How to bet on Dota 2

Dota 2 is a free-to-play 5v5 team game from Valve. Each side picks a hero from a pool of over a hundred and defends its Ancient while attacking the other side's. A map ends when one Ancient is destroyed. Many matches are a best-of-three or a best-of-five series of maps.

Bookmakers settle bets on the official result. At Betway that is the result supplied by the tournament officials. At Midnite it is the result declared by the governing body of the competition. A Dota 2 bet is on one of four things.

The series. Match winner and correct score are series bets. Correct score is the exact map score, such as 2-0 or 2-1 in a best-of-three.

One map. A map winner bet is settled on the single map you pick.

An event inside a map. First blood, towers, barracks, Roshan, kills and time markets settle on what happens in that map. Bookmakers use the in-game clock, the kill counter or the official broadcast and game API.

The tournament. Outright bets back a team to win an event.

Read the market name before you choose it. The name fixes which of the four the bet is on.

The International

The International admits teams through a mix of direct invitations, typically based on the year's results, and qualifier tournaments. The main tournament typically opens with a round-robin group stage and moves to a double-elimination main event.

The 2026 edition ran in two parts. An online group stage ran from 13 to 16 August. The main event ran from 20 to 23 August at the SPD Bank Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai. Sixteen teams played the group stage and eight remained after it. The total prize pool was $3,906,263.

Since The International 2013 the prize pool has been mainly crowdfunded through a battle pass called the Compendium. 25% of Compendium revenue goes to the prize pool. The champions receive the Aegis of Champions trophy, which is engraved with the names of the winning players.

The Dota Pro Circuit

The Dota Pro Circuit was the professional league for Dota 2. Valve organised it, and it was active from 2017 to 2023. It replaced the Dota Major Championships and ran seasonal Major tournaments and Regional Leagues in North America, South America, Southeast Asia, China, Eastern Europe and Western Europe.

Third parties organised the individual tournaments. In the 2017-2018 season a Major needed a minimum prize pool of $500,000 and an offline final, and a Minor needed $150,000. Valve matched the minimum prize pool of each event and set the calendar.

Points went to the top six teams in the upper division of a Regional League and to the top eight at a Major. The 12 teams with the most points at the end of the season earned invites to The International.

In September 2023 Valve announced that the 2023 season would be the last. It believed the circuit had grown too large and wanted to support smaller, grassroots tournaments.

The Dota Major Championships

From late 2015 until early 2017 Valve sponsored the Dota Major Championships, a series of seasonal tournaments. The International 2016 and 2017 counted as the cumulative Major of their seasons. Besides those two, the series had five events: the Frankfurt Major, Shanghai Major, Manila Major, Boston Major and Kiev Major.

Every bookmaker below holds a Gambling Commission licence. They are the four our team has rated, and each has a review. For a list built around the game, see Dota 2 betting sites.

Betway

Betway Limited holds Gambling Commission account number 39372. Betway lists Dota 2 among its esports leagues and carries Dota 2 matches from EPL Masters. Esports is marked in-play. Betway offers Cash Out on eligible bets. It is valid on single, multiple and system bets, before a match and in play. Bets with each-way selections are excluded.

The maximum payout for esports is £100,000. The welcome offer needs a qualifying stake of £10 at minimum odds of 2.0. It pays four £10 free bets with a free bet expiry of 7 days. Our rating is 4.2 out of 5: read the Betway review for UK players.

Unibet

Platinum Gaming Limited operates Unibet and holds Gambling Commission licence number 45322. Unibet lists Dota 2 among its esports competitions, with EPL Masters and FISSURE Universe. The sportsbook offers cash out and live streaming. Unibet advertises £40 in free bets for a £20 bet, with free bets expiring within 7 days of issue. Our rating is 3.9 out of 5: read the Unibet review for UK players.

William Hill

WHG (International) Limited operates William Hill and holds Gambling Commission account number 39225. William Hill lists Dota among its esports competitions. Maximum winnings in one day's betting on esports are capped at £25,000 for tournament outright and match winner markets. All other esports markets are capped at £10,000.

The welcome offer needs a £10 deposit and a £10 single at odds of 1/2 or longer on any sports market except Virtuals. It pays three £10 free bets that expire in 7 days. Our rating is 3.8 out of 5: read the William Hill review for UK players.

Midnite

Midnite Limited operates Midnite and holds Gambling Commission licence number 101839. Midnite has betting rules specific to Dota 2 series. The esports maximum payout is £25,000, and any bet or combination of bets is limited to £250,000 per calendar day.

The welcome offer is a £10 single at minimum odds of 1/1 (2.0) within 14 days of sign-up. It pays £30 in free bets: one £10 free bet on a single, three £5 pre-match bet builder free bets and one £5 pre-match accumulator free bet. They expire 7 days after crediting. Our rating is 3.1 out of 5: read the Midnite review for UK players.

Settlement differs by bookmaker, so each rule below names the bookmaker. The guide to Esports betting markets explained covers the wider list.

Match and map markets

Match winner is a bet on who wins the series. Map winner is a bet on who wins one map, usually the first or the last. Unibet offers Map Handicap beside Match Winner in esports. William Hill offers match winner, correct score, first blood and first turret markets. Betway voids its two-way map market if a map is drawn.

Outright markets

Betway and Unibet offer outright winner markets in esports. At Betway, all outright bets are void if a tournament is not completed. A team that plays at least one map counts as an entrant. If that team later fails to finish, it is settled as a loser. A non-starter is no bet.

Midnite takes a different line. Bets on a team that withdraws before the tournament begins are refunded. If a tournament is postponed by more than 30 days, every outright bet on it is void.

Objective and kill markets

At Betway, time-based bets use the in-game clock, which does not include the period before creeps spawn. First blood settles on the first kill of the game. The broadcast or official API must register the kill as First Blood, so a kill denied by a team-mate may not count.

For tower bets, every destroyed or denied tower counts as destroyed by the opposing team, even when a creep landed the last hit. Barracks work the same way. Each team has six barracks, because the ranged and melee barracks in a pair count separately.

Kill markets follow the kill counter on the official broadcast or game API. A hero killed by tower or creep damage alone may not count as a kill. For Roshan, the team that lands the last hit has slain Roshan, whichever player picks up the Aegis.

When a market offers a neither or draw option and it wins, bets on either team lose. When no such option exists and neither team wins, the bets are void and stakes are returned.

Specials

Unibet offers specials during big tournaments such as The International. They include the most picked or most banned hero, the longest or shortest map by time, and the first team to complete an objective.

Midnite has one Dota 2 specific rule, on Roshan. Bets settle on the team that slays Roshan, not on who picks up the Aegis or anything else Roshan drops. Midnite's general esports betting rules apply to every other Dota 2 bet.

• Stand-ins. Coaches and players who are not on the official roster count as stand-ins. When three or more play for one team, every bet on the series is void. One or two per team leave bets as normal. A player in a rotation roster of six or more is not a stand-in. Check the line-up before a series starts.
• Missing players. A 5v5 match that starts with fewer than 10 players voids all bets on the map and the series.
• Buildings. Every destroyed building counts as destroyed by the opposing team, creeps included.
• Kills, first blood and time. Kills follow the in-game scoreboard. First blood follows the in-game announcement. Time bets use the in-game clock.

1. Check the licence. Find the licence or account number in the bookmaker's footer and match it to the Gambling Commission public register.
2. Set a deposit limit before you pay in, using the tools covered under Bet within your limits.
3. Find the esports section. At Betway it is Esports in the A-Z sports menu. At Unibet it is Esports under All Sports. At William Hill it is eSports. Open the Dota 2 competitions.
4. Pick the match and the market. Start times at Midnite are an indication only, so a bet on a match listed with the wrong time still stands.
5. Check the stake and the terms. Compare the stake with your limit and look up the maximum payout for esports. If an offer is involved, check whether the bet qualifies.
6. Place the bet. Confirm the selection in the bet slip, then follow it under My Bets.

What happens depends on the bookmaker and on how far the match had got.

Abandoned or postponed

At Betway, a match not played within 3 hours of its original start time is void. For a LAN event the limit is 48 hours. A match that starts but is not completed has all bets void. The exception is a disqualification: the team progressing is deemed the winner.

A map that is not completed voids totals bets. A match that is not completed voids correct score bets. At Midnite, a suspended or postponed series that is not resumed within 48 hours of its scheduled start is refunded. A map played within that window settles as usual.

William Hill voids abandoned or postponed events unless the sport has a specific rule. Markets already resolved at the point of abandonment stand.

Forfeited or surrendered

At Midnite, a walkover or forfeit before a map starts means all bets on that map are refunded. Series bets are refunded too, unless the map was awarded as a score advantage. A map counts as started when the game clock starts, or when either side picks, bans or buys anything in the game.

Once a map has started, a win through surrender, forfeit or admin decision counts as completed. Bets that can be decided stand and the rest are refunded.

At Betway, Dota 2 bets stand when a team surrenders. Roshan, barracks and kills bets settle on the position at the moment of surrender. A team that taps out, for example by calling GG before the final objective, is settled as a loser.

Replayed

At Midnite, a map replayed for a technical difficulty or any other reason is handled by when the bet was placed. If a map is replayed, an in-play bet whose outcome was already decided stands. An undecided one is refunded. A bet placed before the map started is settled on the replayed map.

Each sports welcome offer has conditions that decide whether a Dota 2 bet counts. The Esports betting offers page has the wider list. Check these points first.

• Betway: the qualifying bet must be pre-event, so a bet placed once a match is under way does not count. The four free bets arrive as tokens when the qualifying bet settles. Betting restrictions apply to each one.
• Unibet: the £40 is a headline figure for a £20 bet. Check how the free bets are split and what odds each needs before you stake. The offer is for sports betting, so confirm the Dota 2 market you want is in the sportsbook.
• William Hill: the qualifying single must come from main balance. Deposits made by PayPal, Neosurf, Paysafe, Apple Pay, NETELLER, Skrill, ecoPayz, Kalibra/Postpay or WH PLUS Card do not count. The free bets are non-withdrawable and must be used in full, £10 each. The offer ends on 31 December 2026.
• Midnite: the free stake is not returned with winnings. Voided, cashed-out and Each Way bets do not qualify. Free bets cannot be used on Each Way bets or combined with another promotion. Only eligible Sportsbook markets count, so confirm a Dota 2 market qualifies first.

Set a deposit limit, a loss limit and a time limit before a series starts. Fix the budget for the match before it begins, because esports matches run at every hour and in-play prices move quickly. A free bet, a price boost or a big final is never a reason to raise a limit or chase a loss.

Betway, Midnite, William Hill and Unibet each offer deposit limits and self-exclusion. Betway adds session reminders, a self assessment and Take a Break. Midnite adds loss limits and Cool Off. William Hill adds time-outs, session time reminders and product blocking. Unibet adds a net deposit limit, a product block and a player profile test.

Gamstop blocks every online site licensed in Great Britain at once. The National Gambling Helpline is 0808 8020 133 (England and Scotland) and the NHS Wales Helpline is 0808 2819 265 (Wales). GambleAware also gives help.

When a bookmaker changes a term, a market or a figure, our team rechecks the bookmaker's pages and corrects this guide. Corrections can be sent to info@esportsbookies.co.uk. How we check facts is explained on How we rate.

• Our team tests the bookmakers and checks every fact on this page
• dota2.com 2 pages read.
• wikipedia.org 2 pages read.
• betway.com Used for terms, offers, payments and safer gambling tools. 11 pages read.
• gamblingcommission.gov.uk Used for the licence register. 4 pages read.
• unibet.co.uk Used for offers, terms and safer gambling tools. 10 pages read.
• williamhill.com Used for support. 6 pages read.
• midnite.com Used for support. 6 pages read.