10 League of Legend Betting Tips

League of Legends (LoL) is chaotic, unpredictable, and occasionally rage-inducing. So, naturally, people love betting on it. But if your current strategy involves picking the team with the coolest logo or backing Faker because he’s Faker… it might be time for a rethink.

Whether you’ve played the game since Season 2 or just enjoy watching people tilt on stage, this guide’s for you. We’ll start with the basics and then break down 10 LoL betting tips that help you think strategically and land some winning bets.

What is League of Legends?

League of Legends is one of the biggest online games in the world. We’re talking over 150 million registered players, sold-out stadiums for live matches, and more viewers for the World Championship than the Super Bowl. 

It’s a 5v5 MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) developed by Riot Games. Each player picks a champion from a massive roster — some shoot fire, some punch things, some heal their friends — there’s a lot going on.

The goal is to work with your team to destroy the enemy’s Nexus (basically their base) before they destroy yours.

At first glance, it looks like total chaos. And to be honest, even when you understand it, it still looks like chaos. But once you get your head around the basics, there’s a lot of structure underneath the madness, and that’s what makes it so fun to watch (and bet on).

Why do people bet on LoL?

People bet on LoL because it’s massive. Between the four main leagues and international tournaments like MSI and Worlds, there’s always something going on. And, for a lot of bettors, LoL feels more familiar than traditional sports. If you’ve played the game (or rage-quit it), you’re already halfway to understanding the action.

• There’s always something to bet on: With matches happening across multiple regions and time zones, there’s rarely a day without live odds on offer.
• Live betting rewards game knowledge: LoL changes fast. One fight can flip a game. If you know what you’re looking at, you can catch value before the odds shift.
• You’re not limited to just match winners: You can bet on First Blood, total dragons, kill handicaps, map scores, and more. Some teams are great at winning — others are just great at dying slowly.
• The stats go deep: You’ve got data on early gold leads, vision, dragon control, and teamfight win rates. If you enjoy research, there’s plenty to work with.
• It makes watching more fun: That random Friday LEC match suddenly matters when your First Tower bet is on the line.

What markets are available for LoL betting?

Some bets are simple. Some are oddly specific. All of them exist for a reason — and yes, you can bet on whether someone gets killed by a giant dragon mid-match.

Basic match bets

Let’s start with the most straightforward ones.

• Match winner: Who wins the whole match. Easy enough. In a Best of 3 or Best of 5 series, this means winning 2 or 3 maps before the other team does.
• Map winner: Betting on who wins a specific map. Useful when a team is known for starting strong or choking late.
• Total maps played: Will the match go the distance? In a Best of 3, this is usually an Over/Under 2.5 bet. If you expect a stomp, go under. If it’s two evenly matched teams who love throwing Game 2, over might be the play.
• Handicap betting: A way to make uneven matchups more interesting. For example, betting on a strong team to win -1.5 maps (so they have to win 2-0 in a Bo3). Or betting on an underdog with a +1.5 handicap to win at least one game.

Objective-based bets

In League, winning fights is great. But securing objectives, such as dragons, towers, and Baron Nashor is how games are actually won. These bets focus on who grabs the big stuff first.

• First Blood: Which team gets the first kill of the match. Usually happens in the first 5 minutes. Great if one team loves early aggression — or just really hates leashing jungle camps.
• First Tower: Which team destroys the first turret. A good one to watch when one side has a strong early-game bot lane or top laner who wins every lane ever.
• First Dragon: Who slays the first elemental dragon — a big lizard that gives team-wide buffs. Teams with better objective control (or faster rotations) tend to grab these.
• First Baron: Which team takes down Baron Nashor, the giant purple worm that gives your team a power-up and usually wins you the game. Spoiler: betting against a team that’s ahead and already sweeping vision around Baron is not recommended.
• Team to kill X dragons: A variation of the dragon bet — can one team grab three or four dragons in a game? This is usually a macro check: if one team consistently controls the map, they’ll hit this.

Kill-based and stat markets

If you’re less interested in big objectives and more into pure violence, these are for you.

• Total Kills (Over/Under): You bet on whether the total number of kills in the game will be over or under a set number. Some regions (hi, LPL) average 30+ kills per game. Others (hi, LCK) play 40 minutes and finish with 8.
• Kill Handicap: Similar to map handicaps, but for kills. Example: betting on a team to win by +6.5 kills, which means they need to end the game with at least 7 more kills than their opponent.
• Odd/Even Kills: Will the total kills in the game be an odd or even number? Yes, this is real. No, we don’t recommend staking your entire balance on it.

Live/in-play betting

You can bet on many of the above markets while the match is happening. Odds shift constantly depending on what’s going on — kills, towers, dragons, Baron, gold leads.

If you’re watching closely, you might spot a comeback before the odds do. Or panic-bet after a failed engage and make things worse. Either way: welcome to the ride.

Our top 10 LoL betting tips

1. Understand what actually decides a match

LoL isn’t won by the “better team.” It’s won by the team that’s better on that day, in that draft, and on that patch. Topping our list of LoL betting tips is needing to understand what influences the outcome.

• Patch updates shift the meta constantly. A team that dominated on one patch might fall apart if their go-to champs get nerfed or their playstyle becomes irrelevant overnight.
• Draft phase is massive. Teams can win or lose before the game even starts. Watch for comps with no engage, zero scaling, or champions picked clearly out of comfort.
• Stylistic mismatches happen. A slow-scaling team that wins at 35 minutes isn’t going to do well against a dive-heavy comp that wins or loses in 15.
• Comms and synergy matter. You won’t hear the team mics, but you can spot it. Look for disjointed teamfights or Random solo deaths. You’ll know someone’s not listening.

So before you click “bet,” ask: does this team fit the meta, can they draft properly, and do they look like they know what they’re doing? If any answer is “ehhhh,” reconsider.

2. Don’t just look at the win/loss record

A team sitting at the top of the table doesn’t mean they’re any good right now. Maybe they farmed weak opponents early in the split. Maybe they’ve just hit a patch that doesn’t suit their playstyle. Maybe their mid laner suddenly decided to speedrun deaths.

The point is — records lie.

A 7–3 team sounds solid until you realize their seven wins were against teams sitting 7th to 10th, and they lost every match against the top half of the league.

You need to dig deeper:

• Look at who they beat — was it anyone that actually puts up a fight?
• Look at how they won — clean macro and objective control, or chaotic teamfights and opponents throwing?
• Look at when they won — because a strong start doesn’t mean much if they’re 0–3 since the last patch dropped.

Context matters. A team trending downward after a patch or limping into playoffs isn’t the same as a team that’s finding form at the right time. Recent results mean more than the record. So do the details behind those results.

If all you’re seeing is the W/L column, you’re missing half the story.

3. Watch the games (yes, actually watch them)

You don’t need to be an analyst and you don’t need to break down every wave state or jungle rotation. But if you’re betting and haven’t actually watched the teams you’re betting on, you’re missing the biggest piece of the puzzle.

Stats are useful. But they won’t tell you if the ADC keeps randomly facechecking bushes at 25 minutes, if the jungler looks completely lost without early game pressure, or if the team throws every Baron setup like they’ve never seen a ward before.

You’ll spot things the numbers can’t show. Like a support who’s constantly out of sync with the team. Or a mid laner who’s cracked on one champ but looks like a Bronze smurf on everything else.

Even watching just one recent game from each team can tell you more than any stat sheet. It shows you how they play — not just whether they win.

4. Know the region you’re betting on

LoL isn’t played the same way everywhere. Each region has its own style, and that style massively affects how games play out and which bets actually make sense.

• LCK (Korea) plays slow, calculated, and safe. Teams prioritise vision, objectives, and late-game teamfighting. If you’re betting kill overs here, good luck.
• LPL (China) is basically the opposite — constant skirmishes, early dives, and 40 kills in 30 minutes. Great for First Blood and kill total markets.
• LEC (Europe) is a weird mix of high mechanical skill and the occasional complete meltdown. Drafts are creative (sometimes too creative), and games can flip fast.
• LCS (North America) is… inconsistent. One day they look organized. The next, it’s 25-minute base races and jungle pathing that defies logic.

5. Pay attention to the draft

The draft is the phase before the game starts where teams take turns picking and banning champions. It decides which five champions each player is using — and more often than not, it decides how the game will play out.

Some teams build comps that need time to scale. Others go for early-game pressure and look to snowball. A team that drafts well gives themselves a win condition. A team that drafts poorly gives you a betting opportunity.

You’ll spot the difference. Look for comps with no engage, awkward damage profiles, or clearly off-meta picks. Some teams stick to what worked last month, even if the patch has completely changed. That’s not a strategy — that’s a free loss.

If you’re watching the draft and thinking, “this comp doesn’t do anything,” trust your gut. The odds might still favor that team, but the draft definitely doesn’t.

6. Track patch and meta changes

Every couple of weeks, Riot releases a new patch. Sometimes it tweaks numbers. Other times it completely reshapes how the game is played.

If a patch drops days before a match, it can catch teams off-guard. A comp that worked last week might suddenly be weak. A champion that was ignored might now be first-pick or permabanned.

Some teams adapt fast. Others take a patch or two to figure things out — and that’s when you’ll see the upsets.

Before you bet, check when the last patch dropped and how it’s affected the meta. If you’re not keeping up, you can bet on a team that’s already behind the curve.

7. Watch for momentum and mental collapse

LoL is a team game, but it’s also a mental game. One bad loss, one botched fight, and you can see a team fall apart in real time.

In best-of-three or best-of-five series, this matters. Some teams bounce back strong after a loss. Others spiral, then the draft falls apart, the shotcalling disappears, and they start chasing kills they should be avoiding.

Watch how a team handles pressure. Do they recover after a throw, or crumble completely? That will tell you a lot more than the pre-match odds.

If you’re betting live and a team looks rattled after game one, be careful backing the comeback. Some don’t have it in them.

8. Use stats, but don’t bet on numbers alone

Stats are helpful, but they only tell you part of the story. A team might have great early game numbers, like gold leads at 15 minutes, First Blood rate, tower control, but still lose games because they throw every Baron.

Look at stats that match how the team plays:

• Strong laning? Look at early game gold and kill participation.
• Good macro? Check dragon and objective control.
• Lots of scrappy wins? Look at teamfight win rates and damage share.

But always combine stats with your own read. If the numbers look great but the gameplay doesn’t match, trust what you see.

9. Don’t just bet on who wins

If all you ever bet on is the match winner, you’re leaving value on the table.

Some teams lose the game but still get First Blood. Others dominate early but can’t close. Some play clean macro and rack up dragons even in a loss.

This is where kill totals, objective bets, and handicaps come in. If you understand a team’s playstyle, you can pick markets that match it, and sometimes that pays better than betting on them to win.

Especially in close matchups, the right side bet is often smarter than picking a winner.

10. Know when to skip the bet

This one’s boring but important.

If a match looks messy, skip it. New patch? Two inconsistent teams? Roster change just announced? Nothing clear from draft? Walk away.

There’s always another match, probably in the next few hours. You don’t need to bet just because it’s live.

Knowing when not to bet is what separates long-term bettors from people chasing every coin flip. Sit it out. Save your stake for something that makes sense.

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If you love betting on esports, you might want to check out our CS2 Betting Tips and Dota 2 Betting Tips too.