The Nevada Gaming Policy Committee is trying to determine if e-sports—essentially competitive video gaming—qualifies as an athletic competition which state sports books could offer bets on.
However, even if they are not, the sports books could simply apply for regulatory approval to offer the action. That’s the opinion of A.G. Burnett, chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board in an interview with Vegas Inc.
The question is before the state’s Gaming Policy Committee, a special group that Gov. Brian Sandoval convened to study gambling-related issues. The committee discussed e-sports betting at its meeting in May and should return to the issue later this year.
Burnett, who sits on that committee, said there were “a couple nuances” to iron out with regard to e-sports betting in Nevada, but he did not believe they posed a significant obstacle, Vegas Inc. reported. .
“I’m sure that e-sports betting will be up and running in Nevada within the next couple of months, unless the Gaming Policy Committee were to say, no, we think it’s a bad thing, or we think it’s a bad idea to allow wagering on it,” Burnett said. “The impression I get is that everybody understands it, everyone agrees that the books should be allowed to take bets on it, and we’ll probably move forward.”
If approved, regulators would treat e-sports the same way they do other athletic events, Burnett said.
The move would come as live e-sports events have been drawing huge crowds at venues around the country as well as several large events in Nevada such as a championship tournament for the game League of Legends in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
A recent report from gambling industry analyst Chris Grove estimated that 8 million unique players would wager more than $8 billion on e-sports worldwide this year. Nevada’s traditional sports books handled $2 billion in bets in 2015.
However, e-sports betting also includes “skins,” which are virtual items that players can use within a game. Players can’t exchange skins for cash within the games themselves but can do so on “secondary markets,” the report said.
Grove’s report anticipates the total value of money and items wagered around major e-sports titles to rise to $29.8 billion by 2020, with some 15.4 million unique customers placing bets.
Burnett did say that Nevada is concerned about the lack of a clear international authority governing e-sports.
“What we’re going to do is really look hard at whoever is offering the tournament or the championship, and assess whether it’s something our books should be able to take bets on or not,” he said. “While we may not allow bets on every single e-sports event, I can certainly think of a couple.”
Coincidentally, Burnett’s comments come with announcement of a new not-for-profit Esports Integrity Coalition in Britain.
The new group will attempt to bring integrity to professional e-sports, and is particularly concerned by the threat presented by the rapid rise of betting fraud in the e-sports market, organizers said in a press statement.
“The aim of ESIC is to be the recognized guardian of the integrity of e-Sports and to take responsibility for disruption, prevention, investigation and prosecution of all forms of cheating, including, but not limited to, match manipulation and doping,” The statement said.
Founding members and supporters include e-Sports organizers ESL and DreamHack, as well as hardware manufacturer Intel and online gambling outfit, Betway.
Also, ESIC supporter ESL helped found the World Esports Association (WESA), another regulator that claimed it could clean up and standardize one of the fastest growing sports in the world. For its part, WESA promised to “professionalize” eSports with the introduction of player representation, standardized regulations, and revenue shares for teams.
