The Nevada Esports Technical Advisory Committee (ETAC) voted to forward a proposed amendment to ‘Regulation 22’ that would expand esports betting. This eight-member committee has now passed the responsibility onto the Gaming Control Board (GCB) and Nevada Gaming Commission, who will rule on whether the amendments are approved.
Regulation 22 is the GCB’s regulation overseeing sports pools and race books. If this amendment is adopted by the state’s board and commission then the path for esports betting will be open to Silver State residents, and they will be able to wager on video game competitions, both online and in Nevada venues.
ETAC has been working since March to draft a regulatory framework that will allow sportsbooks to take bets on esports competitions. This makes financial sense looking at the metrics.
The popularity of esports has seen major growth inside the US. Statista projects that esports viewership in the US will reach approximately 46 million by 2023, and as viewership numbers grow, so does esports betting activity. Global esports betting is estimated to exceed $205bn by 2027.
The eight-person committee decided they wanted to amend the existing Regulation 22, rather than create a separate set of rules for esports. From the first meeting, ETAC has taken testimony from industry experts to determine the best ways to ensure integrity throughout all competitions which are bet on.
The 11/4-page amendment to Regulation 22 defines esports as “competitions between individuals or teams using video games which are hosted at a physical location or online.”
It says that under the amendment sportsbooks “may accept wagers on an esports event without the approval required if the book obtains complete information about the video game used for the event, including the publisher of the video game.”
