In our Betway esports review, we’re looking at multiple angles like Betway’s promotional offers, games available, markets, in-play betting and payment methods among other aspects.
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Betway Esports Review
EsportsJunkie’s Betway Esports Review is subjective to the punter, however, we’ve ranked Betway in a particular way, our ranking system looks at Betting Markets, Payment methods, Bonus codes and promotions available, Customer support and finally licensing and regulations. Many of these aspects are important to the esports player so we’ve ranked these as the most important for our ranking system.
Betway Esports Available Betting Markets
Betway offers some of the best-betting markets in regards to esports. Here you will find the most popular esports leagues and tournaments, across multiple games.
Not only does Betway offer a comprehensive list of games, but it also offers a plethora of tournaments including ESL Pro League, ESEA NA, BLAST Pro Series, ESL Latin American, IEM Leagues. At the time of writing, we found the following leagues and tournaments: ESL Pro League, ESEA North America and Europe, BLAST Pro Series, ESL Latin America League, Intel Grand SLam and more.
Games available at Betway:
- CSGO
- League of Legends
- StarCraft 2
- PUBG
- Overwatch
- World of Warcraft
- Rocket League
- World of Warcraft
- Dota 2
- Call of Duty
Other interesting betting markets include Hearthstone and King of Glory. Both are relatively successful but are too niche to enjoy the same popularity as the esports mentioned above. Hearthstone suffers from having a high learning curve, while King of Glory is a mobile game, which immediately disqualifies it from being a serious esports in the eyes of some viewers.
Betway Esports Payment methods
Of course, if you wish to partake in online gambling there is no option to use physical cash, understandably. Therefore, you will need to make use of one of the several online payment services supported by the sportsbook. As it happens, there are many to choose from and you will have a lot of options going in. You should note that certain payment methods are only available to users in particular countries. Even if one service is not supported by Betway where you live, there will no doubt be an alternative for you to use.
There are various payment methods for Betway esports, here’s some;
- Credit and Debit Cards
- eWallets
- Prepaid Cards
- Bank Transfer
All of these are detailed below;
Credit and Debit Cards
Credit and debit cards are the world’s most common and convenient payment method, supported by just about every online business. There are plenty of reasons to use a card over other payment services, namely the security afforded and the speed of the transactions. With a credit card, you can fund your bankroll in just a few clicks and the money will be available in the blink of an eye. As far as the supported brands are concerned, Betway accepts payment via Maestro, MasterCard and Visa.
eWallets
An excellent alternative to credit cards is the so-called eWallets. These services are quite popular with the gambling community for a whole list of reasons. For one, they offer a heightened degree of anonymity since they are not connected with your personal bank account. Moreover, deposits made with an eWallet goes through in a matter of seconds and you immediately place your bets with no downtime. Withdrawals are also some of the fastest in the gambling industry since all transactions happen within the system of the eWallet and there are no international transfers that need days to clear. Once a payment is sent from the sportsbook to your account, the money will appear in your balance within a few hours. Betway esports supports eWallets like;
- PayPal
- EntroPay
- ecoPayz
- Neteller
- Click2Pay
- Skrill
Prepaid Cards
Prepaid cards are great for anyone who does not wish to commit to a long-term service and simply wishes to place a few bets on the side. The advantages of using a prepaid card include the inherent anonymity that they are able to provide. Since you submit no personal information when you purchase a prepaid card, there is none that can be misused. Furthermore, most prepaid cards allow for instant deposits, letting you place your bets as soon as you make the transaction.
The downside comes from the fact that most of them are not capable of processing withdrawals. Most prepaid cards can only send money one way and they do not maintain a balance where money can come in. In such cases, punters that have deposited with a prepaid usually receive their winnings via bank transfer. Betway supports prepaid services such as Paysafecard and ecoPayz.
Online Banking and Bank Transfers
If none of the above-mentioned solutions suits your needs then you can simply conduct a bank transfer to your Betway balance. Bank transfers usually allow you to transact a large amount of money at once, though at the cost of longer processing times. A bank transfer can take anywhere between 1 and 7 business days to clear, significantly longer than any other payment method mentioned here. There can also be fees, depending on what your bank charges for transfers.
Online banking may better suit your needs. For one, payments made with an online banking service are instantly processed on deposits. Therefore, allowing you to place your bets as soon as you confirm the transfer. These services act as a mediator for the payment, thereby eliminating the need for you to reveal your banking information to the sportsbook. Betway supports online banking services such as Sofort Uberweisung, Trustly, GiroPay, POLi, InstaDebit, and more.
Bonuses and Promotions
One of the best aspects of Betway are the numerous promotional offers that it runs. At this sportsbook, you will be rewarded for your participation and if you place your bets right, you can earn a decent payout, as a result.
Betway $30 Free Bet
The first promotion that will become available to you once you register an account with Betway is the $30 Free Bet. This serves as a Welcome Bonus and it allows users to get a head start in esports betting. The promotion is a 100% match bonus on the first deposit and it can go up to $30. With this bonus also come certain rules that you have to follow if you wish to cash it out.
To begin with, only users depositing with a credit/debit card and PayPal are eligible to receive the bonus. Additionally, the minimum deposit stands at $10. Furthermore, to activate the bonus, users have to place bets totalling the value of their initial deposit or up to $30. Something else that you should take into consideration is that there are minimum odds at which you have to place your bets if you wish to activate the Free Bet. For single bets, the minimum odds are 1.75 (¾); for each-way bets – 1.40 (⅖); for system bets – 1.40 (⅖).
The bonus money has an expiration day of 7 days and if it is not used within that time frame then it will be removed from your account. The countdown begins once you make your first deposit, regardless of whether you have activated the bonus or not.
The principal sum of the free bet is non-redeemable. This means that once your free bet has been settled, you will not be able to withdraw the initial value. However, the profit that you made from the free bet is yours to keep. For example, you receive a free bet of $30 and stake it on a bet with 2.00 odds. Your net balance after a successful wager will be $60. From that $60, $30 will be removed (since it is the initial value of the free bet), while the other $30 is paid to you in cash. There are no wagering requirements involved in this offer.
Common Bet Types at Betway Esports
While esports are different from traditional sports, the bets available for this type of competitions still follow a similar logic as those on football or basketball, for example. If you have been active in the sports betting scene previously, you should have no issue in becoming acquainted with the ones featured at Betway on esports events.
The Winner bet is the simplest type there is in the sports betting industry and it is also available in esports. There is very little to it and just about anyone can understand it.
Where things become more complicated and interesting is in the Handicap market. This type of bet imposes a hypothetical handicap on one particular team and if your prediction is correct you win the wager. For example, this is often done on the number of rounds in a CS:GO match or the number of towers in a League of Legends matchup.
The Under/Over market is also quite popular in esports, requiring you to guess the correct number of objectives to be taken. Much like in the previous example, this is often done on the number of rounds or towers. It can also be done on the number of kills and other objectives.
First-to-objective is another highly popular bet type in esports gambling. Here you get to guess which team will pick up a particularly vital objective in a match. In CS:GO, this typically goes for the pistol rounds, while MOBA games include towers, neutral monsters and buildings. Additionally, First Blood can also be considered a similar type of bet in League of Legends and Dota 2, where you guess which team will strike the first kill.
Betway Esports Mobile Support
Mobile support is a major factor for any online gambling service and nowadays, no operator can afford not to maintain a mobile version of their website. As a top-tier sportsbook, Betway has spared no expense in making sure that mobile users will have the best possible experience when accessing the sportsbook from their smartphones or tablets.
Every aspect of the website is fully supported for both desktop computers and mobile devices. The user interface on mobile is scaled down to an appropriate level so that it is completely functional on all manner of smartphones and tablets. Despite the smaller form factor, the interface retains all of its functionality and you will have no issues in placing bets on your favorite esports teams.
Furthermore, you will still have access to customer support, promotions, banking and just about everything else that you might need.
When it comes to actually access the website from a mobile device, you will be pleased to know that the company supports applications for both Android and iOS platforms. The iOS app can be downloaded from the App Store, while the Android one has to be downloaded and installed manually. If you do not want to bother, then you can simply load the website in your browser and place bets that way.
ESL Pro League: Pistol Refund
This promotion will certainly interest CS:GO punters. Whenever you place a bet on a team and they win the pistol round but lose the map afterwards, you may be eligible to receive a refund. More specifically, the minimum qualifying bets are at $5 and the refund can go as high as $20. This bonus can be repeated multiple times and is applicable to every CS:GO match in the ESL Pro League.
Additionally, only bets placed with cash and bonus funds will qualify, while Free Bets are not eligible. The refund is issued as a Free Bet and it will last 7 days before expiring. As with other offers, the principal sum of the bet is non-redeemable and only the profit can be retrieved. Players from the following countries are not eligible for this promotion: Armenia, Belarus, Belgium, Croatia, Georgia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russian Federation, and Ukraine. The promotion will end with the conclusion of the ESL Pro League – 15 November 2018.
Betway Esports Free Bet Objectives
The Esports Free Bet Objectives promotion rewards those who are active in the esports betting sites scene at Betway. This offer can reward you with up to $20 in Free Bets for meeting certain criteria during the week. Each week there are three different objectives, completing each of which will reward you with a free bet. Fulfilling Objective 1 provides you with a free bet worth $10, while Objectives 2 and 3 provide you with two $5 free bets. The Objectives must be completed in succession. There are different objectives each week and you can always check them out at Betway’s Promotions page.
Licensing and Country Restrictions
In the world of online gambling, there is only one way that you can trust a particular betting website. That is by taking a look at the licenses that it has acquired from various regulatory institutions. Without such a certificate, you can never be sure whether or not the website in question is honest about their business practices or whether the results are genuine or not.
In the case of Betway, there is nothing to worry about. This website is licensed all over the European Union from some of the most respected institutions on the continent. More specifically, it has licenses from the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, the Republic of Ireland Office of Revenue Commissioners, the Danish Gambling Authority, Italy’s Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli, the Spanish Direccion General de Ordenación del Juego and the Malta Gaming Authority. Betway has clearly shown that it has gone above and beyond the call of duty to prove that they are indeed a legitimate operation and worthy of your trust.
Afghanistan, Angola, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Columbia, France, Schleswig-Holstein (German state), Greece, Greenland, Guyana, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lithuania, Mexico, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Syria, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, USA, Vanuatu and Yemen.
Customer Support
As with any good gambling website, customer support is available from the get-go. It can be reached via email by contacting support@betway.com. The support staff work around the clock to resolve any and all issues thrown their way or to simply answer questions. Response times are quickly taking no more than 24 hours, though usually, your answer will come in a few hours at most.
Unfortunately, Betway does not support other forms of customer support contact. The lack of live chat is noticeable and it can sometimes be a hassle to get the information that you want.
Conclusion
Overall, our Betway esports review found that this bookmaker is one of your best options when gambling on esports is concerned. Not only is Betway an excellent bookmaker website in general, but it also understands the esports industry. This is indicated by the multiple promotions regarding esports betting and their sponsorship of a team. All in all, there is very little not to like about Betway esports. Every aspect of the service is generally good or excellent. The promotions are plentiful and you can take advantage of some multiple times. Therefore, Betway has our full recommendation.