Nevada to Allow Call of Duty League Esports Betting

After months of deliberation, the Nevada Gaming Control board has approved betting platforms to allow bets on the Call of Duty Modern Warfare esports league.

With esports betting still limited in most states in the US it’s another step forward for betting platforms, their users and the esports industry. Nevada’s gambling regulators have now approved betting on CS:GO (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive), League of Legends, Dota 2, iRacing and Overwatch as well as finally Call of Duty.

© Call of Duty League | Photo by Hunter Martin – Getty Images

Call of Duty joins the pack

Moving forward Nevada licensed bookmakers will now be able to post and accept bets for Call of Duty League matches until the end of 2020. Gambling operators can now offer head to head, match winner and overall winner bets.

These licensed operators must first declare their intent to offer Call of Duty bets to the regulator’s Enforcement Division in the form of a notification of terms. Operators must display official game rules clearly and they are able to set betting odds. In-play betting options are not currently allowed, and any other markets or betting types require a separate application and approval process.

Seth Schorr, CEO of Fifth Street Gaming and Chairman of the Downtown Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas has been pushing esports betting in Las Vegas, Nevada for a number of years. As per The Washington Post, he says each state has to “approve an esports wager,” adding:

“Nobody can just approve all esports. There would be cheating, there would be no integrity. Right now you have to get approval for each match, which is pretty cumbersome, so the next phase in esports betting will be regulators getting comfortable.”

Call of Duty moved to an online only structure last month as the esports world pushes everything to a “distant format” nowadays. The first tournament esports fans will be able to bet on in Nevada will be the Chicago Huntsmen Home Series.

At the end of March, Nevada announced it would allow licensed operators to offer and accept bets on one of CS:GO’s most important leagues, the ESL Pro League Season 11.

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