Despite being older (as a franchise) than many of the most popular esports games, Call of Duty has always struggled when it comes to the global leaderboard of titles. The top spots are occupied by the likes of Counter-Strike, League of Legends, and VALORANT, and Call of Duty often falls to the wayside.
In newly released data from Abios and Kambi in the Global Esports Betting Monitor, it was revealed that Call of Duty is coming up in one critical way.
The Unique Foothold
The Sharpr Global Esports Betting Monitor combines Abios and Kambi’s data and insights to give bettors the best idea of what esports gambling looks like. The latest report published by Sharpr looks at data from 50 operators spanning the first six months of 2025.
That data revealed that Call of Duty’s betting handle has doubled year-over-year, rising from 1.7% to 2.9% of the total esports handle around the world. One telling statistic was that, in North America, Call of Duty is now the third most-popular game when it comes to esports betting.
In North America, 12.2% of the entire betting handle was associated with a Call of Duty game in H1 2025. The franchise just edged out VALORANT, which claimed 11.5% of North America’s handle.
League of Legends reigned supreme with a whopping 42.3% of the market.
The Sharpr publication assembled some insights suggesting why and how Call of Duty is succeeded in the space:
Call of Duty betting remains uniquely North American: The title contributed 12.2% of total handle in the first half of 2025, compared to under 3% in every other region.
City-based model gives CDL unique foothold in NA: While the Call of Duty League may not stand up to titles like CS2 or League globally, its regional team branding offers some upside in NA where franchises are exclusively based in the US and Canada.
At the other end of the scale, the report revealed that Dota 2 continues to dwindle in the betting stakes, dropping to 8.7% of the handle from 14% in FY23.
Have you placed a wager on Call of Duty esports this year? Let me know if you were successful on the Insider Gaming forum.
For more Insider Gaming esports, check out how to watch the Marvel Rivals Ignite Mid-Season Finals
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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