The final week of the Esports World Cup saw record trading volumes on Kalshi. Over $95 million was traded across esports events in the last seven days of the tournament.
This was up from $90 million the previous week. Volume exceeded $70 million every week of the tournament except for one, although not all the trading was on the World Cup.
In fact, as much was traded on League of Legends events last week as Counter-Strike 2, despite the latter taking headline billing at the World Cup. Both games saw a total volume of around $32 million.
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IEM Cologne leads World Cup in CS2 volume
Spirit vs. Vitality in the quarterfinals was the most-traded CS2 match at the Esports World Cup. Volume surpassed the $3 million mark across all markets. This was just more than the final between Spirit and FUT Esports, which had $2.9 million.
Despite last week breaking the record for the highest weekly esports volume ever on Kalshi, IEM Cologne remains the most-traded CS2 event. Over $109 million was traded over the course of the tournament
Spirit’s match against Team Falcons at IEM remains the most traded match, with volume exceeding $4.5 million across all markets.
Looking at the biggest match winner markets, IEM Cologne dominates the top 10, with eight of the matches, according to data from TickerTracker.
League of Legends now firmly most traded game
When IEM Cologne took place, CS2 dominated Kalshi’s esports category, accounting for around 65% of all trading. It has now been surpassed by League of Legends.
Over the past 28 days, average daily volume on League of Legends is at almost $5 million, up from around $2 million this time last month. CS2 peaked at $4.6 million in June and then rose again to around $4 million during the World Cup last week.
MSI remains the most traded LoL event. Lyon vs. Hanwha Sports was the most-traded match across all events, with $5.9 million in volume.
Looking at match winner markets, which see the highest volumes, all 10 top in LoL were at MSI.
Esports trading passes $1 billion at Kalshi and Polymarket
In the year to date, over $1.3 billion has been traded on esports at Kalshi, with League of Legends and CS2 accounting for around 85% of that.
At Polymarket, League of Legends also attracts higher trading volumes, with matches averaging $1.2 million compared to CS2 at just under $1 million.
These numbers are not far off major league sports, with NHL matches averaging $3 million in volume. NBA and MLB are around $4 million per match, with the NFL leading the way at over $5 million. Given the rise in prediction markets since the Super Bowl, the new NFL season is expected to attract far higher trading volumes on both Polymarket and Kalshi.
It should, of course, be noted that trading volume is not the same as sports betting handle. Sportsbook handle only notes the amount wagered by gamblers, while trading volume includes both the money wagered on one side and the potential payout on the other.
Nevertheless, the rising numbers show more and more users are flocking to esports prediction markets.
Legal developments in esports betting this week
As ever, there have been several developments in legal battles between states and prediction markets this week. The most notable is perhaps Connecticut, which has filed a new lawsuit against Kalshi seeking to block the platform’s sports markets.
A judge in Connecticut already ruled that Kalshi’s markets are sports betting, but Kalshi appealed to the Second Circuit. While that appeal is ongoing, the state seeks an order prohibiting Kalshi’s sports markets in the same way they are now blocked in Michigan, Nevada, and Washington state.
Elsewhere, a judge in Montana ruled against Kalshi, which could result in the operator being blocked in Big Sky Country. Watch this space for further developments. Esports World Cup Sees Volume Rise At Kalshi, But MSI and IEM Remain Biggest Events
The final week of the Esports World Cup saw record trading volumes on Kalshi. Over $95 million was traded across esports events in the last seven days of the tournament.
This was up from $90 million the previous week. Volume exceeded $70 million every week of the tournament bar one, although not all the trading was on the World Cup.
In fact, as much was traded on League of Legends events last week as CS2, despite the latter taking headline billing at the World Cup. Both games saw a total volume of around $32 million.
