One betting site always striving to be at the top of the pack is Pinnacle Sports, which was launched in 1998. They took the very first eSport bet in 2010 on the StarCraft 2 game and reached over 500,000 bets on eSports in 2013. This part of the site was proposed by one of their employees who watched eSports tournaments recreationally. They’re now on their way to 1 million eSports bets but have not lost sight of the connection that they have with the community.

Their history is filled with firsts, as the company were the first bookmaker to sponsor an eSports tournament, the first to take bets on CS:GO and also the first to take bets on Hearthstone. If you’re looking for a betting site that stays at the cutting edge of the eSports betting world then Pinnacle Sports is your best bet.

1. Pinnacle was the first bookmaker to take esports betting seriously. And its latest move shows it's still dedicated to growing that segment of its business.
2. Pinnacle is home to a variety of betting services. Established in 2004 and licensed in Malta under the license number MGA/CL2/1069/2015 for the provision of sports betting services, the bookie.

Welcome Bonus

Pinnacle - home of eSports betting by providing best odds, keeping the schedule always updated and providing educational articles to help the newcomers.

Pinnacle Sports do things a little differently to other betting sites on the internet and as such there is no welcome bonus. What they offer instead is consistently high odds, which they are ranked number one for by independent bodies. The focus on the site is to give the player a no fuss, great value experience every time they get online and play, not just the first. This might not be to the liking of every bettor but it does have its good points too.

What Games do they Take Bets on?

As this betting site were the first to offer odds on lots of eSports games it will come as no surprise that they have a lot of them in their fixtures. Right now they take bets on DotA2, Hearthstone, StarCraft 2, LoL and CS:GO though as soon as new games begin to get popular you can expect to see them here. They take bets on majors, world leagues and global championships of these games.

The odds on the site are split into decimals and American odds, which function in a different way. They’re listed as a number that represents how much you’d win if you bet £100 on the match, though if this is too confusing you can change it to the decimal form.

Usability

This site was designed to be an alternative to other bookmakers, with easy to read terms and simple guidelines. This makes it perfectly suited to any type of bettor, from beginner to pro. If you want to learn about the structure of the tournaments that you’re betting on then they link you to the Team Liquid page on the subject. This is a reliable resource for all of the latest news on the tournaments and can help you get to grips with them.

Everything on here looks great in the Pinnacle Sports orange colour scheme and it’s all laid out with the player in mind. The mobile site isn’t quite as good, as it’s not mobile optimised though you can still use it. This means a lot of zooming in and out for those using the site so this would be a point to improve.

Banking

Pinnacle Sportsbook Lines

To deposit on this site users can do so with Visa, MasterCard and Maestro. They also accept alternate payment methods like Skrill, Neteller, Click and Buy, Poli and others. You can’t withdraw with all of these though and the limits vary from £10 to £800 per transaction. Times also vary, though most payments are processed within a few minutes.

Customer Support

The only ways to get in touch with the customer service team on this site are by submitting a ticket or posting a letter. The good news is with the former they’re always open to reply to your query, though it’s not quite as fast as live chat.

Summary

This is definitely an eSports betting site with a twist, as they focus on different aspects of the betting experience. Whether you want to try out this site is up to what you want from your site, depending on if you’re more interested in high odds or a welcome bonus. This does offer a new way of betting so give it a go to see if they have what you’re looking for.

Pinnacle Esports Info

• Casino: Pinnacle Esports
• Website: https://www.pinnacle.com/

Pinnacle is home to a variety of betting services. Established in 2004 and licensed in Malta under the license number MGA/CL2/1069/2015 for the provision of sports betting services, the bookie has risen to make a name for itself in the online bookmaking industry as a reliable, safe and secure website that has the interest of its players at heart.

Pinnacle Esports Betting

As mentioned, the website offers a number of betting services which include sports betting, live betting, mobile betting among other services. However, what the company has become famous for is offering eSports services. This is evident by the number of games, markets and total number of eSports bets placed at the site; a figure that stands at 1,000,000 bets. Furthermore, the bookie bagged the prestigious eSports Operator and SBC eSports Bookmaker of the year 2016.

In this review, we exclusively focus on Pinnacle as an eSports bookmaker, and we’ll be reviewing the following sections.

• eSports events offered at the site
• eSports markets offered at the site
• eSports mobile betting services
• eSports Bitcoin services
• How to bet on eSports at Pinnacle

Pinnacle eSports events

This bookmaker has plenty to offer in terms of eSports events. It covers all the major and popular eSports events across the globe. If you are a StarCraft 2, Dota 2, LoL, Hearthstone or Counter Strike: GO fan, you’ll be pleased to know that you can easily and conveniently place bets on the aforementioned events at Pinnacle.

To get full information on all the available eSports events, including those that are yet to be played, you can click on the schedule button at the bookmakers’ website.

Pinnacle eSports Markets

There are plenty of markets to choose from at Pinnacle but vary depending on your selected event and method of betting. In-play and pre-match events will have differ in terms of the markets they offer. The pre-match events usually having more markets than the in-play. The shortcoming of the pre-match market, however, is the quality of odds. Usually, they are low and sometimes not worth the risk!

The following are some of the markets available for each game:

LoL: To Win Outright, Match Winner, Match Handicap, Correct Map Score, Total Dragons Slain Under/Over, Team To Destroy First Tower, Team To Destroy First Inhibitor, Total Maps Over/Under, Total Barons Slain, Team To Slay First Baron

Counter Strike: GO: Match Winner, Map Winner, Match Handicap, Round Handicap, Round Winner

Dota 2: Match Winner, Match Handicap, Map Winner

StarCraft 2: Match Winner

Hearthstone: To Win Outright

From the outgoing, it’s evident that LoL dominates the betting market at Pinnacle. This also applies to other bookmakers that offer the same service, and the main reason is that LoL is the most watched and valued eSports competition.

Pinnacle eSports odds; how does it compare to other bookmakers?

The odds offered at Pinnacle are commensurate with the other bookies offering the same service. However, their LoL margins tend to be way above the other bookmakers, evident by the huge number of bets placed on the same sport. However, unlike other bookies that offer Fraction odds, Pinnacle has Decimal and American odds. Most punters prefer the Decimal odds over the other odds formats because they are easy to bet with.

Pinnacle mobile betting services

At Pinnacle, they want every punter to enjoy the different services they have to offer, irrespective of the tablet or mobile phone that they are using. This is why they’ve ensured that their website is mobile-friendly and can be accessed by players with different mobile devices.

Their commitment to inclusion means that all devices running on iOS, Android, Symbian and Windows Phone can all be used to place a bet at Pinnacle. Whether you prefer downloading an application or using the in-browser betting feature, Pinnacle has both options.

Bitcoin services at Pinnacle

Bitcoin is the new payment method that’s taking over the internet. Different online platforms are incorporating this payment method in their services, and the online betting industry is quickly embracing it. Sadly though, Pinnacle hasn’t successfully managed to incorporate it into its payment platform. Instead, you can choose to deposit using Skrill, Neteller, VISA, MasterCard, eCheque, Bank Transfer, ecoPayz, entropay, iDebit, Qiwi Wallet, Webmoney, Sofortuberweisung, among many other options.

If you closely examine the payment methods above, it’s evident that the bookmaker aims at ensuring that players from different parts of Europe and the world at large can choose a payment method that best suits them.

How flexible are the payment options? Any transaction fees?

Depositing and withdrawing from Pinnacle is absolutely free. It’s perhaps because of the free transactions that the bookie has very low withdrawal limits, set at €5,000 per transaction, for most of the payment options and €10,000 for bank transfers. On the brighter side though, all transactions at the site are processed within a maximum of 24 hours for all the credit/debit cards & eWallets, while the direct withdrawal to your bank takes up to 72hours.

Pinnacle eSports Bonus Offer

At the moment, there’s no bonus of any kind at Pinnacle, including the eSports Bonus. To make up for this shortcoming, Pinnacle offers you juicy odds as compared to the other bookies. For example, while Bet365 offers odds of 1.40 for SK Telecom T1 to win the LoL – LCK Spring Playoffs, Pinnacle might be offering you odds of 1.50 for the same.

Placing an eSports bet at Pinnacle

Pinnacle Sports Cards

Placing an eSports bet at Pinnacle is easy and straight forward. Simply follow the steps below, and you are set to go!

• Create a Pinnacle account: The first step is creating an account at Pinnacle and making a deposit using any of the methods mentioned above
• Once you’ve successfully completed the signing up process, you’ll be re-directed to the betting menu. Choose the ‘eSports betting’ menu that’s located at the bottom of the screen
• Clicking on the menu will display all the available eSports events; upcoming and those that are taking place. Click the event that you wish to bet on by clicking on the market that interests you. This should automatically be added to your bet slip
• Enter the amount you wish to stake and click on the ‘Confirm Bets’ option to complete your bet selection. If the bet is successful, you should see the ‘Bet Accepted’ message