The state of Nevada is doubling down on its efforts to develop its promising esports industry, despite some people’s concerns about the integrity of the sport.
Hamilton Insists the Committee Must Have a Clear Vision
Esports is currently experiencing unprecedented growth, with tournaments now being more spectacular than ever before. The sudden rise of interest in competitive gaming has brought a lot of new people into the sector, including countless esports bettors. Nevada, being well-aware of its fertile soil for esports and esports betting, allowed some esports betting in 2020, greenlighting wagering for several professional gaming events in that year.
In 2021, Nevada created an Esports Technical Advisory Committee to help with the growth. The committee met this Tuesday to speak about the future of esports. Chairman Paul Hamilton said that data collection remains a priority until the committee figures things out and starts giving advice to the Nevada Gaming Commission and Control Board. He added that all eight members need to be on the same page so they can work together to regulate esports and market it to the public as a viable gambling discipline.
Hamilton’s end goal is to make Nevada’s esports betting scenes exemplary when it comes to regulation. He concluded:
“We should be at the top and doing it right and do things that make everyone proud. Most importantly, it’s for the consumer to feel safe and also for the (gambling) facility to feel safe.”
Chairman Paul Hamilton
A few days ago the committee reinforced its ranks by adding an experienced Ubisoft executive to its team.
Fraud Remains a Persistent Problem in Need of Solving
Just as with other betting disciplines, esports has its fair share of fraud. Many people have been distrustful of the digital aspect of competitive gaming, fearing that it might facilitate cheating and match-fixing. Because of this, the committee needs to carefully consider how to maintain the integrity of esports and make esports betting safe for everyone.
The Esports Integrity Commission is one of the top organizations that deal with esports fraud. One of its commissioners, Ian Smith, explained that there are four primary kinds of deceit in gaming – cheating that boosts a player’s capabilities in some way, cyberattacks that mess with an opponent’s performance, match-fixing and doping.
Smith pointed out that 92% of all match-fixing is driven by betting fraud and that it’s crucial for the industry to deal with it. He warned that cheaters are getting better all the time and that fraud is becoming increasingly harder to notice. Because of this, Smith suggested that tougher regulations and reprimands should be put in place.
The ESIC is an internationally-recognized non-profit organization, which has already helped maintain the integrity of esports. Its partners include some of the biggest names in esports and esports betting. As an example of the ESIC’s deeds, in October last year, the commission finally published its verdict on an esports team that exploited a bug to gain an advantage over its competitors.
It is without a doubt that the commission’s work is something that Nevada should have in mind when ensuring the integrity of its budding esports betting market.