4 Drawbacks of Most Esports Betting Sites You Should Know

The rapid growth of the sports betting industry has led to the arrival of many specialized betting platforms. Some of them focus on a particular sport, whereas others pay more attention to a given sector, such as Esports. Although these kinds of operators have their advantages, they also come with a load of drawbacks that we’ll take a look at in this article.

Regulatory gaps and Lack of Uniform oversight

Perhaps the biggest downside of most operators that focus on esports betting is that they do not have consistent regulations worldwide. Not all sites fall into this section, however, because the best Esports betting sites will always share more details about their license, where they obtained it, and when it was issued. Sadly, those companies are the exception, as most esports betting operators do not offer such a feature.

Due to the patchwork of laws and the weak reinforcement, some sites operate in the legal grey zones. You can often find companies without any permits or sites that have a license, but for a jurisdiction that is completely different. There are even cases where sites have an actual permit from a reputable regulator, but they can’t use that specific license in the jurisdiction they want. legal betting sites in canada to play now

Cheating, match-fixing and skin betting

No one can deny that esports betting is huge and will most likely continue to attract people from different parts of the world. While the industry has come a long way since it was first introduced, it’s also worth noting that esports remain vulnerable to three main risks – cheating, match-fixing and manipulation.

Whether you’re betting on the highest-level competitions or choose some of the Tier 2-3 level options, there’s always the chance to find people who can be bribed, coerced, or even influenced to throw games. This happens often in titles like Dota 2, LoL, and CS2.

When it comes to skin betting, the possibilities of manipulation are endless. Many sites who help people understand esports-related betting and gambling also allow users to place bets using in-game items that have a specific value. While this does not seem scary at first sight, many sites that provide this option are not legit and people can lose what they have. To make matters worse, many of these sites also lack proper licenses and fail to adhere to specific restrictions. 

And yeah, match-fixing is also an issue that you have to take into account. A lot of people seem to forget that it exists, but it’s definitely a problem in esports, especially if you bet on some of the games that are not as popular.

The potential risks of gambling addictions

This drawback of esports betting sites is slightly different from those listed so far, but it is something to keep in mind. Esports are fun and can be very engaging, but this also means that people using them have to be extra careful. Many users are likely to engage in frequent gambling and eventually show signs of gambling-related harm.

One way to address this potential problem is by utilizing the responsible gambling features that sites offer. Since most people betting on esports are younger than the typical sports bettor, they should add different limits and/or other tools to help them stay secure.

Since esports events happen year-round, there is always something to bet on. The culture around esports can blur the line between gaming and gambling, making it easy for people to slip into addictive and risky behaviour. 

Limited transparency

One of the reasons why online sportsbooks are so popular is that many of them give people access to various data. Users can review historical data and analyze what has happened between the two teams/players in the past. Esports, by contrast. This type of data is usually lacking because the industry is still relatively new.

Even if you are using some of the most advanced betting platforms, you will see that most companies depend on data provided by different developers. This often causes issues because not all providers have this data and those that do may not provide it on time.

Having access to limited data can cause problems because those who set up the odds may not price them fairly. This is especially true for some lesser-known esports that are gaining popularity. It also explains why some of the markets for these sports have much higher odds than usual. 

Conclusion

To sum up, esports betting is innovative and could lead to numerous good picks. However, since it is new, it still has several issues that you should be aware of before you start betting. Features like the lack of licenses and inefficient responsible gambling measures are common, so be cautious when deciding which to choose.