Esports betting is a growing area of the sports wagering industry, with a youth-driven push making betting on professional video gaming a common-practice. Singapore does not have a regulated sports betting industry, although there are many bookmaker sites based in other countries that will accept signups from here and cater specifically to the SGD currency. This page will run you through the best sports betting sites for Singapore, plus give you a rundown of all the major betting esports like Counter-Strike, Dota 2 and League of Legends.
Top SG esport betting sites
#1
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Esports betting in 2020
Esports betting is largely done on the top-flight leagues and tournaments surrounding professional video gaming. For instance you might find betting on the final stages of a League of Legends tournament, but you won’t find any markets on the online qualifying. This is because esports handicapping is still a relatively young game, and the depth of the player pools means new esports stars are emerging all the time. Our esports betting section will highlight the top five esports in September, 2020.
Dota 2 betting
CS:GO betting
League of Legends betting
Fortnite betting
Overwatch betting
Major eSports events in 2020
The esports calendar is growing all the time, with new leagues and tournaments springing up. Some of the most anticipated esports events for 2020 are:
Fortnite World Cup
Game: Fortnite
Dates: July/August (TBC)
Prize Money: $30 million USD
Qualification: Online/Ranking
The Fortnite World Cup burst onto the esports scene in 2019 with a bang, with over 2 million people tuning in for the final stages of the tournament, which were played in a sold out Arthur Ashe Stadium, in New York. Some of the changes expected in 2020 include higher prize money, a different qualification structure to ensure the best players are playing and potentially with trios or squads, instead of solo and duo as it was in 2019.
League of Legends World Championship
Game: League of Legends
Dates: November, 2020 (TBC)
Prize Money: TBC
Qualification: Online/Ranking
The League of Legends World Championship is the no.1 event on the LoL calendar. Played between October and November each year, the 2020 Championship finals will be played in Shanghai, where home team FunPlus Phoenix will attempt to defend their crown from 2019. The LoL World Cup is also one of the biggest betting events in esports, with betting sites all over the world offering markets on it.
The International
Game: Dota 2
Dates:
Prize Money: $25 million +
Qualification: Online/Ranking
Held every year, the International is the no.1 most coveted prize for Dota 2 players, and features all the best players from around the world. The International also draws a huge viewership on streaming sites like Twitch, with this meaning betting on the International is also common. The 2020 edition of The International will return to Europe for the first time since 2011, when it is played in Stockholm, Sweden. The 2019 finals of the International were played in Shanghai.
Call of Duty League
Game: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Start date: 24 January, 2020
End date: 27 July, 2020
Prize Money: $6 million
Qualification: TBC
The Call of Duty League bears an uncanny resemblance to how Blizzard’s star game, Overwatch, launched its league. While the Call of Duty World League has been ditched, this new COD esports competition is set to take the world by storm. Like the Overwatch League, COD League will have teams in 12 US cities, with some franchises already existing, while others are entering into COD competition for the first time. We can’t wait for this one!
How to bet on esports
Before you can start placing wagers on your favourite esports games, you need to sign up with a trustworthy online betting operator. The bookmakers above are fully licensed and regulated, and we recommend opening accounts at all of them so you can compare the odds and ensure top value every time you bet.
The next step is adding money to your account. Esports bookies support a wide range of instant deposit methods, including credit cards, debit cards and e-wallets. Most betting sites also offer welcome packages where new players can pocket hundreds of dollars in bonus cash upon making a transaction, so make sure to opt in if that interests you.
Now it is time to put your money where your mouth is. Navigate your way to the esports section of the website, pick out the game, league, or tournament you wish to bet on, and scroll through the available betting markets. When you want to make a wager, tap the odds to add them to your virtual betting slip. Set your stake, confirm the bet, and you’re good to go.
Singapore esports tournaments
Singapore’s esports community is only young, but it is growing at a rapid rate. Expect many more top-flight leagues and tournaments to join those below in the coming years.
- Singapore eSports League
Established in 2018, the SEL is a national Dota 2 esports championship that runs year-round. The league uses a ladder format, much like a domestic football division, and aims to set the benchmark for professional gaming in Singapore. - PVP eSports Championships – Singtel, one of the nation’s leading telecommunications companies, launched its own esports tournament in 2018, with some US $400,000 prize money on offer for place getters in Dota 2 and the popular mobile game, Arena of Valor.
- SEA Tour – Singapore is one of five countries that owns a slot on Southeast Asia’s premier League of Legends esports tour, where the winning team goes on to represent the region at high-profile events such as the Mid-Season Invitational and the LoL World Championship.
More popular esports games
- Call of Duty
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- FIFA
- Fortnite Battle Royale
- Halo
- Hearthstone
- Heroes of the Storm
- Overwatch
- PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
- Pro Evolution Soccer
- Rocket League
- StarCraft II
- World of Warcraft
Best banking methods for Singapore dollars
The best esports bookmakers support a variety of payment methods and global currencies, including Singapore dollars (SGD). Popular deposit options include:
- Credit card
MasterCard, Visa and their related debit cards are accepted everywhere.
Web wallet
Neteller and Skrill are staple deposit and withdrawal methods within the online gambling industry.
Direct banking
Direct online banking sevirces such as Citadel Direct are available at most online bookmakers.
Cryptocurrency
More and more esports betting sites are adding Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash as accepted currencies.
Wire transfer
Transactions take a few days to clear, but high rollers will happily wait to avoid transaction limits.
Withdrawal options vary from bookie to bookie, so it pays to read up on the terms and conditions for your preferred banking method before you try to cash out your winnings.
Online gambling laws in Singapore
Like a lot of places in Southeast Asia, and particularly those with a historical Chinese influence, there is a strong gambling tradition in Singapore. Games of chance are often played in the home and are a common sight at social gatherings such as weddings and funerals.
However, modern-day Singapore is renowned worldwide for its no-nonsense approach to vice and corruption. Just as chewing gum in public can land you behind bars, so too can gambling in the wrong place, with the wrong people, at the wrong time.
In response to what was perceived as a national gambling epidemic, Singaporean government outlawed all forms of remote gaming and wagering in 2014. That legislation was relaxed two years later so the Singapore Turf Club and the Singapore Pools could launch online betting services for horse racing, motor racing, soccer, 4D and Toto, but they remain the only licensed operators in the country.
At present, it is illegal in Singapore to bet with any offshore gambling operator. That raises a problem for gamers who like a flutter, because neither the Turf Club nor the Pools offer betting markets for esports.
The simplest workaround is a virtual private network (VPN), which allows you to escape geo blocks and access just about any overseas betting site. Nothing is foolproof, however, and we stress that any and all online gambling activities are undertaken at the user’s own risk.