Latest Abios esports betting report highlights Counter-Strike’s dominance

Esports data solutions company Abios, in partnership with gambling newsletter Sharpr, has unveiled an array of statistics about the esports gambling sector in Q3 2024. 

The new ‘Esports Betting Monitor’ notably highlights Counter-Strike’s popularity in the gambling sector, recording 58% of total esports betting handle across Kambi’s network of operators.

Kambi, the parent company of Abios, is a major sports betting supplier that has a network of over 40 operators. Some of the names listed as partners on Kambi’s website include Kindred, LeoVegas and Svenska Spel, the latter of which recently parented with Abios specifically. 

Abios and Sharpr’s report, which has data recorded between July 1st to September 30th, 2024, also notes that League of Legends is second in total esports betting handle with Dota 2 and VALORANT third and fourth, respectively.

Some other interesting statistics highlighted in the report include the continued importance of in-play (live) betting. In Q3 2024, Abios noted that 53% of betting handle was from in-play wagers. Interestingly, this is less than Q2’s figure of 60%. Dota 2 customers, in particular, were a major player in the in-play betting markets with 63% of the game’s Q3 2024 betting handle coming from this segment. 

Finally, the most bet on esports events in Q3 2024 featured a mix of Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2 and League of Legends competitions. Topping the chart, taking up 14% of the esports betting handles, was the ESL Pro League. This is followed by the BLAST Premier (13%)  and Intel Extreme Master Cologne 2024 (9%). The most bet on Dota 2 events were The International and Riyadh Masters (both 3%). Meanwhile, League of Legends’ Chinese Franchise league, the LPL, recorded 7% of the Kambi network’s esports betting handle in Q3 2024.

2024 has seen Abios secure a range of esports gaming and data focused partnerships throughout the year. Notably, Abios extended its relationships with two prominent esports data companies — Bayes Esports and GRID. Meanwhile, the company announced a new Head of Odds Operations in June.