Nevada is preparing to take another punt on its esports betting industry, paving the way for new companies, such as https://gg.bet/en/esports, to join the landscape and offer their products to a broad audience. What does this mean?
Esports betting has been a legitimate betting contest in Nevada since 2017 when legislators passed SB 240 and made it possible for state sportsbooks to start offering bets on electronic sports or e-sports as the bill’s language defines this activity.
Since then, many efforts (and understandably so) have been made to liberalize the industry. Nevada is a great place to place an esports flutter for starters, but the drawback is that it’s mired in a lot of red tape.
If a company wishes to introduce an esports betting event, they will need to first get the approval of the Gaming Control Board. This means that an operator is not free to think on the fixtures in advance because there is a chance, however slim, that they may not be allowed to hold a market.
This has naturally hurt the sports betting industry in Nevada, never mind that the state is an actual trailblazer in the segment. So, can anything change? It seems that some things may be done.
Nevada’s New Commission to Liberalize Esports Betting Events
To elaborate on a more liberal framework, Nevada has appointed a special commission whose purpose will be simple – bring the evidence legislators need to liberalize the industry. Liberalization means that sportsbooks may start issuing more lines and fixtures for upcoming events.
Should the commission succeed, though, this would be huge for Nevada. In fact, it would allow esports fans in the Silver State to place more bets and on a more varied selection of competitions. For the time being, Nevada is explaining the somewhat restrictive measures with its own lack of experience in the matter.
This has put a lot of strain on sportsbooks to try and stay competitive while appealing to esports fans. Understandably, it has taken significantly more effort to attract an esports betting crowd, especially when you are not really sure what events will be available once the crowds turn up.
The commission presided by various industry experts is working on a draft that would allow the Nevada Gaming Control Board to remain in control of what events are offered but lay some ground rules. For example, there could be a list of top-tier events that need not be cleared.
League of Legends runs over a dozen regional events around the year. The Overwatch League and the Call of Duty League also run frequent events. To expect sportsbooks to clear with the regulator before every leg of the competition is unrealistic, and it generates tons of paperwork.
However, knowing that these events are reputable and can be trusted would free up resources to stop worrying about getting the go-ahead from the regulator and bring the best possible fixtures to esports fans.
This, in turn, will stimulate esports fans in the state to visit their bookmakers more frequently and place bets. Even though esports betting is clearly still behind sports betting, there are many reasons to introduce it in a bigger capacity.
For starters, the expected total handle from esports betting is expected to catch up to sports betting handle, even if this will take some years. Already, the United States allows esports betting in 12 states, and the numbers are going only one way – up. Esports fans in Nevada have everything to benefit from if more liberal rules are introduced.
So do the state and businesses.
Featured Image by David Mark from Pixabay
