FIFA eSports Betting Sites

FIFA eSports Betting

Football is, without a doubt, the most popular sport in the world. Unsurprisingly, this popularity has seen game developers engineer a myriad of football simulation games, the most loved of them being FIFA eSports. The game is so popular that there is a premier league competition where fans can represent their favourite clubs at a competition dubbed ePremier League.

eSoccer is played by millions of players worldwide as friendly games, exhibitions, leagues, and tournaments. Players can choose preset teams or build their teams from scratch, adding their preferred players to build the ultimate team. There are also professional FIFA eSports players who treat the game as a career, so it's pretty serious for the big game players out there.

As with anything that captures the public's imagination, bookmakers have swept in to offer wagers on FIFA eSports games and tournaments. These bookies allow bettors to wage on Esoccer players using a particular team instead of wagering on the team. 

A typical FIFA eSports game can last between 8 and 40 minutes, but 12 minutes is the standard. This means that bets can be placed and settled quickly, unlike football games which can last anywhere from 90 minutes to 2 hours. Since the FIFA simulation game launched in the early 90s, more than 350 million copies of the game have been sold worldwide.

How We Vet the Best FIFA Betting Sites

These are the metrics we used to come up with the best FIFA betting sites;

Fifa Betting Odds

This is one of the biggest factors to consider when choosing an eSoccer betting site. At the heart of gambling, the odds determine the profit you’re going to make, so it’s only reasonable to go for a bookmaker with the highest odds. All the bookmakers we listed offer competitive odds for eSoccer games.

User Experience & Mobile Betting 

We also consider a betting site’s usability and user experience while placing bets. Punters want a betting site that is smooth and easy to navigate. Also, considering how mobile phones have become a part of our daily lives, we only listed betting sites with websites optimised for mobile devices or mobile betting apps for Android and iOS. 

Payment and Withdrawal Options 

The best websites for betting on FIFA are the ones with payment options that are friendly to the UK public. This ensures that deposits and withdrawals are easy and fast without any delays. We recommend all FIFA betting sites with popular payment options like Visa, Skrill, PayPal, Neteller, and MasterCard.

Bonuses and Promotions 

These are great factors to consider because punters want betting sites that allow them to get started without risking much. Considering that most punters are unfamiliar with eSoccer betting, we took eSports bonuses and promotions seriously. Also, we checked the terms and conditions to ensure that they were favourable and not exploitative. 

Depth of Markets

For UK bettors to have a decent gambling experience, they require a betting site with a good range of markets. The best FIFA betting sites offer a good depth of betting markets covering all FIFA eSports tournaments. 

Customer Support 

It doesn’t matter if a bookie has the best odds; good customer support is a must-have for them to rank among the top. This is why we considered customer support as one of the essential criteria in coming up with the best eSoccer betting sites. 

The bookmakers that made the final cut have a robust and responsive customer support team that quickly responds to queries and solves issues either through a live chat feature, social media channels or a comprehensive FAQ section.

Licensing

We thoroughly checked whether bookmakers were licensed to operate in the UK because that is the first step in ensuring safety. We also cross-referenced the bookmakers’ online reputation and the general view of UK gamblers towards them. The UK Gambling Commission and the Malta Gaming Authority regulate all the FIFA betting sites we settled with.

9 Most Popular FIFA Betting Markets

Here are the most popular FIFA betting markets offered by top bookies;

Match Outcome 

This is the simplest market for FIFA betting. It’s a 3-way bet, either a Home win, draw or an Away win. Like in football, the outcomes are only valid during the 'ordinary' game time. It doesn't include results in extra time or penalties.

Correct Score 

The odds on this market are usually high due to the specifics involved. Users bet on what they think the final score will be — there is a range of options to predict and choose from while placing this bet, including draws.

BTTS 

This is a binary market in which bettors can choose YES or NO. There are factors to consider before making that choice, like are the players involved known for their attacking skills?  Is one of the players involved solid defensively? Which are the attacking and defensive ratings for the teams involved? 

If you follow eSoccer religiously and are familiar with the players, BTTS is a very lucrative market to get involved in.

Total Goals

In this market, users can predict the total number of goals in the game or on a given half. It's an over/under market, all the goals count, and the team that scores the goals doesn't matter.  For example, if you bet on a match to end with a total of over 2.5 goals, you win the bet if the match ends with three goals or more. 

Asian Handicap 

This market is dubbed so because of its popularity among Asian sports fans. It’s a special way of betting on FIFA because it means one of the teams gets a virtual head start on the scores. The favourite team is given the minus symbol, and the plus symbol is assigned to the underdog team. 

For instance, if a team has an Asian handicap of -0.25, the underdog team has a quarter goal before kickoff. In case they draw the match, you get half of your stake while the other half wins at the given odds.

Futures 

This is a market for betting on FIFA, where the bets involve an event that won’t occur until much later in the year. An example is betting on which FIFA player will win the FIFA ePremier League tournament. Each FIFA player will have different odds of winning such a tournament. 

This is a great market if you’re familiar with the players who will participate in a certain tournament. 

Outrights 

This bet calls on punters to pick the winner of an ongoing FIFA eSports tournament. This is a market similar to the Futures market, only that the tournament is already going on. Due to the difficulty in choosing the outright winner of a tournament, this is a market that pays well if you get it right. 

Live Betting

This is a snap-and-grab type of market since it involves events happening as the game is in play. Such scenarios can include;

• Player to score the next goal 
• Player to get the next booking 
• X Minutes to the next goal 

Prop Bets 

This FIFA betting market involves a proposition that is not affiliated with the final score in a match. It can be which FIFA player will score the most goals in a tournament, the total number of goals scored in an entire tournament, etc. 

Top Leagues and Tournaments on FIFA eSports

These are some of the top tournaments you can bet on;

FIFA eWorld Cup

This has to be the biggest prize in virtual football — the winner of the latest edition pocketed $500,000. The cup was launched in 2004 when the world football governing body – the Federation Internationale de Football Association, partnered with EA Sports. The eWorld Cup was originally known as the FIFA interactive world cup and has grown in leaps and bounds ever since. 

The event now draws millions of competitors around the globe; as long as you’re a FIFA player, you can technically qualify for the eWorld Cup, which is easier said than done. Console owners can register at FUTChampions.com and compete in online games. Once a user has racked up 27 wins from 30 games in a single weekend league, they attain a verified status regardless of other results after that.

A verified player on the FIFA global series can join online qualifiers, tournaments and other events. The more a verified user plays, the more points they earn, which means going higher on the Global Series leaderboard. 

The millions of players who began qualification on the weekend league series are reduced to just 32 players for the FIFA eWorld Cup Grand Final. The grand finals are played for three days in a stadium with a live audience, and millions stream the event too. Only the group stage games are played on day one of the grand finals. Day 2 of the competition is for the round of 16 and quarterfinals, while the semifinals and final are played on the third day. 

FIFA Team of The Year Cup

The FIFA Team of The Year Cup is among the tournaments in the FIFA global series. Electronics Arts (EA) has been churning out yearly versions of the FIFA simulation game since 1993 and exclusively organises this strictly offline event. The cup can only be played exclusively on the PlayStation 5(PS5) console, unlike previous versions where PS4 and Xbox players were allowed to compete concurrently.

The tournament comprises 32 teams competing to be champions, garner points on the Global Series Leaderboard, and walk away with a fifth of the prize money. It’s important to note that every individual competing in the FIFA Team of The Year Cup is guaranteed a share of the prize money which is capped at $500,000. So the winner of the tournament is guaranteed $100,000, and the rest is shared according to a player’s final position. 

In case the tournament is cancelled, like in the 2021 edition due to the coronavirus pandemic, the prize money is equally shared among all the players.  

Half of the teams in the tournament are selected from the Global Series Open, and the other half are invited from the FIFA Global Series to compete. The tournament format is as follows;

• The 32 teams are placed in 8 groups made of 4 teams, each on a 2v2 mode format. 
• The top two teams from each group advance to the playoffs winners bracket and the third-placed teams are placed in the losers bracket. 
• Losers from the winners' bracket face off against the teams in the losers' bracket, and the top two teams from each bracket compete in the final. 
• Both teams in the final get automatic spots at the FIFA eClub World Cup. 

ePremier League 

The ePremier League is in its 5th season and keeps getting bigger and better. It’s a competition that allows players to represent their favourite premier league teams on the latest edition of the FIFA simulation game. In the first three seasons of the ePremier League, players had to play on both PlayStation and Xbox consoles, but the organisers changed the rules. 

Each premier league club is now represented by two players, each a master of a particular console, either the PS5 or Xbox X/S. The players then compete in 1vs1 matches against other players representing other clubs.

To qualify for the ePremier League grand finals, players must first go through the rigorous and fiercely competitive qualification rounds to reach the club playoffs. Once at the club playoffs, there is another knockout round to determine which players will advance to the grand final and represent the premier league club.  

UK residents aged 16 and above can register for the ePremier League, and there is a £100,000 prize pool for the players. The winning team shares a grand prize of £30,000, 2nd place £15,000, 3rd/4th place £7,500, 5th – 8th place get £5000 each, and 9th- 16th place get £2,500 each.

Tips for Betting on FIFA

If you're relatively new to eSports FIFA betting, you should first check out a betting site's whole eSports book section. This will help you better decide which players and teams to bet on in a league or a tournament. The following tactics will help you profit while betting on FIFA. 

It’s a bet on the players, not the teams

It’s important to remember that while betting on FIFA eSports, you’re betting on a player and not the team they are playing with. For example, the teams playing might be Manchester United vs West Brom, but they are not exactly like the teams you know in real life. Remember, players can upgrade their teams by buying packs or competing in the Weekend League. Be sure to concentrate on the players and not the teams playing. 

Do your research

There are featured stats for every FIFA tournament or league taken up by a betting site. Check out individual and team stats to understand the conditions under which a certain player or team in the tournament thrives. 

Begin by Betting Low

This is the best way to learn the ropes in FIFA betting without risking your hard-earned money. By betting low, you get the chance to bet many times without risking too much and gain invaluable experience.

Bet on the match, not the teams

If you are unsure which team to bet on, you can always play safe by betting on the match. Prioritise FIFA betting markets based on the match and not limited to the teams. The odds might come across as too low, but it also means that you’re more likely to win. 

Livestream, if Possible

This is mainly for the people interested in live FIFA eSports betting. It’s advisable to live stream events or tournaments to have greater knowledge of the teams and opponents. You can add this to online public opinion and use the info to place a bet.

FIFA 101: A Brief Guide

FIFA is the world’s largest simulation game, with 350 million copies sold worldwide since its inception in 1993. Copies of the game are released yearly, with each copy tweaking a thing or two to keep the fans excited and hooked throughout the year. 

The rules governing the FIFA game are the same ones that govern the real football game, so understanding the rules will be an easy breeze if you’re familiar with the beautiful game. What’s more, unlike other simulation games in which controls can be tricky, the basic controls in FIFA involve pressing a single button on your controller. 

For the default controls during attack on PlayStation consoles, X is for a short pass, O is for shoot, Square is for long pass, and Triangle is for through balls. On Xbox consoles, A is for a short pass, B is for shoot, X Is for a long pass, and Y is for a through ball.

Defending in the FIFA game is also easy, with the four buttons doing most of the work. The four buttons can also be customised to suit a player’s preference. Many tutorials within every FIFA game help to teach users many aspects of the game, like shooting, dribbling, crossing, movement and passing.

Several game modes can be accessed from the main menu by scrolling using the controllers. They include;

Kick-Off

This is one of the simplest ways to get going on FIFA. Under this game mode, there is the Classic Match option. The classic is a friendly game with the option of going to extra time and penalties in case the match ends in a draw. 

Players can choose any team from around the world, including women's and international teams featured in the game. There are also Volta Football, friendly games, Cup finals, Home & Away ties, and a Best Of series. 

House rules are normal kick-off games but with different challenges; the options in House Rules include; 

Long Range – All goals scored from outside the box count as two. Normal goals just count as one goal. 

Survival – For every goal conceded by a particular team, a player is removed from the starting 11. 

Headers & Volleys – Headers, volleys, penalties, and free kicks are the only goals that count. Any other goal is automatically disallowed. 

First to – A set number of goals for each team to score is set, and the player to reach that target first is the winner. 

No Rules – Just as the name goes, No Rules has no rules that govern the game. Fouls and offsides are even allowed.  

King of the Hill – The attacker is tasked with holding the ball inside a certain zone for as long as possible to increase the value of their next goal, which can be up to three goals. 

Career Mode 

The FIFA career mode has two options: Player Career and Manager Career. 

In a manager career, players can control and manage any football club in the game, like in real life. Players can take charge of matches, send out scouts, negotiate contracts with players in the club, negotiate transfers, and even control the youth department. 

In this mode, players are the boss and can decide the lineups before each game. The games can be played or simulated. As the boss, a player also participates in press conferences, tactics, and fulfilling the club's objectives for a season. 

In a player career, users control a single player, either an existing professional or a newly created player. Users can start from the lower league sides and develop their chosen players’ craft through training and matches. These lower-league players can grow until they become superstars in their own right. When the player in this career mode finally hangs their boots, they can become a manager, effectively turning the player career into a manager career. 

In FIFA career mode, players are not stuck on their initial overall rating. There is a potential ability rating meaning young talents in the game can develop into stars with the right training.

FIFA Ultimate Team

This is the biggest and most popular part of the FIFA simulation game. The FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) allows users to make their ultimate team. Such a team can comprise top players from various leagues and countries, plus some of the greats who graced the football pitches in the past, like Ronaldo and Thierry Henry. 

Users usually start with a team full of random players with an overall rating of 64 and under (also known as bronze players). To get better players, users need to buy them using coins earned through playing games, transferring players in the transfer market, and completing set objectives. Better players can also be found in packs bought from the PlayStation store using FIFA’s in-game coins or real money. 

All the tournaments mentioned in this review that people can bet on get their participants from users in the FIFA Ultimate Team. 

To celebrate special occasions throughout the year, like Halloween and Christmas, new special players are released on FUT. Players from the Team of the Year, Team of the Week, and Team of The Season are also available via packs and on the transfer market. These lucrative players can also be earned from Squad Building Challenges (SBCs) and weekly objectives. The former involves users trading teams of 11 players in exchange for special packs or upgraded players. 

FIFA Ultimate Teams can either be online or offline. 

The most popular offline mode is the squad battles, where users can play random squads or special squads like The Team of The Week. Users can then earn Squad Battle points redeemed for packs and coins at the end of every week. 

Division Rivals and The Weekend League are the main online modes played in FUT. Division Rivals are like Squad Battles without a limit on the number of games that can be played every week. This means better rewards, and with good enough points, users can qualify for the Weekend League, which runs from Friday to Sunday. 

In the Weekend League, also known as FUT Champions, users can play up to 30 online games. More wins in FUT Champions mean greater wins, including guarantees from players from the Team of The Week. 

Volta Football

This is the ultimate answer to what a real-life simulation of street football looks like. If you’re familiar with the FIFA franchise, you would remember the FIFA Street Games in older FIFA releases back in the day. Volta football is similar but with better graphics — it’s street football simulated at its finest, complete with flashy graphics and outfits. 

In Volta Football, games are either 3-aside, 4-aside, or 5-aside, and they are played indoors or outdoors. There are some amazing street pitches too. There are individual Volta Football matches, but they aren’t as much fun as the story mode, where users begin as amateurs and rise to the top by building their skills and ratings.

Tournaments

Various tournaments available on the FIFA game can be played as standalone competitions. FIFA players can choose any team in the game and compete against the best in tournaments like The Champions League, Europa League, Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana, and other domestic competitions like the DFB-Pokal or the FA Cup. 

FIFA players can play a whole tournament or just participate in the final. EA Sports has acquired rights to these cups so users can enjoy the official branding, music, and trophy presentations on these tournaments too.