Best Esports in Europe

Malta

Malta enjoys a wealth of online gambling opportunities, with many of the UK and other nations’ online casinos being based or licenced in Malta.

Working with the Esports Integrity Coalition (ESIC) the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has approved a licensed esports betting site, esportsbetting.com, which aims to educate punters on responsible gaming whilst providing a safe and secure venue for online esports betting.

According to Eilers Research, bettors are projected to wager $23.5 billion on esports by 2020. The MGA did issue a note of caution in April 2020.

When the Covid-19 pandemic left many sports bookmakers with nothing to offer, the MGA advised that esports may not be as professionally run as traditional sports and for compliance and risk teams to verify the information and not accept pre-recorded matches.

Italy

Similar to Malta, the Italian authorities have taken the approach that it is better to control esports betting than try to prohibit it and created a handful of sites for this purpose.

Esports betting is legal in Italy then, but it is also heavily regulated.
In 2006, The European Commission ruled that Italy’s gambling laws ‘constituted an unlawful restriction of trade’ and further rulings followed which saw poker and other casino games legalised.

However, most Italian punters prefer to bet at overseas sites, which became legal in 2009.

The Italian version of the UK Gambling Commission is called the Amministrazione Autonoma dei Monopoli di Stato (AAMS) and is involved in offering gambling licences to operators based in other EU nations, providing they meet a strict set of criteria.

The Italian love of football extends to esports, with FIFA being the most popular title in the Italian esports betting markets. Pro Evolution Soccer is also popular, with Fortnite Battle Royale, StarCraft II and World of Warcraft the most popular fantasy esports for Italian bettors.

Following the global trend, Italy saw an increase in the esports betting revenue generated in 2020, due in part to the pandemic and lockdowns but Ferdinando Ferrero, Sales Director at Sportradar, was quoted as saying:

There was no sport but the volumes are modest, a few million turnover out of 1.1 billion of the total volume in Italy and there is a long way to go.

Germany

Germany can’t seem to decide whether it wants to legalise online betting or not, let alone delve into esports. Most forms of online gambling are banned in Germany, but individual states have issued and then revoked licences.

However, Germany has a big esports scene, with teams such as Underd0gs, Valiance, and Wicked Esports competing at the highest level, and events such as DreamHack held in the country.

German citizens are, therefore, permitted to bet at sites based outside of the country, providing they are regulated to operate in the country.

League of Legends and CS: GO are the most popular esports in Germany, but Dota 2, Overwatch, Fortnite, and sports-based esports such as FIFA and NBA 2K are growing in popularity.

France

The French authorities are still in the process of legalising esports betting in France.

The French Senate has gone as far as adopting a law to differentiate esports from other forms of gambling, but has not yet put legislation in place to make esports betting legal in France.

However, like many of their European neighbours, French citizens can bet on esports using sites based offshore.

As seen elsewhere, CS: GO is by far the most popular esport in France, with 55 professional teams located in France.

Norway

Norway considers most forms of gambling to be illegal and has very strict regulations in place. The country runs its own extremely limited betting services, through Norsk Tipping (sports betting, lotteries and instant win games) and Norsk Rikstoto, which offers horse racing and greyhound racing.

These two sites are the only operators Norwegians can legally bet with, in Norway, and both are owned and regulated by the state.

Despite this, Norwegian citizens are permitted to use offshore betting sites.

With a growing market of esports fans in Norway, would be bettors are heading to predominantly UK sites to place bets on their favourite esports.

The most popular esports in Norway are, again, CS: GO, Dota 2, and League of Legends, whilst Overwatch and StarCraft II also have significant followings.

Of course, we have only run quickly through a few countries’ attitudes and legislation when it comes to esports. It is very important that you always read the terms and conditions before committing to a website, particularly if you are betting using an overseas site.

As esports become even more popular we expect more and more countries to finalise specific legislation to regulate esports betting, so make sure you stay up to date with the latest news and any changes in gambling laws for your country.