EA Sports is the biggest name in the sports section of video games. With their newest installment of FIFA for this year (FIFA 17), it looks like they are turning to eSports. In recent times, FIFA was not so well represented on the big eSports stages. With just a couple of big tournaments every year, it somehow managed to pass underneath the radar. This is mostly due to the fact that FIFA keeps concentrating on the FIWC (FIFA Interactive World Cup) but with all the recent news, this is going to change in the near future and betting on FIFA 17 could become the next big thing in the industry.
If FIFA decides to open its gate to more eSports events, it has a good chance to take over a big piece of the cake. Still, it is very early to talk about this since this year’s FIFA installment has just been released. So far, EA has not made a public announcement regarding the issue but with everything else happening in the industry, it would not come as a huge surprise. Considering the current state of the eSports industry and its respective eSports betting sites, FIFA 17 suddenly seems rather interesting.
Bookmakers with Fifa Soccer betting markets
Why does FIFA suddenly look interesting as an eSport?
As we already stated above, the eSports industry is ever growing and, so far, there was not much place for FIFA. With the most popular games like LoL, DotA and CS:GO flourishing more and more with each passing year, FIFA was not prepared to battle for their share. This could all change because lots of teams 
from top 5 European leagues are forming virtual teams. They are hiring professional FIFA players on Xbox One and Playstation 4 to defend their team’s honor on and off the virtual pitch.
This resulted in some leagues announcing their virtual versions (Spain and France) making up for some interesting clashes in the near future. There is even a rumor regarding Virtual Champions League that is going to feature teams from Bundesliga, La Liga, and Premiership. While this news is still mainly formed as rumors, they could all turn out to be true. If that is really the case, it could mean that we are up for one amazing winter of FIFA eSport events!
FIFA 17 Betting Sites
Besides ESL and FIWC, FIFA does not have a lot of tournaments like the popular eSports franchises. Due to this, there are bets only for the biggest annual FIFA tournaments. They can be found on BET365 and Pinnacle. Besides these eSports betting sites, FIFa 17 bets can be found on Bet-at-home and Betway as well, although not as frequent. At the time of writing this article, there were no live FIFA 17 tournaments so we could not give you any relevant screenshots.
How is FIFA 17 played?
As you already might know, FIFA 17 is the most popular football simulation on the planet. Truth be told, with the only competition coming from KONAMI’s PES franchise, its popularity and worldwide fame comes as no surprise. Mostly, it is played in a 1 on 1 fashion, even though the game enables real 11 vs 11 matches. While the latter works in theory, it is extremely difficult to maintain a full match with 22 players playing. Still, the main mode is 1 vs 1 with 2 vs 2 matches being rather interesting as well.
Tips for betting on FIFA 17
As most other solo eSports such as Hearthstone and Starcraft II, betting on FIFA 17 requires a lot of knowledge in the scene. If you plan on being successful in FIFA betting, you should first do an extensive research. Research is an important aspect of every bet you place, but it is that more important to FIFa because it is a 1 on 1 sport. Find as much information as you can about the players you’re planning to bet on. Check out their form. Check out their previous matches against each other. In order to make a great prediction you need to get to the bottom of as much relevant factors as you can. Here’s a list of the most important ones:
- Last 5 matches
- Last matches against each other
- Overall form in the current tournament
- Goal difference in last 5 matches
- Comparison between playstyles