Esports Fantasy Leagues

Move over, fantasy football leagues, because esports fantasy leagues are now a thing. The argument for esports not being an actual sport is getting harder and harder to defend. With several governments officially recognizing it as a sport for Visa purposes, schools and brands giving out sponsors and scholarships, TBS’s ELeague, betting on esports, and the possibility of esports in the Olympics, it seems to have all the characteristics of a sport. And let’s add one more to the list: Fantasy esports.

 

Esports has a growing demand for betting, and fantasy esports is perfect for such. There are already countless dedicated fantasy esports betting sites, and even subreddits for some of these specific sites. In fact, even well-established sports betting sites like DraftKings made room in their business to include esports. Anyone who likes learning statistics, throwing around a bit of money, and being invested in a game, or just the scene itself, can bet on fantasy esports and actually use their knowledge to win money. It’s a good chance for people who love to watch esports to go one step further and compete in their own way.

 

How it works

Many fantasy esports betting sites follow the same form as traditional fantasy sports. Most sites use cash betting, and have a variety of different types of contests to choose from when deciding how you want to bet. This allows esports gamblers to decide what contests they are more comfortable with, and how much money they are willing to put up. Several of the most popular esports have fantasy contests available, including League of Legends (which have their very own fantasy site), Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Hearthstone.

 

For the most part, fantasy esports work the same as traditional fantasy sports. First, you pick the type of contest you want to participate in. Then, you pick your roster. Many esports sites work on a “salary cap” model, which means the site sets a salary cap that you must then build your roster around, and each player is assigned a salary value. The site then gives out points based on how your chosen roster performs in tournaments. The competitors with the most points win the prize.

 

Is it legal?

Fantasy sports leagues play a part in the legal justification in courts to loosen up non-random style gambling laws (meaning if any skill is involved, even if it's just looking at percentages and not just a lottery, there is a stronger legal argument in America for loosening these restrictions or getting rid of them all together). Online gambling has a cloudy set of restrictions surrounding it. For instance, in the U.S., many states outlaw online gambling, yet others are fine with it. But even the FBI has said it’s illegal. However, the reason online gambling is so widely practiced is because there is no federal law against it. And as more popular forms of online betting (like fantasy sports and esports) prove that these actually take a surprising amount of skill and practice, there is no reason they should be illegal.

 

The future of fantasy leagues

There is one company that plans to make fantasy esports much bigger than it is now: Vulcun. Ali Moiz, Vulcun’s co-founder, claims that they will be putting up $250,000 this year in prizes for fantasy esports. "I’ve always been looking for a way to get involved [in esports] and share something cool and exciting with a company," Moiz said. "We recently came upon fantasy [e]sports. We looked at the space and said, 'Hey! this particular area is undeveloped.'"

 

The most popular fantasy sports sites put up hundreds of millions of dollars a year (much more than any fantasy esports site), but Moiz believes that esports might one day be there. Esports is already growing, and with crazy popular games like League of Legends on board with fantasy esports, that growth will most likely accelerate. We already know people love to gamble on esports. Being able to make money off of your faith in a specific gamer and Moneyballing their statistics is an incredibly compelling addition to the fun that being a fan can bring.