Bettors can now wager on NASCAR iRacing, Madden NFL, NBA2K, as well as eSports, and they’re taking advantage of the new technology.

 

 

Traditional sports have gone to the bench as the coronavirus pandemic has suspended play in the NBA and NHL. Likewise, major League Baseball (MLB) has yet to get the 2020 season going, the NFL won’t draft college players in front of fans, and the top soccer leagues in Europe have suspended play too.

 

Does that mean players have no sports to wager on? Not at all. 

 

Even though traditional sports have taken a backseat to mitigate the virus’ spread, simulated sports and eSports have flourished. Wagers on League of Legends, Counter-Strike, Dota 2, and the Overwatch League have exploded and bettors are enjoying simulated matchups on the NFL, NASCAR, and NBA. 

 

NASCAR IRacing

 

NASCAR was one of the first to go the simulated sports route. iRacing has been around for a long time. Up until a couple of weeks ago, NASCAR fans didn’t pay much attention. But, due to the pandemic, fans and NASCAR bettors have flocked to IRacing.

 

iRacing’s owner, David Kaemmer, also owns part of Roush Fenway Racing. Kaemmer approached NASCAR and wondered if they wanted to get into a deal. NASCAR jumped at the chance.

 

FOX and FS1 broadcast Sunday races and at some online sportsbooks, sports bettors can wager on them. If you want to know what NASCAR iRacing is all about, check out this iRacing video on YouTube. Players sit in an iRacing chair and race NASCAR cars around a virtual racetrack. 

 

You wager on NASCAR IRaces the same way you wager on an actual NASCAR event. Who do you think will win? That’s who you back. 

 

Madden NFL

 

Twitch has Madden and NBA2K simulated sports matches on most days. It was a matter of time before sportsbooks added wagering odds for those matches, right? 

 

Madden NFL football games that are like what might happen on an actual football field. It’s scary how close Electronic Arts (EA Sports) gets things.

 

The algorithms EA Sports uses for their Madden games are so fantastic that handicappers must even take the weather into account. If it’s windy, you had better add that factor into your handicapping. If the New Orleans Saints are at home in the Dome, you had better take that into account, as well.

 

Bettors can wager on Madden NFL games the same way they’d bet on a real NFL game. You can wager against the spread or on the moneyline.    

 

 

NBA2K

 

Twitch TV also has NBA2K matches on most days. Make sure to check out their schedule. Why? If Twitch TV shows it, sportsbooks are bound to have odds for it. NBA2K got together with the National Basketball Association (NBA) to put on a players’ only tournament.

 

Actual NBA players like DeAndre Ayton, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Patrick Beverly played in a 16-person NBA2K tournament. The matches were close and some of the matches even got heated.

 

The NBA2K Players Tournament was such a hit that sports bettors can expect more such tournaments in the future. Bettors can wager on NBA2K games the same way they wager on actual NBA games, against the spread and on the moneyline.   

 

Traditional eSports

 

Because of social distancing norms, wagering on traditional eSports remains a huge part of any sportsbook’s game plan. 

 

Check out the Top 4 sports for traditional Esports betting. All 4 Esports games have matches almost every day of the week:

 

League of Legends  

 

Concentrate your handicapping on South Korean League and Chinese League matches. The top team in the world is SK (South Korea) Telecom T1. Last year, SK T1 beat FunPlus Phoenix, the 2019 Chinese League title holders at the 2019 World Championships.  

 

Dota 2 

 

Dota 2 provides one of the richest Esports tournaments in the world. The International offered a $2 million prize purse last year.

 

Counter-Strike 

 

Also called CS:GO, Counter-Strike Tournaments take place most days out of the week. There are also Counter-Strike Leagues in South America, Europe, and North America.

 

Overwatch

 

Overwatch has its own league. Some big time sports people, like Patriots owner Robert Kraft, have put together Overwatch League teams. So, expect the Overwatch League’s popularity to flourish.

 

eSports wagering is like betting on a soccer game. There’s often a handicap that  involves how many games a team wins during a match, and the match winner.  

 

Virtual or simulated sports and eSports fill the regular sports betting void

 

Most sportsbooks have transitioned from offering traditional sports betting options to offering eSports betting and simulated sports wagering options. Per head agents should do the same. 

 

Agents should check with their current PPH provider to make sure they can offer their players the alternative.

 

If their current provider doesn’t, they had better consider making the switch to a well rounded company like PayPerHead®.