Prediction markets are exploding, and esports may be the perfect fit

Wasif Ahmed Published 15/05/2026

Prediction markets are everywhere right now, and esports has the potential to become an extremely popular trading category. Here’s why.

Estimates by investment firm Bernstein say that the prediction market volume could surge to $1 trillion by 2030. While prediction markets usually grab headlines for their political and macroeconomical categories, the real numbers tell a different story on usage patterns.

Sports currently accounts for 62 percent of the trading volume, according to Bernstein, in Polymarket and Kalshi (other estimates say this is nearly 90 percent on Kalshi alone) showcasing that an overwhelming majority of users use these platforms to trade on live events.

Given these statistics, esports could become one of the biggest growth areas in prediction markets.

To put the record straight, the report by Bernstein says that as prediction market volumes are expected to explode by the end of the decade, sports wagering will likely have a share of 31 percent. While this makes it a smaller category overall, by sheer volume, it will still be one of the main reasons anyone ever uses a prediction market.

Why esports prediction markets are a natural fit

Prediction markets thrive on yes-or-no outcomes which are driven by data. Esports offer countless such opportunities. The sheer number of combinations and factors that determine an outcome in a tournament are far greater than many traditional sports.

There is the effect from the latest patch, the buffs and nerfs to weapons, how a team adapts to it, and what heroes/agents are picked or banned during the game.

That’s not all. In esports titles like VALORANT, a simple thing like a map veto could determine the outcome, as certain teams thrive on compositions designed for particular maps.

A still from VALORANT Masters Santiago. Image credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games

Esports fans are also more engaged and online. They don’t just watch a tournament, but actively speak with other viewers in a live chat, and keep up with stats actively. There are entire third-party platforms, across all leading esports games, dedicated entirely to tracking match and tournament data.

Interest in stats on hero and map picks is so much that publishers directly offer them to viewers as well. For example, you can easily view everything from overall kills, hero picks, and player stats in the MPL Indonesia through the tournament’s official website.

Therefore, esports audiences are well versed to start engaging with prediction markets. The data backs it up, too. Esports betting volumes in 2025, per Oddin.gg, increased by 18% to 62% across Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, League of Legends, VALORANT, and MLBB compared to 2024.

Prediction markets themselves are starting to realize this. BLAST recently onboarded Polymarket as its official prediction partner for the tournament organizer’s main events Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2. Many prediction markets have already started offering esports markets.

This shift is also enabling platforms like PandaScore, a Paris-based esports data provider, the perfect time to capitalize. The company offers more than 300 unique markets across 13 esports games, showcasing the different opportunities in esports wagering.

Feature image credit: BLAST

Wasif Ahmed

About Wasif Ahmed

Wasif Ahmed is the Lead Esports Editor for WIN.gg. He has been covering esports for nearly eight years, although his gaming journey started much earlier, when he was just four years old and was introduced to Road Rash on a dusty PC. Hit him up on X to talk about esports, why partnership models are the best fit for esports games, or if Halo 7 has finally been announced.

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