Dota 2 Betting Sites

Dota 2 Betting Explained

There are no statistics for Dota 2 betting, as it is not a high-priority area for bookmakers. However, the game’s popularity slightly influences betting as well. Systematically, 500-750 thousand players stay online, and, in general, this is the second most downloaded game on Steam in the entire history. The Major tournament attracts over a million unique viewers, and even those who have no idea about Esports have heard about The International.

Dota 2 Betting Odds

Dota 2 betting odds are generated in the same way as for other sports. The Esports betting sites' analysts assess the probability of a particular outcome, add a margin and provide winnings multipliers.

To illustrate, let’s enter the 2-way Esports odds for the PSG.LGD vs. Aster.Aries match (March 18, 2023) into the margin calculator. If such Esports odds were ideal best odds (or fair), the winning probability of the first team would be 80.60%, and as for Aster, it would be 9.40%, which gives a total of 100%. However, the bookmaker adds an 8.54% for margin making money, and eventually distributes 108.54%, which makes the real odds lower, compared to the ideal ones.

So, the less the margin, the higher the winning potential. To compare, we have calculated margins for the top 5 bookmakers for the Tundra Esports vs Nigma Galaxy match (March 17, 2023):

Dota 2 Betting Markets

In theory, Dota 2 could be a direction with the largest number of markets among all types of sports, as the rules of the game allow for this. But even now, with a fairly modest interest from punters, there are many interesting markets. Here are the most popular Esports markets to bet on Dota 2:

During the course of such Esports games, the number of kills is counted, which does not affect the map winning potential, but provides extra Dota 2 markets:

How To Play Dota 2?

To play Dota 2, you need a Steam account. The game is only available through this platform and is free to download.

There are several modes in the Dota 2 game, with the most popular being the 5 vs. 5 team match, which is used for all professional matches (excluding exhibition matches). Before the game, teams choose five heroes for themselves and ban six heroes that the opponent cannot choose. In the Captains mode (professional Dota 2 mode), only the team captain picks and bans enemy heroes.

The Dota 2 game has a total of 124 heroes (including Muerta), each with 19 characteristics. The main characteristics include:

Each Dota 2 hero has different characteristic values and unique abilities for damage, healing, slowing and stuns, increasing or decreasing characteristics. In theory, any Dota 2 hero can be used in any role, but in practice, there is a clear division of roles. Some heroes are more geared towards support (Bane, Oracle, Rubick), some are better at initiation (Mars, Tiny, Enigma), and others are better at dealing damage (Terror Blade, Morphling, Pudge).

Dota 2 heroes can buy items that give them boosts to various characteristics. Moreover, depending on the game plan, one hero may have several "builds" of items.

The goal of the team in the Captains mode is to destroy the enemy's throne (Ancient). There are no time limits for the game.

These are not all the rules of the Dota 2 game, and for beginners, it may already be too much. The steep learning curve should not stop you from enjoying the game. Just play Dota 2 and have fun!

How To Bet On Dota 2

You can place your first Dota 2 bet in just 5-10 minutes. Follow our simple instructions for Dota 2 betting:

Bet on Real Money

All gambling sites that we mention in this article allow you to place wagers with real money. You can also use bonuses, but there are no other options.

It is not possible to bet with skins on Dota 2 on legal UK betting sites, and even on most illegal sites, it is not possible either. In the world, there are only several Dota 2 skin betting sites that are not trustworthy, so we strongly advise against using them.

Live Betting Dota 2

Bookmakers with a selection of live Dota 2 betting events are needed even for players who do not intend to place bets during a match. Dota 2 matches are often streamed with a delay, which usually takes:

Many players make predictions based on hero picks. However, when the pick and ban phase in the broadcast is still ongoing, the match may have already started. Dota 2 betting in the pre-game mode is stopped, and bettors can only place bets in the live mode. If you also make predictions based on picks, consider three aspects, when choosing Dota 2 betting sites. 

These are not all the drawbacks of Dota 2 live betting. There are even more problems for those players who want to "catch the odds" live. You can only see the real moment of the game or monitor it with minimal delays at LAN tournaments. In other cases, you simply cannot assess the situation firsthand, as when watching classic sports live streams. Some resources, such as DLTV, allow you to shorten the delay slightly by showing the results of the fight (number of kills) and changes in the net worth. However, bookmakers have direct access to the match and set odds based on the real situation. You will not be able to catch the moment, and moreover, you often will not see the reason for the odds changes. Learn to "read" odds changes to at least have some idea of the situation on the map.

Betting sites can close selections of live betting events and it is impossible to predict when it is going to happen. This almost always happens during major hero fights that can overturn the power balance on the map: bookmakers freeze such selections of betting events before or during the fight, and then set updated betting odds. Not only you have to bet “blindly”, but you may also miss out odds. In addition, Cash Out fans should be wary of such closures of selections of betting events. For instance, a bookmaker can only accept live bets for 10 minutes and then close the live betting option until the end of the match, and there will be no chance to cash out bets.

Dota 2 Most Popular Tournaments

The coronavirus pandemic attracted many fans to Esports, but then dealt a serious blow to the professional scene. Many tournament organisers left the Dota 2 professional team sport, and as a result, independent tournaments were practically nonexistent. The modern professional Dota 2 is a system of tournaments, including Dota Pro Circuit, Majors, and The International, held under the auspices of Valve.

In the 2023 season, it underwent another upgrade, so let's try to explain how it works.

Dota Pro Circuit

This is a system of regular tournaments. The participating teams are divided into 6 regions:

Each region has Divisions I and II of 8 teams each. All of them play three seasonal tours – winter, spring and summer ones. The two top teams from Division II move up after each tour, replacing the two worst teams from Division I. The two worst teams from Division II are replaced by the top teams from open and closed qualifiers. All DPC matches are held in the best of 3 format.

Major tournaments

After each of the three tours, the Major tournament is held. The top Division I teams reach this tournament. The number of teams depends on the region:

In total, 18 teams participate in the Major. At the first stage, they are divided into 2 groups of 9 teams, and each team plays a single bo2 match against every other team. The top 8 teams from the group stage reach the playoffs and play on the Olympic system with upper and lower brackets.

In the 2023 season, there will be 3 Majors: they will be hosted by Lima, Berlin and Bali.

The International

The largest prize pools have made The International famous even among those who have never been interested in Esports. In 2021, one of the biggest prize pools of this world championship exceeded $40 million. The prize money pool of the next TI was half as much; however, no other Esports tournament has come close to such figures.

Qualification for The International is held according to the DPC Points system. The top 5 Division I teams from each region of the Dota Pro Circuit tournament receive 30-300 DPC Points. The top 8 teams from each Major receive 100-400 points. Points are deducted for changes in the roster. Based on the DPC Points results, 12 teams reach The International. Another 6 teams reach the tournament via regional qualifiers – one team per region.

Other tournaments

In the modern competitive Dota 2, there are virtually no tier 1 and tier 2 tournaments. The Riyadh Masters (with a prize money pool of $4 million) and GAMERS GALAXY: Dubai 2022 are rare examples gifted by major oil and gas exporters. BTS Pro Series, once a worthy competitor of the DPC, organises uninteresting tier 2 tournaments with teams from South Asia, North and South America, although the elite of this one of the most popular games is concentrated in Europe and China.

Dota 2 Betting Tips

In a complex area like Dota 2 betting, it is difficult to give simple advice. Bettors need a lot of time and patience to understand the Dota 2 rules and the professional scene; however, there is a special pleasure in it. Here is where to start: