How to Bet on League of Legends

How to Bet on League of Legends - MOBA Esports Betting Guide, Tips & Strategies

League of Legends is one of the most popular Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games, featuring fast-paced action combined with complex strategy and teamwork. Here’s everything you need to know about this thrilling sport and how to bet on LoL online at Stake Sportsbook.

What is League of Legends?

League of Legends (LoL) is a free-to-play MOBA from Riot Games and is considered one of the most popular Esports games. MOBA stands for multiplayer online battle arena. It remains a staple format in the competitive Esports scene, with MOBA titles attracting players and fans across the world. This has led to a boom in online sportsbooks offering players LoL betting lines, among other popular Esports.

Despite having several different play modes, the one used for professional tournaments and leagues is the 5v5 Summoner’s Rift. Teams are made of 5 individual players, each with a specific role to play – Support, Mid Lane, AD Carry, Top Lane, Jungle – working together to defeat the enemy. Be sure to read our MOBA betting guide to discover MOBA betting markets across the most popular games on Stake.

History of Competitive LoL Esports

League of Legends is inspired by the custom Defence of the Ancients map in Warcraft III. LoL emerged from the development team’s desire to create a standalone MOBA game. It launched in 2009 to great anticipation and instant success.

“Champions” are characters players control in the game, each with their own unique skills and strengths. LoL players had a choice of 40 different champions when the game officially launched. Today, there are more than 170, with more being unveiled all the time.

League of Legends is one of the world’s biggest Esports. There are leagues of professional players worldwide that come together to compete annually in the League of Legends World Championship.

The World Championship began in 2011 with eight teams competing for a prize pool of $100,000 and attracting some 1.6 million viewers. Fast forward ten years, and the 2021 championship saw 22 teams compete for a staggering $2,225,000 in front of an audience that reached an impressive peak viewership of over 73,000,000.

Competitive LoL Esports Format & Gameplay

The classic Summoner’s Rift game mode is used for competitive play, featuring 2 teams of 5 players, which battle to destroy the enemy base structure, known as the Nexus.

The same map is used for all games, featuring a symmetrical battlefield, with bases at opposite ends that are connected by 3 open lanes. The following features are all key elements in competitive LoL gameplay:

Minions - Waves of AI-controlled minions spawn in each base and travel down the lanes towards the enemy base. Players can defeat these to earn gold and experience.
Gold and Experience - Every player starts off at the base level, but earning experience allows them to level up their abilities. Gold is used by players to purchase items that make them stronger or offer utility in specific situations.
Turrets - Each lane is also protected by 2 turrets for each team: the outer turret and the inner turret.
Inhibitors - Inside each base, there are also 3 inhibitors, one for each lane. These prevent the enemy team from spawning super minions in that lane, and can be destroyed by the enemy team. However, each is also protected by an inhibitor turret.
Jungle - The area outside of the bases, lanes and river is a dense jungle, which can be explored by players to uncover neutral monster camps. There are 6 regular monster camps per side, while epic monsters can also be found at certain locations.
Monsters - All monsters within the jungle can be defeated to earn gold, experience and buffs. Drakes, Atakhan and Baron Nashor are the most powerful monsters, which provide enhanced buffs to teams that defeat them.

What Are the Major LoL Tournaments & Events?

Throughout the year, there are lots of professional League of Legends matches happening, with high-level tournaments all over the world. These include:

Regional Leagues

There’s a total of 5 regional professional League of Legends leagues. These include leagues for Korea, China, North and South America, Asia-Pacific and Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Most of these leagues run a Spring and Summer split.

Mid-Season Invitational

The Mid-Season Invitational is an international LoL tournament featuring the best teams from the first half of the season. 2 teams from each region qualify for the event, which offers a $2 million prize pool.

Esports World Cup

The Esports World Cup began in 2023 and now runs every year, offering massive prize pools and tournaments across a variety of popular Esports. The LoL event features a total of 12 teams, and in 2025, it offered a prize pool of over $2 million. Teams taking part also have a chance to win the Club Championship.

League of Legends World Championship

Riot Games hosts international LoL tournaments that you can bet on, including the World Championship, affectionately known as LoL Worlds. This event was created in 2011 and runs every year between September and November. Top teams from around the world compete for a prize pool of $5 million and the Summoner’s Cup.

17 teams take part in the competition, which consists of a play-in stage, a Swiss stage and a Knockout stage. Ultimately, only one team can be crowned world champion. Check our LoL Worlds 2025 picks and predictions blog for more details.

Most Popular LoL Betting Markets & Bet Types

As with most Esports, you can choose from a selection of different LoL betting markets at Stake Sportsbook. We look at the most popular types of bet available on LoL betting sites:

Match Winner - Twoway

The most straightforward and popular type of sports betting is betting on which team you think will be victorious in a single match—also known as moneyline betting. It’s also possible to bet on the map winner for a specific map during the match.

Map Handicap

Handicap betting is common in sports betting, and Esports is no different. It is essentially as though the online bookmakers are giving a virtual advantage or disadvantage to a team before the match, altering the odds for a winning outcome.

LoL matches are usually played as a best-of-3 maps (Bo3). If you were to bet on the underdog to win with a +1.5 map handicap, then they’d only need to win one map in the game for you to win your bet.

Kill handicap betting is also available on some games, which works in the same way. Bet on a team to get over or under a specific number of kills during the match.

Total Maps

Total maps betting is where you bet on the number of maps played to determine a winner. Essentially, betting on whether the match will consist of over or under 2.5 maps.

You’ll also find total kill betting on some matches. Simply bet on the over or under line for the total number of kills during the match or on a specific map.

Win at Least One Map

Rather than betting on the outcome of the game, you can bet on whether or not you think a team will win at least one map. This can make betting on games heavily weighted in favour of one team more interesting, as there are fewer teams that might not have the skill to win the whole match, but occasionally will bag a win to create some interesting outcomes.

Correct Score

You can also predict the final score, using the sliders to set the correct score.

Props

Prop bets let you bet on events that aren’t directly linked to the game outcome. For example, you can bet on the player to achieve First Blood or First Turret. You can also bet on first to x kills, odd/even kills and whether or not a Quadra kill or Penta kill will be scored.

Parlays

Parlays let you combine multiple selections within your betslip into a single bet, increasing the odds and your potential payout. For example, you could bet on all the first-round matches of a tournament. Same-game multibets are also available on many LoL matches.

Outrights

Want to predict the final champions of a tournament or the tournament MVP? With outright betting markets, you can make picks on the outcome of an event.

How to Bet on Competitive LoL Esports on Stake

Betting on competitive Esports is easier than you might think. If you’re completely new, it’s worth checking out our ultimate sports betting guide and Esports betting guide, both of which explain the steps in more detail. However, you can also follow these quick steps below:

Log in to your account using your secure passkey and search for LoL.
You can also use the menu to look for Esports > League of Legends.
Check the full list of live and upcoming events to find one you want to bet on.
Open a match to see the full range of betting markets.
Select a bet to add it to your bet slip, then enter your stake.
Check your potential payout and confirm to place your bet.

How to Watch LoL Live Streams & Place Live Bets

Part of the thrill of sports betting is following along with the action in real-time. That’s why at Stake.com, we stream as many live sporting events as possible, including all of the big League of Legends tournaments and other popular Esports events. Log in and select the live icon to enjoy a free live stream of all the action.

To see the available live matches, just open the League of Legends betting page. A live icon is shown if the game is in-play, and you can select it to see the available live odds and scores. Pre-match and live betting options are available on all major LoL events.

League of Legends Betting Strategies & Tips

Before getting amongst the betting action, start by brushing up on your game knowledge before getting started. Try out the game for yourself and take a look at the top professional teams in the league. You can also discover our picks and predictions for major tournaments, plus learn more about commonly used MOBA terms in our extensive MOBA glossary!
The current professional LoL meta emphasises the use of ADC’s which are scaled to provide massive damage in the late game. These are paired with strong enchanters for support. Look for teams that can utilise this strategy effectively.
Individual champion matchups matter a lot, especially in jungle and mid, so it’s important to see how players perform against each other. Check their head-to-head match history if available and consider how the specific champion types match up too.

Deposit & Withdrawal Methods for Betting on Esports

Deposit

Log in to your Stake.com account and check your current balance by opening the wallet.
Choose the deposit option and then pick any of the available payment methods and local currencies such as Argentine Pesos, Chilean Pesos, Canadian Dollars, Turkish Lira, and Vietnamese Dong.
You can deposit crypto at Stake too, with a wide range of crypto betting options such as BTC, ETH, USDT, EOS, DOGE, LTC, TRX, and SOL.
Send your coins to the deposit address provided, or use Mesh to instantly deposit. You can also buy crypto and deposit using Swapped.com and MoonPay .
Once your funds arrive, store them safely in the Stake vault.

Withdraw

Log in to your account and open your Stake wallet.
Select withdraw and choose any available payment method.
Enter your details and the amount you want to withdraw.
If you’re withdrawing crypto, ensure that the right network is selected .
Confirm all your details are correct before completing the transfer.

Sports Betting Promotions, VIP Club & Responsible Gambling

While placing LoL bets and betting on other Esports such as Dota 2, Valorant and Counter-Strike 2, make sure you make the most of our betting promotions. When you sign up to Stake, you’ll also become a member of our VIP club, which lets you earn exclusive rewards just for placing bets. Level up your account to unlock regular rakeback, reload bonuses and even your own VIP host. More details are available on the VIP FAQ page.

It’s important to choose your bets carefully and set sensible stakes. Responsible betting means not betting more than you can afford to lose and ensuring you don’t get carried away. Follow our Stake Smart guidelines for more help.

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How to Bet on League of Legends