A new advisory committee commissioned by Nevada regulators heard testimony last week from casino operators and other stakeholders on the potential expanding of esports betting in the state.
It was the first of a series of hearings by the eight-member panel, consisting of experts and workers in the esports industry. The committee will return a report on the prospects of esports betting to the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
Eric Bowers, vice president of innovation for Boyd Gaming, testified that esports betting should draw a younger audience into the casinos. “We don’t believe all of these potential esports wagers are going to convert right to races and sports wagers,” Bowers said, according to CDC Gaming Reports. “They may convert to iGaming and social gaming. We believe that the demographic is a little different, and even in the intent to launch esports, we’re not necessarily going to target (from a branding and marketing perspective; that’s another channel of sports wagering). We feel it gets lost in that.”
Bowers said Boyd would like to see in-play wagering on esports as part of any sports betting expansion in the state. “I think it would be a deal breaker if we didn’t have that,” he said. “We look at it as more of a primary building block than match-based wagers in our launch, and we’re looking at technologies to support that.”
Jeff Cohen, vice president of corporate strategy at the Esports Entertainment Group, which has been allowed by New Jersey to accept esports wagers, said there are a lot of misconceptions about the esports industry among regulators and lawmakers.
“We often hear concerns that gaming and gambling shouldn’t be mixed because of the young age of gamers,” Cohen said, according to CDC. “Just a few weeks ago when asked about esports, American Gaming Association President and CEO Bill Miller said this is not an area that’s been opened up. The people primarily playing esports are underage and betting on them creates a whole host of issues. While we certainly respect Mr. Miller’s perspective and leadership at the AGA, when you evaluate the data, it turns out not to be the case.”
Meanwhile, West Virginia delegates Moore Capito, Bennett Queen, Steve Westfall, Shawn Fluharty, Clay Riley and Daniel Linville are sponsoring House Bill 4826, which would expand legal sports wagering to include esports betting.
The bill defines esports as an event or “electronic sport or competitive video game played as a game of skill for spectators.” The bill is under consideration in the House Finance Committee.
West Virginia, one of the first states to legalize sports betting, launched online and retail wagering in August 2018. Currently, sports betting in West Virginia is allowed on professional and collegiate sports events and competitions.
Although esports is considered to be one of the fastest-growing betting markets, with significant appeal to millennial and Gen Z demographics, it has not been included in sports betting legislation in several states. As a result, the legality of esports in some states is unclear or not addressed.
Opponents pointed out individuals below the permitted gambling age participate in these events, so betting on esports should not be allowed.
But supporters make the case that wagering is permitted on college sports, where many of the competitors are below age 21.
