Nevada permits bets on League of Legends and Overwatch

The Nevada Gaming Control Board has officially approved wagers for the League of Legends European Championship (LEC), League of Legends Championship Series (LCS), and Overwatch League. This string of approvals was followed by an announcement by Nevada regulators last Thursday evenings. As a result, the state’s licensed sportbooks would be permitted to post and accept best on behalf of these esports leagues.

Some rules regarding esports betting

As part of this, three wager types may be made for the esports leagues: head-to-head, match winner, and overall winner. Spectators may start placing bets effective immediately, barring adherence to the provisos outlined by the regulators. Official rulesets must be defined on the event organizer or sanctioning body’s website prior to the acceptance of wagers. The book may determine the odds, though those accepting bets must first provide the Enforcement Division with a notification of terms.

One rule that is quite obvious is that bets “must cease” prior to the start of each match. In-play staking options are effectively prohibited, which means you can’t place bets on an ongoing match. All events must be established on a permissible source and in obedience to regulatory requirements.

This trilogy of betting permits (the three wager types allowed) marks seven events across CS:GO, iRacing, Dota 2, Overwatch, and League of Legends that is approved by Nevada regulators in the last month alone. It is, however, unknown whether any of the state’s licensees have delivered the Enforcement Division intent to accept wagers.

Setting up esports as a legit entity

Bringing esports betting markets to the United States isn’t a difficult process. It basically took the complete removal of traditional sports to make it happen. But since regular sporting events halted, esports offerings have increased drastically as this turns into one of the few forms of entertainment for spectators. The speed and volume of esports exemptions is incredible.

There’s no telling how this will continue in the long run, but we can certainly hope that the industry continues to demonstrate that esports is a massive market that deserves to be recognized across the board.

Ryan Goodrich

Ryan has been writing since long before he could even write. He's written resumes, software user guides, consumer electronic reviews, and myriad web content spanning a variety of industries. But now he's writing about video games, which is much more interesting.

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