Inside Asian Gaming

January 2017 inside asian gaming 37 THE ROAD TO REGULATION Nevada’s decision to move on the question of eSports wagering could lead to changes within the eSports world itself. One theme that came up repeatedly at G2E, for instance, is that the casino industry’s comfort level would increase if eSports started to resemble other professional sports, starting with the creation of a formal league. “There’s definitely a need for a regulatory body,” said McMullen. “I know that we’ve spoken to some of the (Nevada) gaming commissioners and control board members. We believe that eSports is no different from the NFL, the NHL or the NBA. We need to have game publishers come together with hardware people and others that touch the industry and create a self-policing body. That’s something we’ve already been tasked with.” Director Burnett sounded the conventional regulatory concerns, also drawing parallels to other types of sports. “We’re concerned about authenticity, as it relates to sportsbook betting,” he said. “We want to ensure that it’s a legitimate authentic activity. That the game has integrity, hasn’t been tampered with and can’t be tampered with. Participants are playing on a level playing field, much like any other professional sport or event such as boxing. We also want the ability to go after, in a disciplinary format, somebody who was a wrongdoer or a bad apple. I see self-regulation already starting to occur amongst eSports participants.” In Focus Rahul Sood, CEO and co-founder of UNIKRN, who described his firm as the most comprehensive eSports book operator in the world, said Nevada won’t be operating in a vacuum. “We go through strenuous regulatory activity in Australia and the UK,” he said. “We have to be able to spot anomalies and let the authorities know they are happening. Stop betting, do an investigation.” At the same time, he counsels patience for an endeavor that is both strategically vital and essential to the industry’s long term health. “Young people in Las Vegas are walking straight through the casino to go to the night club,” said Sood. “How do you get them to spend more time on the property? You have to have people who are forward thinking. You can’t think numbers-wise. You can’t say if I give you six slot machines and this square footage and I put in an eSports lounge, I want to know how much revenue-per-square-foot I’m going to generate. “If I start to have that conversation, I go to the next property. It has to be about the vision of bringing people in, making them loyal fans and making your brand the one that makes them feel comfortable and coming back.” Reprinted with permission of Casino Journal “Just enhancing the casino resort experience and introducing the younger generation to casinos, I have found that eSports has been a fantastic way to achieve that goal.” – Seth Schorr