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Ireland is one of the most gambling-friendly countries in the world. Their affiliation with the next-door British population has garnered some love for sports betting, online gambling, and other variations of gaming.
Although the Irish are the third biggest losers in the gambling industry, losing around 500 Euros per citizen, the government still does not view this as an issue, as it is able to benefit from the taxed gains on the casinos and online gambling websites. The Irish gamble away around 2.1 billion euros every year, which is then used to develop and grow the online betting sphere in the country.
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The government has clearly stated that they support the growth of the online as well as the offline gambling industry in the country. In fact, they have even touched on eSports betting websites in Ireland, mentioning that eSports betting, much like sports betting is an activity that every Irish person can enjoy.
And that’s how it is with the Irish, some like to bet on Football, while others prefer to bet on virtual football like FIFA. The government does not see any issue with it.
Currently, the Irish are able to enjoy locally regulated and licensed casinos as well as sportsbooks. However, Ireland is unique in the sense that it also allows foreign regulated companies to cater to its local population. Therefore you should know that eSports betting in Ireland will not cause you any problems whatsoever. All you need to do is find a reliable website.
The Irish are one of the few countries that look at betting and gambling activities as a benefit to their economy and not a liability to the nation. They have trust in their citizens’ risk management skills and have also funded multiple intervention organizations that will step in, in case things get too heated with an individual gambler.
Overall, the government in Ireland has the gambling sector under control, and may as well be one of the exemplary cases for others. Ireland has been developing its gambling laws for over a century now, always trying to be up to date with the current event. Both the online and offline regulations come with significant freedom for local as well as foreign companies.
Yes, that’s right. eSports betting in Ireland is one of the few examples that can be done with a local as well as a foreign bookmaker. Therefore the local population has quite the variety when it comes to choice. But it is still recommended to go with a local company, as it is much easier to research and contact them.
Imagine the whole list of gambling activities online, and you get the legal list of gambling options in Ireland. Literally, every single sector of the industry is under the control of the local government and falls under national laws. Only recently was there an amendment for eSports betting in Ireland as the sector has just now started to gain popularity. But here’s a list:
No matter what you choose, you will still need to make sure that the company is under the correct license and is registered with the regulator. A comprehensive guide to choosing the best eSports betting website in Ireland will be mentioned at the end of this article.
The eSports industry in Ireland is not nearly as big as it is in South Korea, China, and Taiwan, but it’s getting there. For example, the countries I just listed are several time champions in a slew of online video games, while Ireland is still in the background, having yet to participate in any global tournament.
However, the salaries of eSports players, especially the ones specializing in Dota 2 are increasing by the day, and more and more young Irish people are becoming interested in the industry. For example, one Dota 2 player has managed to gather $4 million over the course of his career, just through the tournaments, you can imagine that there are a few million more through sponsorships and streaming revenue.
Due to such a jump in eSports professional salaries, many recruiting agencies started popping up around Ireland, looking for the best players at FIFA, CS: GO, and various other eSports games. Although there hasn’t been a game where a purely Irish team has participated, there are still some individuals that dominate the scene. The only team that comes to mind is the “Emerald eSports”, which is quickly climbing the CS: GO ladder.
Overall, one thing needs to be said. The eSports betting community in Ireland is more than ready to cheer and bet on their favorite players and teams regardless of what game they play. I guess it’s just in the genetics, to take advantage of situations like these. But if you’re an Irish player looking for a game to bet on, here’s a list of what Irish eSports specializes in:
Most of the games listed above are considered as the “major ones”, such as Dota 2 and CS: GO. Only these games are able to offer the highest odds in the industry, so you could say that the Irish players were looking out for their own.
As already mentioned in previous paragraphs, finding an eSports betting website in Ireland is a piece of cake. However, finding a good website is a whole different story.
A company can’t just slap a regulation on their list of achievements and expect to have all the trustworthiness in the world now, can they? Their services need to match the industry standard and need to benefit the users in all ways possible. But how do you find out if the company is able to provide those services? Well, here’s a list of what they need to have:
Let’s go through all of the lists and clearly explain why these things are required to guarantee a hassle-free betting experience for you as a customer.
Any company can cater to the Irish population. It can be locally regulated or foreign regulated. Although it’s still best to go with companies that have either a local license, a license from the Malta Gamblin Authority, or a license from the UK Gambling Commission. The simplest reason is that these regulators take it very seriously to pay attention to their companies, therefore no shady business will occur with them.
Once you get to the company’s website, you will need to scroll down and search for their gambling license and the entity that has issued it. It is usually in the footer of the website, but if you can’t find it, try the FAQ section. If it’s still not there, then hightail it outta there.
However, if you do find the license, then it will be time to go to the regulator’s website. For Ireland that is the Department of Justice and Equality, for Malta, that’s the MGA and for the UK that’s the GC. Once on the website, you’ll need to search for the company’s name or license number in the search engine. It should result in a clear display of the company’s license. If it doesn’t show anything though, that means that the website lied to you.
What you’re looking for here is a tag called “licensed” or “active”. If the company has it then it’s fine. But make sure to double-check with the regulators. They sometimes forget to update their database, so the license you are viewing could be outdated.
If a company wants to call itself an eSports betting website in Ireland, it needs to have the relevant resources right? You can’t offer your customers bets on Hockey and expect them to comply if they’re looking for eSports right?
The best way to tell this is to simply look at their games directory. Now some may feature traditional sports, but it’s fine as long as there are more eSports games available.
So for example, if a website offers you bets on Football, Basketball, and Rugby, it should offer you at least twice that amount of betting options on eSports. Or simply not have any traditional sports offerings at all.
This is an issue, because if the website doesn’t focus most of its funds on eSports bets, then they can’t support better odds and more betting options. Speaking of betting options…
There is no official industry standard for odds in the eSports betting sector of Ireland because it’s quite young still. However, most players agree that there should be odds at least as high as 5.0, for the website to be even considered as worth the time.
In most cases, the odds can be best defined by looking at the CS: GO matches. If the underdogs don’t have odds of at least 6.0 or 5.0, then it is definitely not worth the time with this website.
Why? Because there are others that will offer those odds for underdog teams. Basically, it will be the same risk but a worse reward if you stick with the lower odds website.
The Irish like their gambling, and the banks know about this. Therefore they may be a bit more forgiving for gambling transactions compared to other countries, but this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t use them anyway.
One of the key advantages is that you will keep your gambling activities hidden from the authorities and not damage your chances of getting a loan in the future. Furthermore, most of those payment options have far lower fees than Bank Transfers and credit card payments. They also process faster.
The website you’re placing eSports bets for Irish teams should have at least 5 options of the following:
If they only have Bank Transfers and credit card payments, it may not be the best idea to start betting with them. As it creates an unsafe environment for your credit score, as well as your withdrawal system, as it takes much more time with the traditional transactions.
Yes, that’s pretty much all you need to know in order to choose the best eSports betting website in Ireland. Simply make sure they have a license somewhere, double-check that license, research their odds and payment methods, and you are good to go.
All that remains after that is the performance of your favorite teams in your favorite games.
Esports betting websites are under the control of the government, along with some other gambling activities. What this means is that the gambling operator should obtain a gaming license and must be registered with the regulator. Otherwise, eSports betting websites and their customers might face some bad consequences. That’s why it is always a good idea to check things before you start betting.
In terms of payment methods, Irish bettors are blessed as all the payment methods you can think of are available to them. These include Paypal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and many more. No doubt that there are some popular options like credit/debit card, Skrill, Netteler, etc. Meaning that you will get very comfortable when it comes to betting and paying on Irish eSports betting sites.
