The many in-game variables, such as hero drafting, builds, Roshan, spells, and game dynamics make it an amazing game to play and watch, meaning many fans are keen to find out how to bet on Dota 2.

From a gamer standpoint, it can sometimes be difficult to translate game variables into betting markets. It is especially true when it comes to Dota 2 betting. Staying close to the action is crucial, and it takes strong analytical and management skills to win a bet on Dota 2.

It may seem overwhelming at first, but don’t worry. We’re here to help. Luckbox offers an easy way to keep updated on your favourite teams and events through our Dota 2 matches page filters and search fields.

More esports betting guides

Do it legally, do it safe

Whether you are betting on Counter-Strike, Dota 2, LoL or Valorant; you want to be sure you do so in a safe and legal environment like Luckbox. From a user point of view, this is important because that means the operator and the people behind it adhere to governing regulations to prevent and solve any dispute.

So, it's important to choose carefully when deciding where to bet on Dota 2: Not only do you need the skill and knowledge to pick a winner, you need to be sure that your money is protected.

Let’s start with the basics.

How to bet on Dota 2: The basics

Understanding the odds

Under every bet type at Luckbox, there is a number. This number represents the bet multiplier. The money you put will be multiplied by that number in case you win the bet.

It’ll be much easier to understand this with an example. If you bet €10 on a market with odds of 2.0, you are first debited €10 when you bet and then credited €20 if you win (net win = €10). If the odds were 1.20, you would risk €10 to win €12 (10 x 1.2 = 12, net win = €2). If the odds were 1.50, you would risk €10 for a return of €15 - your net win being €5.

As a rule of thumb, stronger teams with a better chance to win have lower bet multipliers. That brings up the term ‘underdog’.

Underdogs: Gain a lot, risk a lot

The underdog is the team that is less likely to win a game. Higher odds are associated with the underdog winning the game or getting more kills. This means betting on the underdog offers higher returns on your initial investment if you’re willing to take higher risks.

While this is always fun to catch an underdog win, it may be risky over the long run.

Combo betting

There is another option Luckbox is offering: Combo betting. In traditional betting, this would be mentioned as accumulator bets. You can decide to accumulate some markets. Your combo bet will win if ALL the conditions are met.

A combo bet is when you combine more than one selection on a betting slip. This means that unlike single bets in which you wager on only one game you wager on two selections and up.

Combination bets enable bettors to wager with much lower stakes compared to betting on only one game. In doing so, they allow players to get some astronomically high winnings with only a modest stake because of the multiplying odds. But if one of your wagers fails to achieve its outcome, so is your combo bet.

In this particular example, you can decide to bet on Ninjas In Pyjamas @1.45 and Team Sirius @1.84. If you place a combo bet, your final odds will be 1.45 x 1.84 = 2.66.

When you combo bet on both teams and they win, you are debited €1 to place your bet. €2.66 will be credited back to your account if Team A AND Team B wins, meaning even If only a single team loses out of the others, so is your €1.

Keep in mind that you are increasing your risk of losing your initial investment as your bet is lost if only one condition of your combo is not met.

Live Betting

Luckbox is focused on staying the closest to the action and is offering live betting on every Dota 2 professional game, with live streams associated with any of the available languages it is in. All of them are just one click away. You can also bet on Dota 2 games as you are watching them to optimise your decision-making process. A lot of markets will be available to live betting and you can watch the stream in 'normal' or 'theatre' mode too.

While the game outcome is the most popular type of bet, there are other betting options you can make use of your deep knowledge of the game and add on to your wins.

There are many betting options and here are some examples:

Match - Winner. This is the most common bet and simply the outcome of the game or betting on the winning team. Who will win the Match/Map? Do you strongly believe one team will emerge victorious? This is your area.
Match - Maps. Handicap: If your analysis of the game has spotted a clear opportunity in game 1 (for example Team A has not lost a game 1 for years or Team B has never won any), you might choose to bet on a single map. Alternatively, you might have no idea about how those two teams would perform against each other and you'd rather save your bet trigger for Map 2.
Match - Total Maps (Over/under): How many maps will be played in a particular match? You can make your prediction over or under designated threshold and make your bet.
Match - Correct Score: If you have a good prediction of the score outcome, you can bet on that.
Map - Winner: This is pretty self-explanatory. You can make your bet to predict who will win the particular map.
First Roshan / Aegis Kills: You can choose to bet on the team to kill the first Roshan / Aegis on a given map.
Team to Destroy First Barrack: At Luckbox, you can bet on the team to destroy the first barrack on a given map.
Team to Destroy First Tower: At Luckbox, you can bet on the team to destroy the first tower on a given map.

Betting on Dota 2 with real money

Betting on Dota 2 with real money obviously incurs some risk. Gambling should always be fun and you should only ever bet what you can afford to lose. You must be 18 to bet and in a country where the operator is licensed.

Esports betting should be fun and you should never bet more than you can afford to lose.

To find out more about gambling safely, head to Luckbox's responsible gambling information page.

Luckbox gives you the chance to make real-money predictions on your favourite sports events, safe and secure. You can bet on all major games like Dota 2 and more and if you sign up now, you can enjoy a 100% bonus on your first deposit.

Don’t miss the Free Bets

Most esports betting sites, including Luckbox, offer free bets or bonus codes to attract and retain customers. These offers are great to try out betting without risking too much at the beginning. When looking at free bets, just make sure you know the rules and what you need to do to qualify. Some will have certain requirements, meaning you need to make a certain number of bets before you can withdraw any winnings.

Read the terms and conditions closely and if you're not sure, contact support. They’ll be happy to provide assistance.

Dota 2 betting tips: Do your research

The Dota 2 API is open source allowing third parties to directly take any public game information from the client. This allows multiple websites to offer extensive data services. Among the most useful and credible in the community are dotabuff.com and trackdota.com.

dotabuff.com is the most extensive database you can find about Dota 2. Teams, events, matches, games, players, all that in clean-boarded statistics adjustable by multiple game variables. Perfect for pre-game analysis, drafting scenario speculations and game dynamics hypothesis.

At TrackDota.com any professional Dota 2 live game data is tracked. Every tower, Dota 2 teams and players’ net worth or XP over the game is displayed through an efficient and nice UI in real-time. Is your current bet going wrong? The fastest way to know why and to what extent is to check trackdota.com for the game's live data feed.

What’s next on Dota 2 betting?

Here’s a peek at the upcoming major Dota 2 events with the biggest prize pools in 2023.

DPC WEU 2023 Tour 2: Division I - Prize Pool: $205,000
DPC SEA 2023 Tour 2: Division I - Prize Pool: $205,000
DPC NA 2023 Tour 2: Division I - Prize Pool: $205,000
DPC EEU 2023 Tour 2: Division I - Prize Pool: $205,000
DPC SA 2023 Tour 2: Division I - Prize Pool: $205,000
The International 12 (2023) - Prize Pool: TBA

What else you need to know

You got the basics, signed up for a Luckbox account, and ready to bet on Dota 2. Congratulations! Before you go, we have some tips for you to broaden your interest and deepen your knowledge.

To take a quick peek at Dota 2 history, read the article: History of Esports: Dota 2.
If you need to know more about Dota 2 terms, read Esports lingo - Dota 2 terms you need to know.
To see how big Dota 2 prize pool is compared to other games, read End-of-year Prize Pool evaluation across three major esports.
To have an idea of how individual champions can make a difference on the outcome, read some of the champion spotlights: Chen, Tidehunter, Bane, Wraith King, Phantom Assasin, Shadow Shaman, Morphling, Spirit Breaker, Outworld Destroyer.

Best teams to bet on Dota 2 in 2023

Let’s take a look at some of the best teams to bet on in Dota 2 as of 2023:

Team Spirit - The surprise victors, they won TI10, the biggest prize pool in esports history. They carved a name for themselves in the history books.
PSG.LGD - The favourites who couldn’t close it out, Their performance lies in the fact that each player is extremely talented and they had almost every strat perfected. But as is the case with TI, the favourites rarely win. And neither did PSG.LGD.
Invictus Gaming - Team Secret was always a contender to win TI10. In fact, the team placed its highest at TIs in the current season. A 3rd place finish at TI is nothing to scoff at (the team won $3,601,600)
Team Secret - Highest TI placement, Winners of ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021
Virtus Pro - The team went undefeated through both seasons of the Dota Pro Circuit. But despite their success locally, they did not fare well at international events finishing 7-8th at the Oneesports Singapore Major and 9-12th at the WePlay Animajor

Luckbox lives and breathes esports. If you are looking for the best teams to bet on Dota 2 through a legal and safe bookmaker for esports betting, sign up now and claim your 100% welcome bonus.

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Dota 2 betting guide: Dota 2 betting tips and advice in 2023