After discussing the "potential for taking bets on e-sports competitions," members of the Nevada Gaming Policy Committee last week concluded that they "may already have all the regulations in place and could start taking wagers immediately," according to Richard Velotta of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. The Gaming Policy panel that could offer recommendations to boost the state’s gaming industry "was dazzled Friday by stories of arenas filled with passionate fans and heard from a retired player who now lives in Southern Nevada about the potential for gambling on e-sports." Still, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, who chairs the committee, asked members to "contemplate what they had heard Friday and bring their ideas back to a future meeting, probably in August." Station Casinos VP/Race & Sports Operations Art Manteris believes that it would "require some expertise to set odds and monitor play." He said that he expects his company "would move slowly on taking wagers for e-sports," but he "agreed it’s an opportunity that Nevada should not allow to pass by" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 5/15).
CHANGING TIMES: VICE SPORTS' Matt Porter noted the announced formation of the World Esports Association (WESA) on Friday created "excited chatter" that painted the announcement as e-sports' "answer to FIFA's formation." But this "isn't the organization that will streamline and centralize" global e-sports competitions. E-sports boasts an "awkward pairing of futuristic products and profits with prehistoric infrastructure." By '19, it is "projected the revenue will top" $1B, the sort of revenue that "knocks on the door of what mainstream sports bring in." What WESA will do, or at least "intends to, is tidy up some of the messier labor issues." Fans "figure to benefit from WESA as well, thanks to more consistent and predictable tournament schedules" (SPORTS.VICE.com, 5/16).
TIME TO DIVERSIFY: YAHOO SPORTS' Taylor Cocke noted Bundesliga club FC Schalke 04 "has purchased a spot" in the European League of Legends Championship Series. Schalke "has become the biggest sports organization to enter the League of Legends esports space." While other traditional sports names have "invested in teams -- Shaquille O’Neal and Rick Fox, for example -- FC Schalke 04 will be the biggest to lend their name to a League of Legends team" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 5/16).
