New Jersey Legislature Considers Bill to Reclassify Esports as Stand-Alone Internet Betting Option

• Contents of the Proposed New Jersey Esports Bill
• How SP2986 Would Provide for Further Betting Categories
• The New Jersey Waging Committee Must Act by December 31

Contents of the Proposed New Jersey Esports Bill

New Jersey is contemplating making esports—or regulated competition in video games—its own stand-alone status in the state’s internet gambling market.

Bill SP2986 proposes allowing Atlantic City casinos to operate esports outside of their traditional online casino offerings. This is important because it would sidestep New Jersey’s limit of five online casino permits for each brick-and-mortar casino.

The proposed change comes as New Jersey lawmakers consider online gaming tweaks ahead of the expiration of its 2013 online casino law, which is set to expire this fall. A Sept. 25 Associated Press report said New Jersey lawmakers are in talks to extend internet gaming for another 10 years. 

During the opening session of the September 22 East Coast Gaming Conference New Jersey’s governor, Phil Murphy, promised he will sign an online casino extension if passed by state lawmakers. Although S2986 would not extend the online casino law, it would allow New Jersey casinos to offer esports as internet gaming moving forward. 

For New Jersey sports bettors, the bill would allow esports-only online sports pools operated by sports betting operators. Each casino or racetrack with a sports betting license would be eligible for up to two individually-branded esports apps for their online pools. 

Currently, top legal esports platforms in the United States include Twitch, YouTube Gaming, Discord, and more. Legal betting is conducted through licensed apps. Sports betting apps DraftKings and FanDuel are among the top sportsbooks offering legal esports betting on fantasy games like League of Legends, Call of Duty, Dota, and Rocket League. 

Now, legal esports-dedicated betting apps are starting to come online. VIE—the first licensed esports-only betting app in North America — launched in New Jersey this year through its partnership with Bally’s Atlantic City. 

The VIE app is owned by Esports Entertainment Group (EEG) and offers top fantasy games, billing itself as “all esports, all the time.” But it’s access is still limited to a  mobile sports betting app. 

Should esports be added to the state’s definition of internet gaming, it remains to be seen how that would impact the sports betting handle in New Jersey. Traditional sports betting operators could see more competition in the esports arena, but should still be able to compete. 

According to S2986, “Nothing in this bill would prohibit a traditional sports wagering operator from offering esports wagering, which is currently permitted.” 

Any change is unlikely to have much of an effect on New Jersey’s brick-and-mortar casinos. Atlantic City casinos would still retain control over any legal betting app in the NJ market. They might even have an opportunity to forge new partnerships down the road. 

How SP2986 Would Provide for Further Betting Categories

New Jersey betters have placed regulated wagers on professional and college sporting events since the state’s legal gambling market launched in August of 2018. Esports betting has been legal in New Jersey since 2021, but only through these previous sports betting operators. The legislation filed on September 22 by Sen. James Beach, D-Cherry Hill, would include esports under the state’s definition of internet gaming, while also leaving it as a sports betting option. 

This follows an earlier move this year when the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement granted approval to Esports Entertainment Group to accept bets on esports games via its VIE.gg betting platform, a potential multi-billion dollar market that continues to expand.

 Earlier this year, The National Law Review pointed out that:

“Given the nearly infinite amount of outcomes and actions that occur in any particular esports game, bookmakers will likely be able to offer fans a much greater number of in-game betting opportunities for esports competitions than they can for traditional sporting events.

That could mean even greater profits for a state looking to build on its already massively successful  $4.79 billion internet gambling industry. 

The New Jersey Waging Committee Must Act by December 31

S2986 was introduced in the Senate on Sept. 22. It has been referred to the Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism, and Historic Preservation Committee, which have until the end of the session, December 31, to proceed.

So far, no promises have been made and no dates have been set, but the potential changes such an esports gambling law would make are undoubtedly causing ripples in New Jersey’s sports betting world, where every existing operator would no doubt want a piece of this new wagering opportunity.

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