Esports has been gaining popularity throughout the world at a pace never seen before in its history, and Nevada has been trying to get ahead of it for some time now. The Esports Technical Advisory Committee was responsible for the expansion of the gambling market in Nevada by including esports betting in the State, and the process is now one step closer to completion.

Proposed Regulations Finalized

The Esports Technical Advisory Committee (ETAC) met on Monday and made its final voting on the proposed regulations to expand esports betting in Nevada. The laws passed successfully, concluding an intensive due diligence and review process. This means that the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) should receive the documents by the year’s end, and then move on to evaluate them. If all goes well, Nevada’s regulatory body – the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) – could see esports wagering completely legalized and regulated in 2023.

As it currently stands, esports betting has been rather cumbersome, as the requirements for sportsbooks to accept esports wages have included seeking individual approval every time. Under the new regulation, this will change, allowing operators to know which events are eligible for accepting esports bets, letting them plan in advance. If passed, the regulations will also allow the promotion of the events as well.

This was also the only major change that ETAC made during the short meeting, switching from a per-league to a per-event model. The decision was made after facing some difficulties reaching a single definition of what constitutes an esports league which was outlined during ETAC’s September 21 meeting. In essence, this would mean that esports wagering would be done in a similar way to traditional sports betting – by placing wagers on the esports event at hand.

Approval by Regulators Needed

ETAC was created in 2021 as the first major step in Nevada’s plans on expanding its gambling ecosystem with the introduction of esports betting. The original version of Bill 165 – the legislation that made esports betting possible in the state – included the creation of a new regulatory body. Many of the operators would’ve had to apply for an esports license with a separate entity, which wasn’t received well at all, leading to replacing the proposed regulatory body with a specialized committee – ETAC.

This is why ETAC’s finalized proposition has to go through the NGCB and then the NGC for final approval. This way, all regulation happens at a single point, which is convenient for operators, while a specialized entity can still provide its expertise when needed, which helps to make the development side of the process smoother as well.

While this has addressed some concerns that operators had and has established a framework for the internal path regulations would have to go through, there’s another organizational process that needs to be worked out. The way ETAC can continue to advise the NGCB in the future hasn’t been outlined yet – this is probably why the last meeting was so quick. Achieving this would require some further deliberation and development, which could happen in the beginning of next year, should the NGC give its final approval for the proposed regulations at hand.

The final form of Regulation 22 also outlined record keeping and notice requirements, and the Board Chair’s authority to approve, suspend or revoke an operator’s decision to offer esports betting on a per-event basis, after initial licensing. Further refinement of this document might be needed if the Board or the Commission’s feedback requires it.