Nevada Gaming Control Board approves betting on ESL Pro League
On March 25th, the Nevada Gaming Control Board approved wagering on ESL Pro League Season 11 North America matches.
The approval is a landmark decision for CS:GO and esports as a whole. In November of last year, casinos in New Jersey had begun to offer bets on esports tournaments, but the only event that they tested wagers on was the League of Legends World Championships.
The approval from the Nevada Gaming Control Board now opens up the opportunity for many more licensed operators to offer the same services, and for the first time, legal wagers on CS:GO.
Notably, the decision to open up esports betting follows the suspension of many traditional sports leagues due to the COVID-19 outbreak, a change which left bookmakers with few listings and fans with few games to bet on.
Betting on esports has long been an issue in North America, with many operators only holding betting licenses based in Malta. The change offers the industry more avenues to explore for monetization, sponsorships, and gives betting operators the opportunity to entice more non-endemic esports followers into watching matches and following different games.
Esports betting has already been a staple in different regions of Europe, with many bookmakers sponsoring entire online leagues that offers teams the opportunity to compete for large prize purses. With approval for the first event now coming through, only time will tell whether the same will be the case for North America.
Complicating matters in the United States, however, is the fact that at present only thirteen out of 50 states have legalized online gambling in some form.
