New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement last week became only the second state to approve legal esports betting when it permitted wagers to be taken on the League of Legends (LoL) World Championship, which was conducted in Paris last weekend. The “Super Bowl” of esports, the event pitted two popular esports teams— G2 Esports will face FunPlus Phoenix—against each other. The prize was in excess of $2 million in purses and the coveted Summoner’s Cup.
Nevada had previously approved esports betting for specific events, including the 2016 LoL championships, but it didn’t appear at press time that any Nevada sports books were taking action on this year’s finals.
Just minutes after the announcement, Atlantic City’s Borgata posted odds on the event.
“Borgata is proud to be at the forefront of this significant milestone as we look to engage with future generations of esports fans as well as traditional sports fans,” said Marcus Glover, president and COO for the Borgata. “We are grateful to the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement for their partnership in helping advance such an innovative initiative.”
Later, FanDuel and PlaySugarHouse and FoxBet all posted odds.
In its efforts to attract millennials to its properties, the casino industry has been dabbling in esports for the past several years. Downtown Grand in Las Vegas was the first to build an esports lounge, and later Luxor build a full-on esports arena. The success of both ventures has been spotty but the possibility of esports betting could propel the business quickly forward.
David Schwartz, a longtime gaming professor at UNLV, told Newsday that it may take a while to develop.
“I think in the short term, betting on esports has the potential to be a small growth area,” he said. “There is definitely fan interest, but right now betting on sports outside of the big three—football, basketball, baseball—is pretty small in the U.S. So it would be a small share of a small share of the overall sports betting handle.
“As with any new sport, there may be concerns over match-fixing and other compliance issues, which may further slow the growth of the market for esports betting. In the future, of course, it may become a much bigger segment, if bettors decide they want to gamble on it.”
The DGE gave no indication of the LoL championships were a “one-of” event or if there would be a steady stream of betting on esports going forward.
