Fortnite Battle Royale is a cultural phenomenon, attracting over 125 million players since its release in July 2017. The smash hit PC and console game capitalises on the ever expanding growth of the ‘battle royale’ genre, in which a certain number of players are dropped into a despondent location and must fight to be the last one standing with whatever they can get their hands on.
Fortnite Battle Royale is a cultural phenomenon, attracting over 125 million players since its release in July 2017.
The smash hit PC and console game capitalises on the ever expanding growth of the "battle royale" genre, in which a certain number of players are dropped into a despondent location and must fight to be the last one standing with whatever they can get their hands on, including grenades, rocket launchers and even grenade launchers, along with the more traditional firearms.
Like many big gaming titles that have achieved global success, there is a seemingly infinite amount of interest in watching competitive Fortnite gameplay, as is evidenced by the extremely high number of viewers watching the game each day on Twitch.
With this rising desire to watch others play, and in tandem with the explosion of other forms of Esports Gambling, Fortnite betting is slowly starting to become its own phenomenon.
Note: Unfortunately, no US jurisdictions have legal Fortnite betting yet, so it is currently unavailable to Americans. Odds listed below are from European bookmakers, meaning not offered to those betting from the US. As soon as the legal betting market for Fortnite opens in the US, we will offer the best places to bet and odds from US sportsbooks.
Fortnite is a simple game to understand for bettors. Similar to games like Playerunknown's Battlegrounds and H1Z1: Battle Royale, 100 players are dropped onto a large open-world island map. There is no linear sequencing or set of objectives for the player to follow like DOTA 2, League of Legends, or Overwatch - the only objective is to survive.
To keep the game interesting and balanced, a circular ‘storm’ slowly engulfs the map as the game progresses, forcing players to move closer and closer to each other resulting in some spectacular firefights. Players do not start with a set of weapons - they must loot randomized items across the map as the game goes on.
Unlike other battle royale titles, players in Fortnite can also build to protect themselves where necessary. The last player (or team) alive wins - not dissimilar to some game modes offered in other eSports titles such as CS:GO.
The best Fortnite betting tips will come from eSports betting writers and gamers themselves. To put yourself ahead of the curve (and potentially the bookies) make sure to watch a variety of Fortnite streamers on Twitch. Top Fortnite players will often use Twitch as a source of revenue and this makes it is easy to watch them play at all times of the day.
Keep an eye on players’ consistent performances - ask yourself how often do they come in the Top 20? T10? T5? Win? How many kills do they get per game? How many times do they ‘go down’? The answer to all of these questions can help inform your Fortnite betting strategy for big tournaments.
Fortnite is yet to become a fully-fledged eSport title, so options to bet on the game at present are limited. The first Fortnite betting odds were listed for a Pro-AM tournament during e3 2018. Top NJ sports betting sites and top PA sports betting sites provided an outright win market during this competition with professional streamer Ninja and EDM artist Marshmello eventually becoming victorious among a pool of many other high profile celebrities and gamers, having originally been 10/1 to do so.
It is likely that the next time avid eSports gamblers will be able to avail of some proper Fortnite betting action will be when the Fortnite World Cup qualifiers - the game’s first real foray into the eSports space - take place in Autumn 2018. Epic Games, Fortnite developer, has already committed a $100,000,000 prize pool for the game’s 2019 inaugural edition of this tournament, making sure that it will be a thrilling event to bet on. The focus for the World Cup will be on solo and duo matches - something to keep in mind for your long term Fortnite betting strategy.
Bonuses provided by Fortnite betting sites are still developing, given how young the game and its betting markets are. However, some sportsbooks offer first-time bettors a deposit bonus that applies to Fortnite betting markets.
The sportsbook promotions depend on the deposit amount chosen by the bettor. Generally, bonuses range from 25% to 100% of the initial deposit. Another type of Fortnite bonus to take advantage of is the ‘no deposit’ bonus, where the player is given a small amount to start betting instantly.
Fortnite odds are typically displayed on sportsbook sites in either decimal or fractional formats, similar to other betting markets. You can calculate the implied probability of a player, duo, or squad winning a game of Fortnite using simple online odds conversion tools.