Esports is breaking yet another major barrier in the Las Vegas valley. Not only are fans able to watch major events in the new Esports Arena, but they can now bet on video games.
"As far as I'm aware Nevada is the only place that is accepting legalized wagering on esports tournaments," Jenifer Roberts, Associate Director of The Center of Gaming Regulation at UNLV said.
That puts her basically at the forefront of establishing and maintaining the integrity of esports betting in the US.
When asked if the industry has all the rules and regulations figured out yet Roberts said,"I think they are getting there."
if you have any doubts about the popularity of esports look no further than The Luxor.
This is where esports teams from across the world will play each other in a state of the art brand new 30 thousand square foot arena that opened last month.
"You think about the crowd and everyone tuning in, [they are] watching these big-time teams come down here," CEO of Allied Esports Jud Hannigan said.
These are the kind of major tournaments where people can bet on.
"Betting on people playing video games may be more popular than you think," says the Director of research at UNLV's game institute Brett Abarbanel. "Pinnacle which is a large sports book in Curacao announced Esports had overtaken golf and rugby in terms of popularity on their site. They are looking at 100% growth numbers year over year."
While millions of dollars can be wagered on the biggest esports tournaments around the world the gaming industry is also looking at player versus player betting.
The idea essentially is someone could walk into a casino and bet another player in a head-to-head matchup in a particular video game.
