Have you just started to look deeper into esports and League of Legends (LoL) specifically? Or are you a seasoned veteran of the LoL and betting on it looking to take the next step? If that’s the case you have come to the right place and we welcome you aboard with open arms. In this full League of Legends betting guide we will go through everything you need to know when you want to either start or enhance your LoL betting. From the very basics like where to bet to how to bet, and how to use different tools for your advantage in the field of esports betting. We want to help you to become a winning League of Legends punter in the long run and make sure that you are always betting on the best odds available.
Esports betting has been growing at an incredible pace during the 2010’s era. The development we’ve seen in the odds market alone has been huge and nowadays we get to enjoy a very large selection of markets and odds for each game, which wasn’t the case some years back. Big part of betting is choosing the right operator(s) to bet with, which has become a lot easier than before as the majority of the big sports betting bookies have adapted to the esports era and started to offer esports markets on a large scale. We will highlight a couple of operators in this guide, but we also recommend taking a look at our operator reviews, where you can read reviews from most of the industry leaders and some newer operators that you might now know of.
The vast majority of the operators do offer odds for League of Legends, but there are quite a few differences between them and it’s preferred to always choose the one that suits your needs in the best possible manner. Without further ado, let’s jump right into it!
Where to Bet on League of Legends?
Betting on League of Legends has become as normal as betting on football or ice hockey, and one of the most important things to take into account is deciding where to bet. Finding the best operator, bookie, bookmaker or sportsbook – whichever you prefer, is a key factor before placing any bets. How to determine what’s the best for your needs can be a bit tricky sometimes, but we are here to help and guide you all the way from the beginning ‘till the end. To start, we like to categorize some things that are a tremendous help when figuring out which operator suits you the best, and that is done via couple of questions:
- Is the operator available for players in your country/region?
- Are they trustworthy and reliable?
- Are their betting markets for Dota 2 good?
- Are the odds competitive and/or better than others?
- Do their bonuses suit you?
- What license do they have?
At first sight it might look like quite a lot of things that need to match your needs, but in betting you are putting your well earned money to risk, and therefore it’s crucial to ensure the safety of your funds. All of this comes down to trusting your operator and that’s why it is so important to be thorough when you are picking where to bet. I want to emphasize that license is one of the most important factors here, as the license that the bookie is holding is a clear indicator of the said operator’s trustworthiness. All the bookmakers that you find on the Betting.com website are verified with proper licenses and we guarantee that only the best ones of the industry are presented for you. Our in-depth reviews cover everything relevant from each operator and we highly recommend reading through the operator reviews before you choose the operator that you want to play with.
When you are choosing the operator for League of Legends betting one of the obvious things to check are the amount of markets the operator is offering and are their odds competitive. The vast majority of the bookies are already offering odds markets for the main leagues and tournaments of LoL, but the difference makers are the smaller leagues. If you are truly into League of Legends, you most likely want to bet on games outside the LCS/LEC/LPL etc, and that’s where the research comes very handy, as you can quite easily determine which operators are investing into esports and League of Legends specifically, and that’s where you want to bet. After you have narrowed your search down to a few bookies it’s time to take a look at one of the important deciding factors, odds. You obviously want to bet on the highest odds on the market to get the most bang for you bucks. For that we have a free odds comparison tool that we recommend you to use constantly so you always get maximum profits from your bets.
Last but not least, we take a look at the bonuses. Bonuses and special offers vary a lot between operators and there are multiple variations of bonuses that you get to use. From risk-free bets to free bets and deposit bonuses, each bookie has their own style of providing bonuses to their users and there are plenty to choose from. It all starts with a welcome bonus and you can check the welcome bonuses for all the operators that we recommend on our welcome bonus page. Once you have identified the one you like the most, it’s very important to read their terms and conditions so you know how their deposit bonuses, free bets, wagering requirements etc work.
League of Legends League System
League of Legends separates from most esports with its region-based league system. Their teams are ranked in tiers, like usually in esports, but the way the tiers work is different from most. Basically they have a spring season, a summer season, between them there’s a mid-season invitational tournament, and then the year ends to Worlds year. League of Legends Worlds is the last tournament of each season/year where the best teams from all regions battle for the world championship. Let’s look at the different tier 1 leagues first and where they are located:
- LEC – Europe
- LPL – China
- LCK – South Korea
- LCS – North America
- PCS – Pacific/SEA
- VCS – Vietnam
- LCL – CIS region
- TCL – Turkey
- CBLOL – Brazil
- LLA – Latin America
- LJL – Japan
- OPL – Oceania
Each League has a system where all teams play only a few games each week, like in traditional sports, which makes the League of Legends system different from other esports. Basically this is better for punters, as you can always see the schedules way in advance and that allows you to research further into the future unlike with CS:GO or Dota 2 for example, that usually get tournament schedules few days prior to the event. Therefore it’s easier to plan ahead with LoL betting and you will almost always have games daily to watch and bet on.
What Site is Best for League of Legends Betting?
This is the big question that people google a lot, and even though I could sit here and argue for days for a couple of operators and how good they are, it all depends on preferences. There are so many variables and things that need to be accounted for that it’s impossible to name one or two as the ultimate ones for any sport or market. Operators have differences between markets and some are available in certain regions and some are not, which makes answering this question even harder. However, we can still give you some recommendations for operators that we have deemed worthy of your trust, who have good amounts of markets and competitive odds. These are the three bookies that we recommend for League of Legends betting:
- Unibet
- Pinnacle
- Bet365
- Betway
Through days of research we have come to the conclusion that these three operators stand out from the competition. They are user friendly, they offer a vast amount of markets and their odds are consistently competitive within the market. Key factor here is also the fact that all of the three are seasoned veterans of the industry, they have a good reputation among punters and years of experience to ensure that the product they offer is the highest quality. There are quite a few bookies on the market, but we can guarantee that you won’t go wrong with any of the above.
Strategy for League of Legends Betting
As we have now learnt a little bit about League of Legends betting in general and how to decide where to bet, it’s time to go into the how to bet. Whether you are a high roller or betting with peanuts, the name of the game is always the same – never, ever bet more than you can afford to lose, but also never bet more than a small percentage of your betting roll as a whole. This is absolutely crucial as we are looking into making profits in the long run and betting on big stakes without a system will hurt you and get you bankrupt very quickly. Our mission is to beat the bookmakers, and you can be sure that they have done their research prior to placing the odds online. For us to be able to find an edge, we need to be systematic, emotionless, cold and disciplined to follow a system that we set. Essentially this means that we need to look for bookies mistakes in odds that we deem beneficial for our intent. This is why researching and understanding the markets, teams, leagues and the matchups is so important, as through research you can find the edge and spot the mistakes that bookies have made. Furthermore, here are some key points when it comes to researching for odds and markets and getting general information prior to placing bets:
- Analyse earlier results and statistics.
- Scout the teams and players social media, as they can give fast information about a stand-in for a game or other unexpected circumstances.
- Learn the meta of the League of Legends pro scene and understand how teams match up against each other.
- Look at more markets than the winner of the game. We will have a deeper look at this topic further down, but always keep in mind there’s many more markets available.
- Remember live betting can be a good option, as League of Legends tends to have big swings in games and understanding how and why these happen can bring you a big advantage.
- Last, but not least, watching tons of League of Legends should be a no brainer, but it still needs to be said. Understanding the game and seeing the teams in action will help you a whole lot. Statistics are not the whole truth, as there are a lot of variables that affect how the games will end and who will win.
- Follow the odds trends for specific betting markets on League of Legends through odds comparison tools to see how the markets move before the game starts.
This might look like quite a mountain to climb with so many different little things that need to be accounted for, but I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to follow these steps if you want to become a winning punter. You do not need to adapt to everything at once, it’s better to take on new things by crumbs until you have the whole bread together. The most crucial step that we recommend to start with is your bankroll management, which is one of the basic fundamentals in the world of betting. Essentially this means that you are always betting a certain percentage of your betting roll. You should create a routine around your betting habits, starting from research to always betting a fixed amount of money on each betslip you place. League of Legends is a game where things can change in a heartbeat and with betting nothing is ever certain, absolutely nothing. That’s something you have to understand, as there will be times when you lose all the bets you place even though they are all great bets. That’s just how betting goes, you win some and you lose some. But you cannot let that affect you, or your decision making. You just need to push through it. With that being said, let’s look at the appropriate bet sizes for League of Legends betting.
This subject itself is very vast with a lot of angles, but we won’t go too deep into it. Let’s take a look at the surface, and you will learn more about it with time when you are betting a lot. Our recommendation is to be around 1% of your bankroll on any match or market is a pretty good starting point. In betting, the term for bet sizing is “unit” or “units” and punters often bet between 1-5 units depending how high or low the odds are, but we do not recommend that for beginners. It’s better to start with a flat 1% and with more knowledge and experience you can then eventually start playing around with the units to determine what kind of system suits you best.
Something to remember here also is that your bank roll or betting roll does not mean all the funds you have on your bank account. We refer to a monthly betting budget that you are ready to place at risk, which wont affect your livelihood if you hit a bad streak and lose your roll. So if your monthly budget is 100 euros, we recommend that you place bets with a stake of one euro. It sounds small and looks small, and so do the winnings, but being a successful winning punter means that you need to grind to get profit. There are no free lunches on this path. Now, it doesn’t really matter how good your research or knowledge is if you do not follow these steps and have a system that you base your bets on. The edges on these markets are very small, spider web thin, and that’s how we should treat them. By keeping your bet size fixed and working for long term profit is what pays off in time. You want to consistently build your bankroll bigger and bigger, and if you have the patience to do things correctly you will be profitable in the long run. Mistakes will be made, but we can learn from those like we can learn from any mistakes in life. You win some, you lose some, but stay cool and don’t let the cold streaks take over your moods.
Big part of the betting strategy for League of Legends, or any betting in general, is tracking your results. If you do not track your results, you’ll never know how you are performing and you won’t notice if you are doing something wrong. Betting.com offers a free bet tracker tool that allows you to track all your betting activities for free. The tool allows you to analyse your betting habits and results purely from a data point of view and gives you objective guidance. When you analyse your history and results properly, your betting habits will also develop and you can shift away from bad habits that you may have picked up on the road.
Betting Markets for League of Legends
As esports and League of Legends have been around for over a decade now the options for markets have also enhanced significantly over the years. Before you could only bet on the winner of the game and sometimes finding odds for that alone was a challenge, but luckily we’ve come quite a long way since then. Most often betting on the winner isn’t the best option as those are the markets that are most “correct” in terms of odds, and it’s very hard to find value in there. Using all of the research and knowledge we have, it’s better to look for an edge from other markets, as the bookies often spend less time with those odds and finding an edge there quite often is simply easier and less demanding. League of Legends offers a great variety of markets to bet on, and again understanding the game and how it flows becomes highly relevant. Let’s have a look at some of the most common League of Legends betting markets:
- Map handicap – Offered for almost all games played best of three/five. You simply bet on one team with a handicap like -1.5/-2.5 or +1.5/+2.5 in the game.
- Over/Under maps – Common betting option is best of three and five series.
- Over/Under kills – Betting on the amount of kills in a game. Can be very beneficial with knowing how the two teams match up against each other.
- First Blood – Which team gets the first kill of the game.
- First Turret – Which team destroys the first tower.
- First Baron – Which team kills the first Baron of the game.
- Dragon – Who kills the first Dragon, how about second?
- How many Dragon kills for a team?
- First to 5/10/15/20 kills – A good market to use in games with a heavy favourite, as an option to the winner odds.
- Kill Handicap – A specific team to lead by X amount of kills when the game ends, or reversely not be behind by X.
- Game Length – Betting on how long the game will be. An interesting market as teams play styles can differ heavily.
- Kills by a given player – Not the most common market out there, but a very interesting and entertaining one. Can be used with an advantage with good research and knowing the team’s playstyle.
The markets mentioned above are something you see often with League of Legends betting. So when you start researching try to keep your eyes wide open as there are so many markets where you find the edge and if you are thorough you will surely find them constantly. The smaller markets quite frequently offer better odds than the winner markets, and if you are on top of the game and know what you are doing, that’s where your edge also lies.
With time, all the research you do and the knowledge you gain, also become more and more familiar with League of Legends betting. The background work that you do know will pay off in the long run and when you have months or years of data in your head and documented somewhere, like on our bet tracker, you can notice patterns and trends that play to your advantage. Being unbiased and neutral towards everything will also help you a lot in the long run. If you have emotional ties to a team due to being a fan or something like that, don’t bet on their games unless you know you can look at the odds purely from a data perspective, especially if you are a beginner with betting on League of Legends.
How Can I become Better at Betting on League of Legends?
There are quite a few things that matter when it comes to becoming a better punter, and we hope that this League of Legends betting guide answers even some of your questions. We try to teach the basics and most crucial fundamentals that allow you to start betting responsibly and in a way that is profitable. From choosing an operator to understanding the markets and odds, but to also generate a strategy that suits your needs and betting habits in the best possible way are the key things to become a successful punter. When you learn to do things in the right way from the very beginning, you are building a path of success for yourself and your betting activities.
League of Legends betting doesn’t stand out as something different from the rest of esports, and due to that learning the basics of betting strategies and ideas are of value. If you are thinking where to go next or what to read next, we have quite a large database of educational betting content in our betting university. There are general topics and also some in-depth guides for certain aspects of betting that we highly recommend for you to read eventually if this guide was enough for one sitting.
Here at Betting.com our goal is to provide you, and everyone else, with all the tools and information that you might need to become a successful punter. Whether you are a seasoned veteran or a new kid on the block, we are doing our best everyday to help you by sharing everything we know about betting. I sincerely hope that you enjoyed and got something out of this League of Legends betting guide, and if you are eager to munch on more educational betting content, make sure to head towards our betting university.
