William Hill is set to become the first US sportsbook to legally take wagers on an eSports event this weekend.
On Friday, William Hill US announced that the sportsbook at the Downtown Grand Casino in Las Vegas would be taking wagers on this weekend’s IEM Oakland eSports event. Bettors have their choice of wagering on which of the six teams will win the two-day tournament as well as matchup wagers on Saturday’s two League of Legends quarter-finals.
Hills’ eSports debut came courtesy of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, which signed off on the plan following this week’s meeting of the state’s Gaming Policy Committee, which decided that branching out into eSports betting required only some regulatory tweaks rather than new legislation.
Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval called the announcement “a major step toward ensuring Nevada becomes the eSports capital of the world.” Sandoval credited Hills and the Downtown Grand for being active partners of the Gaming Policy Committee and for “expanding the potential of one of our oldest industries.”