A new report from Oddin.gg details how esports betting has matured, with growth now driven by distinct title-specific dynamics. Understanding these shifts is key for operators in the gambling industry.
Key Takeaways
* Esports betting has transitioned into a “maturity phase,” requiring operators to manage it as a portfolio of distinct titles rather than a single market.
* Engagement drivers vary significantly by game, with team loyalty, live betting, and regional leagues now shaping growth more than global tournaments.
* Operators must adopt targeted strategies, tailoring market depth and promotional efforts to each title’s unique bettor behavior and growth potential.
Esports titles stopped behaving like a single category in 2025, according to a comprehensive new report from Oddin.gg, an esports betting ecosystem provider. The vertical has entered a “maturity phase” where growth continues across titles, but the factors driving that growth have diverged significantly. This shift has considerable implications for online casinos and sportsbooks offering esports markets.
Drawing on billions of bets processed through its network, Oddin.gg’s 2025 report offers a detailed view of how the market is developing beneath the headline growth figures. Marek Suchar, managing director and co-founder of Oddin.gg, notes, “The conversation around esports betting has fundamentally shifted. It’s no longer about expansion across esports as a whole. It’s about understanding that you’re managing a portfolio of titles, each with distinct growth potential and bettor behaviour.”
Esports Betting Enters Maturity Phase
The Oddin.gg report identifies five indicators of this transition: rising average stakes, growth in player-focused markets, teams driving engagement over tournaments, live betting dominance, and sustained regional activity. These signals collectively point to a market becoming more sophisticated and segmented, requiring a nuanced approach from gambling operators.
Divergent Growth Patterns Across Top Titles
Esports betting continues to expand across five major titles. The Oddin.gg 2025 report shows betting volume increases of 30% in Counter-Strike 2, 31% in Dota 2, 46% in League of Legends, and 18% in VALORANT. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB), a newcomer to Oddin.gg’s annual esports report, delivered the strongest relative growth, with the free-to-play title up by 62%.
Bet count growth followed a similar trajectory, with increases of 23% in Counter-Strike 2, 12% in Dota 2, 32% in League of Legends, 10% in VALORANT, and 41% in MLBB. The report also highlights median betting volume growth of 31% and bet count growth of 23% across titles, reinforcing the overall strength of the vertical.
Rising Stakes and Evolving Engagement
Average stakes are also climbing, signaling deeper engagement from bettors. Flagship events saw notable increases, including a 166% year-on-year rise at League of Legends’ World Championship to €77, alongside €47 at VALORANT Champions, and €28 at Dota 2’s The International.
The more revealing shift lies in what is driving that growth. The Oddin.gg report identifies a move away from tournament-led engagement toward team-driven loyalty and behavior, particularly in Counter-Strike 2. Suchar states, “Matches with popular lineups generate consistent volume regardless of tournament tier,” indicating a structural change in how bettors engage with esports.
Live betting now accounts for the majority of activity across all five titles, ranging from approximately 70% to over 85% depending on the game. Suchar explains, “These are real-time competitions where momentum shifts happen quickly, information is visible instantly and engagement naturally gravitates toward in-play betting.” Additionally, bettors are increasingly seeking more granular ways to engage, with player- and utility-based markets in Counter-Strike 2 growing by up to 80% between major events.
Regional Dynamics and Portfolio Management
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang offers a different perspective on how engagement is evolving. The title delivered the greatest growth in both betting volume and bet count, with activity driven primarily by regional leagues in Southeast Asia rather than global competitions. “That proves regional-first models can work at scale,” Suchar notes, highlighting how consistent domestic competition can underpin year-round betting activity.
Dota 2’s The International retained its status as a significant competitive event, supported by peak concurrent viewership of around 1.8 million. Despite the event’s popularity, Oddin.gg traders advise operators to maintain robust market offerings across the full Tier-1 calendar, particularly in combination markets where recreational volume has grown significantly.
These patterns reinforce a central theme: esports betting is no longer evolving as a single market, but as a collection of distinct titles that require the same portfolio thinking operators already apply to traditional sports.
Strategic Implications for Gambling Operators
As esports betting continues to mature, the differences between titles are expected to become more pronounced. Oddin.gg’s 2025 report positions Counter-Strike 2 as the most mature title, exhibiting all five key indicators, while Dota 2, League of Legends, and VALORANT are described as maturing markets. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, meanwhile, is identified as an earlier-stage vertical with strong growth potential driven by regional ecosystems.
For operators, this growing divergence has commercial implications. The long-standing approach of treating esports betting as a single vertical is becoming less effective. Suchar warns, “Operators applying uniform coverage models, market depth strategies, and promotional calendars across all titles are seeing inconsistent results. The underlying engagement patterns don’t support that approach anymore.”
Instead, the Oddin.gg report suggests a more targeted approach, with investment decisions aligned to the specific dynamics of each title. This may involve prioritizing deeper player markets in Counter-Strike 2, strengthening live betting infrastructure for League of Legends, or focusing on consistent regional league coverage in Mobile Legends. Most sportsbooks already possess the experience needed to manage this, drawing parallels to handling regional football leagues across different markets. Operators that understand where engagement is strongest and tailor their offering accordingly will be best placed to capture long-term value.
“The key shift is moving from ‘we offer esports’ to ‘we offer esports as a portfolio’,” Suchar concludes. As Oddin.gg’s 2025 report makes clear, esports betting has reached a similar stage to traditional sports, offering familiar management strategies for gambling operators.
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