League of Legends is played by more than 80 million people each month, and isnât just one of the most popular video games in the world, but also one of the biggest eSports in the world. In 2019 eSports fans watched over 1.1 billion hours of League of Legends live streams on the popular streaming website Twitch alone, with that year also seeing the highest viewing numbers for League of Legends eSports tournaments ever recorded. This is one of the hottest eSports in the world, and one of the most popular games for eSports betting sites to feature.Â
Top 7 League of Legends Betting Sites
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Dota 2
bet365
Bet365 almost needs no introduction. As one of the longest established online bookmakers, and the veritable industry leader, you canât go wrong when you pick Bet365. They have great event and match coverage, phenomenal eSports odds, and a really top-notch selection of betting markets available. Bet365 is one of our favourite bookies for League of Legends betting, as well as traditional sports betting, though weâd like to see a dedicated eSports betting section at some point in the future.
Pinnacle
Pinnacle basically started all the eSports betting movement back when it was merely a âchildrenâs thingâ. Although you wonât get a new customer promotion on your sign up, their depth of markets is amazing, including League of Legends. Even if youâre not into LoL exclusively, Pinnacle can deliver complete eSports betting satisfaction. Itâs safe to say, Pinnacle is to eSports what William Hill is to Horse Racing.
888Sport
888Sport is one of the most successful bookmakers in the world, and they do an amazing job with their eSports betting offering too. Youâll all find all the biggest LoL tournaments, a phenomenal live betting experience, and some decent welcome offers too. 888Sport is definitely one our top picks for anyone interested in getting into League of Legends betting.
What is League of Legends?
League of Legends (LoL) is a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA), which means that itâs a game where two teams of players (usually 5v5) start at opposite ends of a diamond-shaped map. The standard map (âSummonerâs Riftâ) is split into three different lanes (Top Lane, Mid Lane, Bottom Lane), as well as the Jungle, which is the space on the map in between the lanes.
Each teamâs base contains a Nexus, which needs to be defended from enemy attacks. Each lane is lined with Towers, with each teamâs half of the lanes lined with their own respective towers. These towers attack the enemy team when they get near to them, though players can destroy enemy towers. Until a teamâs towers are destroyed in at least one lane, it isnât possible to get close enough to their Nexus to begin attacking it.
Players each choose a character (i.e. a âChampionâ) to play from a roster of almost 150. Each character has their own unique skills, powers, and abilities which make them more suited to a particular role (more on this below). Characters must destroy monsters in the jungle, win fights against enemy champions, and destroy enemy towers in order to level up, get stronger, and unlock more abilities each match.
When a champion is killed, they respawn at their teamâs Nexus after a cooldown period. This might seem like there are no serious consequences to character-death, however, all it takes is one or two champions to be downed at the same time for your team to suddenly lose your advantage and get overrun by the enemy team while waiting for downed champions to respawn.
League of Legends Player Roles
We mentioned above that different champions are suited for different roles, but what does that mean? Because of the way that the map is designed, as well as the rules of the game, different players on a team can take on different roles and fulfil different functions to help the team get ahead. If a coach mismanages a teamâs roles, itâs almost guaranteed to end in disaster, whereas if the roles are managed properly, it could spell victory.
Character roles are based on both where on the map Champions will be spending most of their time, as well as the style of play that Champions excel at.
Tactical Roles
Bot Laners are the Champions who are best suited to the bottom lane of the map. These tend to be AD Carries and Supports. This is the shortest lane on the map, and is best suited for long-range combat.
Mid Laners are generally the AP Carries and Fighters, though some configurations can replace Fighters with Tanks here. The middle lane is the longest lane on the map, and youâre likely to see longer, drawn-out encounters take place here.Â
Top Laners are generally the Tanks of the party. Typically, a single Tank will take care of the top lane, though in early stages of matches, it isnât unheard of for another character to join them and then switch to another lane later on.
Junglers tend to be Bursts, and these Champions spend most of their time in the Jungle area in between the lanes. A Junglerâs role is to kill the computer-controlled wild creatures in order to help the team level up and purchase equipment, as well as switching between lanes to gank enemies. âGankingâ is the term used when a Champion jumps out from the jungle to surprise an enemy, deals a massive amount of damage, and retreats to safety.
Champion Types
Tanks are characters who are very good at surviving attacks. They tend to have very high health points, and usually a number of damage resistances. They arenât the best damage dealers, but can draw fire away from characters who pack a bigger punch, but canât take as many hits. Many tanks also have a number of crowd control abilities which enable them to control the tide of battles.
Carries are the marksmen and the mages of League of Legendsâ champions roster. The marksmen are known as AD Carries, as they mainly rely on their Attack Damage, while the mages are known as AP Carries, as they mainly rely on their Ability Powers. Carries are known for being able to deal massive amounts of damage, particularly in the later stages of matches. A Carry is the antithesis of a Tank, in that they can deal a lot of damage, but are easily taken down.
Bursts / Assassins are the characters that can deal massive amounts of damage in a very short amount of time, but arenât suited for longer confrontations. These are the characters that specialise in popping up out of hiding, or running in from behind allies and quickly taking down enemy champions. They tend to be very easily killed themselves, and specialise in running in, doing a massive burst of damage, and retreating.
Supports are characters that specialise in healing their allies, and providing buffs. Buffs are enhancements to skills or attributes that help ally characters (and themselves) survive for longer, deal more damage, gain resistance to damage types, move faster, and more. Some believe that matches are won and lost based on how the support performs, though League of Legends is a complex enough game that no one strategy is foolproof.
Fighters are the middle-ground between Tanks and Carries. They arenât as hardy as Tanks, donât deal as much damage as Carries, but serve as great all-rounders for players who want to play a more versatile role in the match. Fighters tend to be the best Champions for one-on-one fights with enemy characters (a.k.a âsolo encountersâ), as they can generally out-survive Tanks because of Tanksâ low damage output, and out-survive Carries because of how easy they are to take down.Â
League of Legends Betting Markets
One of the really wonderful thing about eSports betting is the unique betting market options that open up when youâre betting on a sport that takes place in a virtual space with its own physics and where no one can actually get hurt. League of Legends, in particular, opens up the possibilities for some really cool betting markets with its full-on fantasy vibes.
First Blood
This is when punters bet on which team will get the first kill of the match. When we say âfirst killâ, weâre not referring to minions or jungle creatures, but player-controlled Champions.Â
First Team to 10 Kills
As Champions respawn when killed, itâs common for teams to rack up upwards of 30 kills in a single match. This betting market deals with which team will be the first to score 10 Champion kills first.
Team to Destroy First Tower
As we said above, the lanes are lined with towers. Half the lane is lined with one teamâs towers, and the other half is lined with the other teamâs towers. In order to complete the goal of destroying the enemy teamâs Nexus, a team has to destroy their towers. This is a bet on which team will be the first to destroy a tower.
Team to Slay First Dragon
The jungle contains a number of dragons, and slaying these dragons bestows certain buffs on the team, and at later stages of the game, will have the dragon fight with you in the Middle Lane to destroy Towers, kill Champions, and get closer to the enemy Nexus. This is a bet on which team will slay the first dragon of the match.
Total Kills Scored
As we said above, due to the fact that Champions respawn when killed, teams end up racking quite a number of kills over the course of a match. This is generally an over/under bet that punters can place on how many kills a team will rack up by the end of the match.
Most Kills
This is exactly what it sounds like, a bet on which team will end the match with the highest number of Champion kills. Whatâs interesting about this is that itâs entirely possible for a team to end the match with the most kills, but still lose the match overall.
Biggest League of Legends Tournaments
If youâve read this far, then you know enough about the game to jump in and start placing your own LoL bets. But what League of Legends tournaments are out there to bet on? Hereâs our guide for the biggest and best League of Legends tournaments for you to start wagering on:
League of Legends World Championship
The League of Legends World Championship, more commonly referred to as Worlds, is one of the biggest annual events in the eSports industry. This is a tournament organised by Riot Games, the company behind LoL, and the 2019 World Championship featured a prize pool of over $2.2 million. Teams need to excel in other tournaments in order to qualify for Worlds, meaning that Worlds is a showcase of the best LoL teams the world has to offer. If a betting site offers eSports betting, then itâs almost guaranteed that theyâll cover the League of Legends World Championship.
Rift Rivals
This is the second biggest League of Legends tournament in the world and takes place every summer. Similar to Worlds, teams from all over the worlds come together to compete for the title of Rift Rivals Champions. Itâs a great event to see the top teams from each region go head to head. EU vs North Armerica always draws a big crowd, and itâs a great event to get started on your League of Legends betting journey.
LCS (League of Legends Championship Series)
This is the North American, franchised League of Legends league, and is the biggest North American LoL tournament. Thereâs a Spring and Summer season each year, meaning that League of Legends betting is available almost year-round. Some punters choose to only bet on the league thatâs local to their region, while others will bet on the biggest leagues in the biggest regions.
LEC (League of Legends European Championship)
This is the European Championship series, and until relatively recently, was known as the EU LCS. Many fans out there prefer the LEC to the LCS due to the diversity of the LEC, as teams come from a number of different countries like Germany, the UK, Sweden, and more. This is also a franchised league, and like the LCS and LCK, has both a Spring and a Summer season.
LCK (League of Legends Champions Korea)
This is the South Korean Championship series, and Korea is seen by many as the mecca of the eSports industry. Held in Seoul each year, the LCK has both a Spring and a Summer season and brings together all of South Koreaâs biggest League of Legends teams, and is considered to be the regional Championship Series with the highest stakes, as Korean teams have a gargantuan reputation to live up to.Â
League of Legends Betting Tips
When it comes to any eSports betting tips, readers should always be careful to make sure that their sources are reputable before placing any real money bets. While you can try and get match tips out there, if youâd like to become a LoL bettor, then you should have an overall strategy. Our main League of Legends betting tips are as follows:
- Try the game yourself:Â The game is free to play on Windows, Mac OS, and Linux, so itâs easy to jump in and play a few matches for yourself to get a sense of how the game flows, and the different stages of a match. Thereâs no need to spend hours on it every single day, but getting a real feel for how the game is played will take you a long way in terms of helping you make sound LoL betting decisions
- Watch some live streams: There are hundreds of thousands of people who stream themselves playing League of Legends on Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook, including members of some of the biggest teams out there. This is a good way to get a sense of what high-level players do in the game, how they make their decisions, what kind of strategies they use, and just what high-level play looks like.
- Get on Reddit:Â There are tons of subreddits dedicated solely to analysing team rosters, making predictions on outcomes, and even coming up with community-sourced odds and betting tips. Hardcore fans will spend hours analysing different playersâ performance with different champions, and during major league matches will light up Reddit with a flurry of comments.
- Listen to commentators:Â Luckily for eSports fans and eSports bettors, most leagues and tournaments are broadcast for free on Twitch in multiple languages, meaning you can watch official match broadcasts for free and listen to the professional commentators. These commentators will have insights into matches and strategies that will help you get better at making the right calls when it comes to placing your LoL bets, and your in-play bets in particular.
- Keep up to date on roster changes: eSports differ from regular sports in that roster changes happen much more frequently in eSports. Each one of these changes will affect your betting decisions, so itâs good to follow some key teams and stay clued-in to which players are leaving and which are being added on. The easiest way to do this would be to follow teams on social media and to look at eSports news sites regularly.
Legendary League of Legends Players
Faker â LCK â T1
Faker is sometimes referred to as the best League of Legends player in the world, and whether you agree with that sentiment or not, whatâs undeniable is the voluminous collection of MVP awards heâs been snapping up for years. Heâs been a core member of the Korean team SK Telecom T1 since 2013 and serves as their Mid-Laner. Heâs best known for his playing Ryze, LeBlanc, Ahri, Zed, Azir, and Syndra, and has won over $1.25 million in prize money over the course of his career. Born in 1996, heâs at the age where most other professional League of Legends players retire, however with skills like his, heâs definitely going to be in the professional LoL scene for years more to come.
Caps â LEC â G2 Esports
This Danish player is currently mid-laner for G2 Esports and is the younger brother of professional LoL eAthlete Ryze. Caps has been in the professional scene since 2015 and is the first European player to ever win back to back MVP awards on two different teams, with Fnatic in 2018 and G2 Esports in 2019. He managed to pull off two pentakills (i.e. killing every Champion on the opposing team) in professional matches, and has won three different MVP awards. Heâs in his prime and is definitely one to watch, and is often referred to as the best League of Legends player in Europe.
CoreJJ â LCS â Team Liquid
CoreJJ, born in 1994, is one of the few professional LoL players who successfully managed to switch from one region to another. The Korean Support player started out playing in the LCK, and has been on Team Liquid since late 2018 and now plays in the LCS. 2019 was his most successful year so far, winning the MVP award in the Spring LCS, and the 1st All-Pro Team in both the Spring and Summer LCS that year. Heâs been called the best Support in the world, and has been attributed to Team Liquidâs phenomenal 2019 season performance.
League of Legends Betting FAQs
Where is League of Legends Betting legal? 
LoL betting is legal everywhere that regular sports betting is legal. This means that if you can already bet on sports like football or tennis where you live, then you can bet on League of Legends without having to worry about anything. When it doubt, stick to the bookies listed here on SportsBetting24, as theyâre all licensed and regulated betting sites.
Where can I find LoL betting predictions?
Make sure you stick to reliable sources like eSports news sites and eSports betting sites blogs. Itâs also a good idea to check Reddit, as there are subreddits dedicated solely to LoL betting predictions. We recommend making your own predictions over trusting external sources.
What kinds of bets can I make on League of Legends?
In addition to all your standard bets like match winner and outrights, there are also a number of betting markets unique to League of Legends betting. These tend to be things like First to 10 Kills, First Team to Destroy a Tower, and others like that. Take a look at the article above for a full rundown of the betting markets unique to LoL betting.