Betting on e-sports with licensed and unlicensed betting companies
Maksym YushytsynIn recent years, e-sports has established itself in the betting market to stay. Almost all major betting sites in Sweden, and well-established sites outside the Swedish licensing system, offer some form of odds on e-sports. As more players open their eyes to bet live on esports, it may be worth sorting out the difference between licensed and unlicensed betting sites - and how you can tell them apart.
This is how you see that a gaming company is licensed in Sweden
If you are new to the gambling market, or only play sporadically, it is not entirely obvious to know how to identify a gambling site that is licensed in Sweden. There are many people who unknowingly play on foreign betting sites and it can be reassuring to know that this is completely legal for you as a player. However, it is not legal for gambling companies to target the Swedish gambling market when they do not have a license.
If you want to be sure that you are playing on a site that conducts legal activities in Sweden - or that only operates outside of Sweden without actively targeting Swedish players - there are some very simple tricks you can use.
The two very simple things you can do to see if you are playing on a licensed site is to look for the Swedish Gambling Authority's logo or the icons for the three help tools: Game break, self-test and game limits. You will usually find the Swedish Gaming Authority's logo at the bottom of the page, in the footer, while the help tools should be most visible at the top of the page.
You can also explore the general terms and conditions of the gambling site you visit and, if you want to be 100 percent sure, you can go directly to the Gambling Authority's website to search for all licensed gambling companies in Sweden.
E-sports increasingly important for the betting market
Many who turn to foreign betting sites do so in order to gain access to other odds options than what is offered in Sweden. However, you don't need to worry about a lack of odds on e-sports on the Swedish market - there are plenty of them - although with that said, there may be additional betting options at unlicensed betting companies.
In recent years, e-sport has become an essential cog in the betting market both in Sweden and in other markets. Previously, eSports odds were offered on a select few betting sites, and very sporadically, but now you don't have to look far to find a plethora of betting options. Nowadays, there are even a number of betting sites that specifically, or at least primarily, offer odds on e-sports.
Both in Sweden and in many other countries, legal bet Dota 2, CS:GO and League of Legends tend to dominate the gaming market, but they are far from the only video games that offer odds. Valorant is an example of a game that has become extremely popular in 2022 and there are usually plenty of odds on, for example, soccer games and the like. If you have the patience to search a little, you will certainly find odds on your favorite sport as well.
Regardless of whether you prefer to play on foreign betting sites or sites that are licensed in Sweden, you have plenty of betting options. Esports in the betting market is simply here to stay.