The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that if the recommendation is accepted and approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission at their next meeting taking place on January 26, the legislative amendments will have immediate effect.
Nevada on Its Way to Pioneer Esports Betting Legislation
Nevada is again at the forefront of gambling regulations. Back in 2021, Nevada established the Esports Technical Advisory Committee with the goal to monitor and regulate the growing esports sector.
Already in 2020, the state of Nevada allowed for some wagering on a limited number of professional esports events, however, at the beginning of 2022 the Esports Technical Advisory Committee started exploring the possibility of allowing betting on esports in general across the whole state.
Esports is a swiftly expanding industry in Las Vegas. There are plenty of organized tournaments that are aired online and competitions also take place at the HyperX Arena at Luxor. Other major casinos, such as The Venetian, have also expressed their intention to host esports tournaments.
As a result, the Esports Technical Advisory Committee started work on a legislative proposal allowing esports betting back in March and they submitted their proposal for regulatory amendments to the Nevada Gaming Control Board in October.
Industry stakeholders and lawmakers have expressed doubts as to how much interest there will be in esports wagering but board member Phil Katsaros countered those comments with his opinion that esports is developing fast as an industry and Nevada should strive to be ahead of events when it comes to its legislation.
Katsaros further elaborated that the new approach of creating a committee to draw up the regulatory proposal seems to be an effective way to implement legislative changes and should also be utilized in the future.
Esports Betting Operators Will Have the Same Obligations as Sportsbooks
The Esports Technical Advisory Committee’s proposed amendments will change the current sports betting regulations to include wagering on esports.
Under those changes, sportsbooks will be obliged to report to the Nevada Gaming Control Board in case they notice any discrepancies or irregularities regarding the esports wagers they accept. Sports betting operators shall also have to monitor esports betting activities for any match-fixing indicators.
Senior Deputy Attorney General John Michela has commented that in case the amendments are implemented the regulators are going to keep a close eye on how the new market is developing and how much bets are placed on esports events. Regulators will also act immediately in case further amendments are needed.