League Of Legends Requirements
Hedy Madrid
During the 2020 NFL Draft, aerial shots of the Las Vegas strip revealing no activity were broadcast to viewers around the world. To the outside world, Nevada gaming appeared to be completely dead, at least temporarily. In addition, with the NBA, NHL, and MLB pausing and then canceling all or part of their playing season and the NFL canceling its draft event, the sports wagering world in Nevada looked equally dead.
Since March 17th, the Nevada Gaming Control Board has administratively approved wagering on nearly a dozen esports events through Nevada licensed bookmakers. For those not familiar with the term, esports are competitive video game contests. Esports events that have been approved thus far include ELS Road to Rio (Counter Strike: Go), Call of Duty League, League of Legends European Masters, Overwatch League, North American League of Legends Championship Series, ESL One-DOTA2, Los Angeles, and others.
Although the volume of wagering on these esports events has been small compared to sports wagering under normal circumstances, wagering on esports has proven resistant to the measures taken to slow the spread of COVID-19. This is in part because competitive video gaming is a non-physical contact event. Therefore, it can easily meet physical distancing requirements. Likewise, because most popular games are PC-based, real-time streaming is common and streams can be watched at home, over popular streaming services (such as TWITCH, HUYA, and YouTube), and can even be adapted for streaming into limited occupancy viewing rooms to comply with distancing requirements once venues are permitted to reopen.
In addition, although Nevada regulators do not recognize the current governing bodies of esports events like they do for many other long-established traditional sports leagues, there are memoranda of understanding with some organizations, such as the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC). Based in the U.K., ESIC has a long-standing history of protecting integrity in esports competitions. As such, many ESIC-approved events receive approval in Nevada for the purposes of being an event on which wagering is permitted.
The approval process is thorough and the onus is on the applicant to convince regulators that wagering on the event is consistent with applicable laws and policies. Rejection (or further consideration that makes wagering irrelevant given the timing) is a significant risk.
Moreover, the approval of wagers for esports tournaments is still done on a case-by-case basis, allowing only for straight bets on the winner of each tournament and qualifying round. The more esoteric wagers, such as number of kills or first to capture various landmarks, would have to be applied for with the appropriate proof that these events within the game, which might not necessarily determine the outcome, can be safely managed.
For these reasons, any bookmaker or event operator hoping to have wagering on an event should contact their gaming attorney right away to create a submission that has the highest chance for regulatory approval.
Conclusion: Nevada is ready for and increasingly embracing esports. Though initial adoption has been slow, the staggering worldwide viewership numbers hold a lot of promise, and esports provide a glimmer of hope for ongoing competitive content and betting subject matter during times when physical distancing limits traditional sports events and wagering activity.
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