What Makes League of Legends Popular?
While we’re talking about characteristics, we might as well check out those that make LoL and League of Legends betting so darn popular. As mentioned above, LoL’s viewership is on the rise, which is why we need to check out its three key aspects:
The Game Itself
League of Legends is not just entertaining to watch but entertaining to play, too. Heck, if it wasn’t entertaining gameplay-wise, it wouldn’t reach such heights. But what makes it so entertaining in the first place?
Well, I’d like to argue it’s a combination of several things. For starters, it’s a teamwork-intensive game that belongs to the MOBA genre. That alone plays a key factor in its addictiveness. Plus, it was way ahead of its time in many things, which helped it get a head start on other MOBA games, including its biggest competitor, Dota 2.
As an Esports Title
League of Legends is a massively popular esports title! In fact, it was the leading game that helped push the esports industry into the mainstream, all thanks to the massive exposure of its biggest competitions, LoL Worlds.
Nowadays, a big portion of LoL’s competitive scene falls to the hands of franchised leagues spread across the whole globe. The level of competitiveness is always sky-high, and long-lasting rivalries are there to further fuel the fire.
The top-tier franchised systems are only a portion of the story; there are numerous supporting events and regional championships that serve as a steady pool of young talents for big teams to explore.
For Esports Bettors
Such a well-organized competitive ecosystem coupled with franchised systems possessing long-term stability was always going to attract esports betting enthusiasts. They’re the ones driving the industry from the shadows, affecting the overall demand for LoL bets not just during the biggest events but during smaller, regional ones.
On top of LoL’s healthy ecosystem, bettors also enjoy the game of LoL itself. It’s fast-paced, upset-friendly, and has an impressively high skill ceiling which means a lot at the highest levels of competitive play. Plus, it’s just darn fun to watch, no matter how experienced a gamer you are.
Biggest League of Legends Events
The truth behind the addictiveness of betting on League of Legends is actually fairly simple.
Thanks to the sheer number of LoL’s decentralized regional league systems (we’re talking about local level here), there are always matches you can pursue.
But, as far as the biggest LoL competitions go, most of them are characterized by closed-off, franchised systems with teams as partners of the leagues. There are no promotions and relegations, ensuring long-term stability and a healthy environment for investors to thrive in. Let’s check out the biggest events for real money League of Legends betting:
League of Legends World Championship
Mid-Season Invitational
Commonly referred to as MSI, Mid-Season Invitationals are held in between the two season splits. They also pin the world’s best teams against each other, but not in as massive of a stretch as what LoL Worlds offers.
Regional Championships
We’re talking about top-tier franchised systems here. They bring forth the league-like experience and are divided into two splits. MSI is set after the first split and the Worlds are set as the pinnacle of each competitive season.
How to Bet on League of Legends Online
League of Legends betting might not be a simple thing to do. It all depends on your tech-savviness and the ability to cope with a bit of jargon. Online betting jargon, mind you.
If you’re not an experienced online bettor and you’re not exactly a techie, here’s a quick step-by-step guide for League of Legends online betting:
- Choose your preferred bookmaker for real money LoL betting. An excellent list can be found at the top of this page.
- Click on the join or register button. Fill in your info. Please note that some bookies require you to send copies of your government IDs right away.
- Confirm your email and log into your LoL betting site of choice. Now is the time for your initial deposit.
- Enter your credit card or bank information and complete your initial deposit. Please note that most bookies feature generous welcome bonuses based on your initial deposit. It’s worth splashing out a few extra bucks.
- This is it, you’re ready to explore the vast waters of betting on League of Legends online. May you be successful!
Most Entertaining League of Legends Bets
Now, let’s talk about how you can start League of Legends betting without having to use the same type of bets all the time. As the title suggests, we are referring to LoL specials. They come in all shapes and sizes, and take up a good portion of wagered matches. Let’s take a closer look at the three most popular choices:
First Blood
First blood is the name of the very first kill in a League of Legends match. Not only is it important morale-wise, but it also yields a big reward and results in the opposing laner losing precious experience and gold/cs.
From the LoL betting perspective, first blood is a thrilling bet that usually resolves within the first 10 minutes of each match. It’s fast-paced, involves a fair bit of luck, but can be mastered to perfection with comprehensive research and lots of stats-crawling.
As for placing the actual bet when League of Legends betting, first blood specials give you two options, team A or team B. The wagering is straightforward. You’re supposed to pick the team you believe will take the first blood. There are also variations of this bet that are based on individual players rather than teams. They bring forth better LoL odds but are much riskier.
First to Take Baron
Match Duration
Last but not least, there’s match duration. Yep, if you’re interested in betting on League of Legends, this is the special you’re going to enjoy the most. The premise is quite simple. LoL is not a rounds-based game but an objective-based one. This means it pans out until one team completes the objective. In LoL’s case, one team needs to destroy the other team’s base.
There are two ways real money League of Legends betting sites handle match duration bets.
- First, as totals, they give you an average duration and you’re supposed to guess whether the match duration will he above or under the given number.
- Second, there’s an interval-based system that allows you to place bets on several duration intervals, e.g. 20 to 30 minutes, 30 to 40 minutes, etc.
They’re both awesome, each in its own way.
