Nevada might be tiring of having New Jersey upstage the gaming capital. New Jersey whipped the larger Nevada in sports betting. And now leads the pack in esports wagering. But Nevada isn’t rolling over.
A new advisory committee aims to make Las Vegas the esports tournament capital with a menu of betting options, according to CDC Gaming Reports.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board appointed a seven-member committee that will provide recommendations on expanding esports wagering and streamlining its implementation. As the system operates now, casinos have to seek Gaming Control Board permission to take wagers on each tournament, but the committee will offer suggestions on which leagues and tournaments can offer betting without permission.
Last week the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement allowed Esports Entertainment Group to accept bets for Call of Duty, League of Legends, Dota 2, and others.
Las Vegas resident Paul Hamilton chairs the committee. Hamilton is CEO of Atlanta Esport Ventures that invests in the esports teams Atlanta Reign of the Overwatch League and Atlanta FaZe of the Call of Duty League.
“What I would like to see happen is that when people want to place a wager and they go into (any sportsbook), on one side are the NFL lines and the other is the Overwatch League,” Hamilton said. “I think over the next five years, you’re going to see a lot of people feeling comfortable in the growth in that space. In 10 years, I can see them side by side without any question at all. It’s already happening, but we’re just going to open the gates and make sure it’s done right.”
Hamilton believes championships can fill Allegiant Stadium and T-Mobile Arena with visitors from all over the world. And of course, sportsbook see younger audiences coming into play.
“Any event in Las Vegas will be bigger and brighter,” Hamilton said.
Seth Schorr, CEO of Fifth Street Gaming, which manages the Downtown Grand in Las Vegas, also serves on the advisory committee. He’s been working since 2015 to bring esports bets to Nevada.
“For me personally, this has been seven years in the making,” Schorr said. “One of the reasons why, in the past six years, there haven’t been many additional wagers is because the process to get a wager approved by the Gaming Control Board was cumbersome and inefficient. This committee working with the Gaming Control Board to pre-approve matches, leagues, and team operators will make it easier for the sportsbooks to get ahead of determining what they can accept wagers on.”
Esports still has obstacles to overcome, such as integrity, how to prevent players from fixing matches or using technology to favor one side.
Easy enough to fix. Accept wagers from leagues that meet integrity thresholds, similar to what goes on now with other sports.
Esports investors include Cox, Comcast, Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, and Stan Kroenke, owner of the Los Angeles Rams.
Brandon Snow, head of esports for Activision Blizzard, also sits on the committee.
“You’re seeing the younger generations being more involved in esports than traditional sports,” said Becky Harris, former chairwoman of the Gaming Control Board. “This is a multi-billion industry and we’ve been told for a decade this is the next big thing. It’s still a process to make sure we’re approaching it correctly with the right integrity protocols in place. But we need to make sure we’re not hindering the growth and development for the industry by overregulation.”
