Nevada regulatory proposal aims to permit esports betting in 2023

23 September 2022

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Nevada’s Esports Technical Advisory Committee is partnering with the state’s Attorney General’s office to outline a regulatory framework which would permit esports betting by next year.

The committee will reconvene on October 24th to review and finalise regulations which will be presented to the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB), and eventually, the Nevada Gaming Commission, for review. The regulatory proposal is said to enable sportsbooks to accept wagers on esports matches without the need for special approval from the NGCB.

Senior Deputy Attorney General John Michela told the committee: “The overarching intent of the proposed changes will allow licensed books to accept wagers on esports events in the manner of traditional sporting events.”

The regulation would place additional ‘due-diligence’ requirements on sportsbooks. This includes notifying Nevada regulators quarterly on all esports leagues and events it has accepted wagers on.

The chair of the NGCB will be authorised to bar sportsbooks from accepting wagers on certain esports events should an issue develop. Meanwhile, sportsbooks will be able to request a review should it believe that an event or league should be permitted for wagering. 

Committee chairman and Atlanta Esports Ventures CEO, Paul Hamilton, discussed developing language to approve specific tournament organisers or game developers, helping iron out kinks such as additional applications and regulatory approvals. “It’s about giving operators the flexibility that they need, but giving us the comfort we’re looking for to make sure it is all done right,” Hamilton said. 

Jud Hannigan, committee member and Allied Esports CEO, said this move would “represent a strong path to the progress for our mission here.”

Cody Luongo