Nevada approves esports betting on three events

The Nevada Gaming Control Board has approved wagers for the League of Legends European Championship (LEC), League of Legends Championship Series (LCS), and Overwatch League.

In a string of approvals, Nevada regulators announced Tuesday the state’s licensed sportsbooks would be permitted to post and accept bets on the LEC, LCS, and Overwatch League. The triad of esports leagues have been approved for the following three wager types: head to head, match winner, and overall winner.

Offerings will be made available to Nevada licensees with immediate effect barring adherence to the provisos outlined by the regulator. Official rulesets must be defined on the event organizer or sanctioning body’s website prior to the acceptance of wagers. The determination of odds will be at the bookmaker’s discretion, although those electing to accept bets must first provide the Enforcement Division with notification of terms.

The Control Board’s exemptions will prohibit all in-play staking options across the trinity of events, stating bets “must cease” prior to the start of each match. All event results shall be established on a permissible source and in obedience to regulatory requirements. Nevada licensees opting to offer markets deviating from the three approved wager types must submit and receive separate application approval.

The trilogy of betting permits will mark seven events across Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, iRacing, Dota 2, Overwatch, and League of Legends approved by Nevada regulators in the last month alone.

Betting menus have been reduced to a handful of obscure, live sporting events still taking place around the globe, as well as futures bets, such as next week's NFL draft and the odds to win the Super Bowl. Sportsbook operator William Hill U.S. said it has received more than $100,000 in total bets daily on international table tennis in recent weeks.