Esports betting markets explained

A match winner bet backs one side to win the whole series, whatever the score on individual maps. Midnite settles on the official result declared by the governing body of the competition, and Betway on the result supplied by the tournament officials.

Draws: where Midnite offers no draw option, any extra time counts towards the result. Where a draw option is offered, only regulation time counts.

Forfeits: if a team receives a walkover by admin decision before a map starts, Midnite refunds the bets on that map and the series bets as well, unless the map was awarded as a score advantage. A map counts as started once the game clock runs or either side takes a game action such as a pick, a ban or a purchase. After that point a surrender or admin decision completes the map, and every bet that can be determined stands.

Abandoned matches: Betway voids match bets when a match starts but is not completed, unless a team is disqualified, in which case the team that progresses is the winner. William Hill treats abandoned or postponed events as void, but bets on markets already resolved at the moment of abandonment stand.

A map winner bet backs a team to win one named map inside a series. Unibet runs a market on each individual map in League of Legends and Dota 2, and in Dota 2 the first or last map is usually the one bet on. A correct score bet picks the exact map scoreline of the series, such as 2-0 or 2-1 in a best-of-three.

Midnite refunds any bet on a map that is never played because the series is already decided: in a best-of-three won 2-0, bets on Map 3 are refunded. A bet on a specific map keeps its action as long as that map is played. When one side starts a series with a one point advantage, Midnite does not intend to offer Map 1 markets and voids them if they appear by mistake. Map 2 then corresponds to the first map played.

Betway voids a bet to win a map, and a correct score bet, if the match is not completed. In Dota 2, League of Legends and Valorant it also voids the two-way win/win map market when a map ends in a draw.

Map handicap: you back a team to win by more than one map. That is a -1.5 line, and in a best-of-three it means the team must win 2-0. A +2.5 line works the other way: the underdog starts with a virtual 2.5-map lead, so the favourite must win by three maps or more for the bet to lose. The sign tells you which side gets the head start.

Total maps: you bet on how many maps the series runs to, over or under a line. A best-of-three that ends 2-0 has played two maps, and one that goes to a decider has played three. The count that settles the bet is the number of maps actually played.

Midnite refunds bets that depend on the number of maps played, such as map handicap and correct score, when the announced number of maps changes or the series is offered in the wrong format. Match winner bets stand.

Each bookmaker names the source that settles an in-game bet. Midnite grades kills totals, kills handicaps, most kills and first to X kills on the in-game scoreboard, and time-based bets on the in-game clock. At Midnite and Betway, a tower, inhibitor or barracks counts as destroyed by the opposing team even when a minion or creep lands the last hit. If a race-to or first-to market has no Neither selection and neither side reaches the target, such as first to 20 kills, Midnite refunds the bet. Betway settles Counter-Strike and Valorant on regulation time plus overtime, and voids totals bets on a map that is not completed.

CS2

A pistol round is the first round of either half, and Betway lists markets on it. On a total rounds line of 22.5, an over bet wins once a 23rd round is played. Midnite's map rounds handicap includes overtime unless stated otherwise. Knife kills, Molotov kills and high explosive grenade kills count only against the enemy team, and Betway counts them only during the round. A bomb plant counts only if it happens during the round. Midnite's race to 3, 6, 9 and 12 rounds markets can take up to 2 hours to settle.

If a team forfeits mid-map, Midnite grades a round handicap on the round score at that moment, and a round in progress goes to the team that did not forfeit. With Team A leading 13-6 at the forfeit, a +4.5 line on Team A wins and a +3.5 line is void, because a Team B comeback to 15-15 and a 19-15 overtime win was still possible. The step-by-step guide is How to bet on Counter-Strike 2.

League of Legends

For inhibitor totals and handicaps, each of the six inhibitors counts once, even if it respawns and falls again. Betway makes next inhibitor destroyed the exception, where every destruction counts. Midnite counts elemental and elder drakes in dragon totals, and its Baron markets mean Baron Nashor. Betway treats first blood as the first kill on the map, and a champion killed by tower or minion damage alone may not count as a kill. Unibet offers first to 10 champion kills and a team kills total, for example over 23.5. After a surrender, Betway settles dragons, barons and kills on the position at that moment, and Midnite settles tower and inhibitor bets as if the winners had destroyed the fewest extra towers and inhibitors needed to win.

Dota 2

Midnite and Betway give Roshan to the team that slays it, not to whoever picks up the Aegis. Betway decides by the last hit on the broadcast or game data. Each team has six barracks, because the ranged and melee barracks in each pair count separately. Betway's time-based bets leave out the period before creeps spawn. First blood must be announced as first blood, so a kill denied by a team-mate may not qualify. After a surrender, bets stand and Roshan, barracks and kill bets are settled on the position at that moment. Unibet offers most picked and most banned hero, longest or shortest map and first-to-objective bets at big tournaments.

Valorant

If the spike explodes and kills the remaining opposing players, the round counts as a round elimination, not a spike explosion. A spike plant bet stands only if at least one player from each team is alive at the plant, and a plant after the round is complete does not count. Player kill bets count that player's kills only, and kills from the spike explosion do not count.

Outright bets cover the winner of a whole tournament, and Betway voids every one of them if a tournament is not completed. A team that plays at least one map counts as an entrant, and if it later fails to complete the tournament its bets lose. Dead heat rules may apply to each way outright bets at Betway. Midnite voids outright bets when a tournament schedule is postponed by more than 30 days, while short postponements leave every outright bet standing. For how leagues and circuits are organised in one game, see LoL esports betting on leagues and tournaments.

Betway marks esports as an in-play sport. Live markets there commonly include map winner, next map and round winner, and in shooters first blood or next kill. Betway's live video typically runs 2 to 5 seconds behind the actual event, and sometimes longer, so a market can move or suspend before the play reaches your screen. Scores and timing shown in play are for display only and never used for settlement. Betway can void a bet placed after the outcome is known.

Midnite applies a delay to the data supplied for in-play betting. A bet placed after a match has actually started, on a market not offered in play, is void. If a map is replayed after a technical problem, an in-play bet whose outcome was already decided stands and an undecided one is refunded: a won first 10 kills bet stands, a map winner bet is refunded.

William Hill adds an automated time delay before it accepts an in-play bet. A marginal price change after you click place bet is accepted at the larger price. A bigger change means the bet is not placed and is re-offered at the new price. Markets can be suspended after a significant event, when a market becomes uncompetitive or for technical reasons, and Cash Out may not be available while one is suspended. Live transmissions, WHTV included, can be delayed by different amounts for different customers.

Cash out: Betway's cash out works on single, multiple and system bets, before and during a match, and is not valid on any bet that includes an each-way selection. Pressing the button settles the bet at the amount shown and cannot be reversed. Betway can decline a cash out when the amount was displayed incorrectly, reflects a palpable error or was requested after the outcome was known, and it does not guarantee the feature is available. Partial cash out takes a proportion and leaves the rest of the stake running. Read the Betway review for UK players for the rest of the sportsbook.

Midnite can switch cash out off on any account at any time and pays no compensation when it is unavailable. Unibet offers cash out, and an edited bet may keep it if every selection is eligible.

Bet builders: Midnite and Unibet both run a bet builder on their sportsbooks. At Unibet, availability within bet builders varies.

Streaming: Betway Live Video is open to account holders, and its esports match list marks some matches with a Watch label. Counter-Strike events are mostly streamed on sites such as Twitch, and Unibet offers them in play.

Postponement: Midnite refunds series bets when a match is not resumed within 48 hours of the scheduled start. Betway voids a match not played within 3 hours of the original start, or within 48 hours at a LAN event.

Line-ups: Midnite voids every bet on a series if 3 or more stand-ins play for one team, and 1 or 2 stand-ins per team leave bets standing. Betway lets bets stand after a line-up change once markets have closed, even when a stand-in replaces a player who loses connection.

Withdrawals before a tournament: Midnite refunds outright bets on a team that withdraws before the tournament begins. Betway treats a non-starter as no bet. William Hill's ante-post rule is that the stake is lost if the selection does not take part.

How our team weighs these differences is set out in how we rate and check bookmakers.

Midnite sets a maximum payout of £25,000 for esports, inside an overall cap of £250,000 on any bet or combination of bets in a calendar day. Betway sets a maximum winning limit of £100,000 for esports and £500,000 across all sports in a day, where a day runs 00:00 to 23:59 GMT. William Hill allows up to £25,000 in winnings on esports tournament outrights and match winner markets and £10,000 on all other esports markets, excluding stake, in one day's betting.

When a multiple combines events with different limits, Betway applies the lowest limit, and William Hill does the same across categories. Betway adds that bets can be placed that exceed the stated limit, so check it before you stake.

Set a deposit limit and a loss limit, and decide how long you will play, before a series starts. Esports matches run at every hour and in-play prices move quickly, so fix the budget for a match before it begins and keep to it. A free bet, a price boost or a big final is never a reason to raise a limit or chase a loss.

Midnite offers deposit and loss limits, exclusion for a set period and Cool Off. Betway offers deposit limits, session reminders, Take a Break and self-exclusion. William Hill offers deposit limits, time-outs, session time reminders and self-exclusion. Unibet offers deposit limits, product blocks and self-exclusion. Gamstop blocks every site licensed in Great Britain at once. Betting is for adults aged 18 or over.

If gambling stops being fun, the National Gambling Helpline is 0808 8020 133 (England and Scotland) and the NHS Wales Helpline is 0808 2819 265 (Wales). GambleAware's support services are for Great Britain residents.

When a bookmaker changes a term, a market or a figure, our team reads the source again and corrects this page. How we rate and check bookmakers explains the process. Corrections come from our own rechecks.

• Our team tests the bookmakers and checks every fact on this page
• midnite.com Used for support and loyalty. 8 pages read.
• betway.com Used for terms, payments, games, offers and safer gambling tools. 9 pages read.
• williamhill.com Used for support and safer gambling tools. 3 pages read.
• unibet.co.uk Used for offers, games and safer gambling tools. 6 pages read.
• gamblingcommission.gov.uk Used for the licence register. 4 pages read.
• gambleaware.org Used for safer gambling help. 2 pages read.
• gamstop.co.uk Used for safer gambling help. One page read.
• UK Esports Betting team: tests and checks of every fact on this page. Date checked: 20 October 2026.