One of the most anticipated StarCraft 2 tournaments is just around the corner, with the world's best players getting ready to fight for their share of $500,000 in prize money.
A legendary esports event, the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Katowice is a CS:GO tournament held in Poland. In this guide, we'll go over all the participating teams, details about the schedule, as well as everything you need to know about IEM CS:GO betting!
The Dota Pro Circuit is in full flow. The next big tournament in this seasonal circuit is the PGL Arlington Major. Texas is the location, Esports Stadium Arlington is the venue of choice, and seventeen brilliant Dota 2 teams will be eyeing their chances here.
The LEC (League of Legends European Championship) is entering a new decade starting with the inaugural Winter split. From team rosters to an all-new tournament format, the league will be seeing much more competition.
France may be well-known for their football team, but they also have an underrated esports scene. The country is home to some of the best FIFA, CS:GO and Dota 2 players, along with a top Fortnite players as well. Esports betting is also very popular in France, and several esports betting sites accept French players.
Latest offer
100% up to 25mBtc (aprox. €500)
Up To €40 Money Back
Bet €10 Get €10
While there are many sports betting sites in France, most do not offer markets for esports. Since options are limited, players often need to choose sites licensed in other esports countries, the majority based in Curaçao.
Nitrogensports is a crypto-based betting platform where players can bet on casino games or esports. The site is great for CS:GO and Overwatch betting, and covers virtually any other esport you can think of. The site places their customers' privacy at the forefront of their operations, as all you need is an email address and a crypto wallet. This is great for players who want to stay completely anonymous. Read our full Nitrogensports Esports review here to learn more.
BetDSI has one of the largest sportsbooks in the world, and is one of the most popular sites in the Americas. French players are also more than welcome. The bookmaker has a dedicated esports section, offering odds on Counter-Strike betting, Dota, StarCraft, Hearthstone betting, Smite betting, and even World of Tanks betting. The site is ultra-reliable, and gives new customers a whopping 100% welcome bonus up to USD $2500!
Noxwin offers the best odds on many sports, as well as a dedicated esports section, with markets for CS:GO, LoL, Dota 2, StarCraft II and many other titles. The site is available in English, French and several other languages, and has a 24/7 chat service in way of customer support. With a licence from Curaçao, the site accepts a wide range of payment methods, including Bitcoin.
When it comes to esports in France, most will recall French success in CS:GO (and earlier in Counter-Strike: Source). Meanwhile Sébastien “Ceb” Debs is one of the best Dota 2 players ever. Older esports fans might even remember WarCraft III player Ioan “ToD” Merlot. However, there are plenty of other popular games. In fact, Trackmania is still an ultra-popular esport in France.
Esports betting is a bit of a grey area. While sports betting is legal, none of the major French betting operators offer esports betting. French esports bettors need to look for sites licensed in Curaçao or other jurisdictions for safe betting options.
According to Esportsflag, CS:GO is the most popular esport in France, both in numbers of professional teams and professional players. It is also the top esport in terms of prize money. The second most popular esport is StarCraft II, which has more pro players than Dota 2, even though there more prize money has been won through the latter. Other popular esports include Overwatch, Hearthstone, LoL, Rocket League and Heroes of the Storm.
France is home to several excellent teams, many of whom have players in different disciplines. Below are four of the best.
French-Spanish team G2 Esports is currently the 8th best Counterstrike team in the world, and the number one in France and Spain. The team also has excellent results in their LoL division, and they dabble in Rocket League, SIM Racing, Fortnite, Rainbow Six Siege, among other titles and competitions.
Read more about esports betting in Spain here.
Vitality is one of the biggest esports teams in the world. They have an excellent team for CS:GO, LoL, Fortnite, and FIFA, while some of their best results have come from Rainbow 6 Siege. With hundreds of thousands of Euros in prize money, they are the number 1 Rocket League team in France as well.
Rogue is an esports team based both in the US and France. Besides teams in the US, it has two League of Legends teams in Europe, and a main team that competes in the League of Legends European Championship. They also have the top Overwatch team in France.
Millenium is the second best LoL team in France, also excelling in Fortnite, CS:GO, and VALORANT. Having been around since 2000, they have smaller teams all over Europe, who are offered professional contracts in order to develop their skills.
While France’s top earning player “Ceb” is a Dota 2 player, most of the top earners in France are CS:GO players. France is also home to some excellent FIFA players; however, the prize pools for FIFA are usually smaller than those for Dota 2. Fortnite is actually one of the top-earning games in France, with two of the top 10 earners being Fortnite players.
(source: esportsearnings.com, data retrieved 23 march 2021)
France is home to many betting companies. Major sites like Unibet, Betclic and Betway all have French branches. The French love to bet on football primarily, and most French betting companies offer a large welcome bonus because of this. Sports betting is legal in France; however, French punters are required to pay tax on their winnings.
There is a wide range of payment options available at esports betting sites that accept French players. These include credit cards, e-wallets, prepaid cards, and cryptos.
The easiest way to make any transfer is with a credit card, and this has not changed in the last 30 years. Most betting companies accept Visa and Mastercard with no fees attached, making it also one of the cheapest ways to transfer money.
E-wallets are great to use if your bank does not allow gambling transfers, or if you do not want the transfers to show up on your bank statements. The most commonly accepted e-wallets are Skrill and NETELLER, though some sites even accept PayPal.
Prepaid cards like paysafecard can be used for online purchases. In many cases, you can even buy the card with cash at select outlets. These prepaid cards are a handy way to turn cash into digital money, though withdrawals will have to be made through a different payment method.
If you are a player in France, crypto betting may be your best option. Betting on esports with Bitcoin ensures your anonymity, even regarding the amount of your winnings from esports betting, and transfers are untraceable.
The most popular esports in France are:
The top French esports player is Dota 2 GOAT “Ceb” Sébastien Debs, who has racked up over $5.5 million in prize money!
The best French esports team are G2 Esports. Apart from being the best CS:GO team in the country, they also have excellent results from games like Rocket League, SIM Racing, Fortnite, and Rainbow Six Siege.
Esports bettors in France can choose between traditional methods like credit cards, or more convenient ones such as e-wallets (Skrill, NETELLER) and cryptocurrencies.
French players have few options for esports betting. However, we recommend Noxwin, Nitrogensports, and BetDSI as they accept players from France.
Online betting is legal in France. However, France is on bet365’s list of restricted countries, as it has not applied for a licence for the French market.