Zuber Lawler and Esports Insider release whitepaper covering U.S. regulations
Sharpr is a weekly newsletter covering the intersection of esports and betting
Hey everyone, Cody here.
I hope everyone had a lovely July 4th holiday weekend.
This week, we take a run through another esports betting whitepaper, this time, a collaboration between Zuber Lawler and Esports Insider. More info on that below.
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In this week’s edition of Sharpr…
Zuber Lawler and Esports Insider release whitepaper covering U.S. regulations
Duelbits partners with Oddin to offer esports betting
Mastercard VP Jessica Klimczak has joined Entain to “relaunch the Unikrn brand
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Zuber Lawler and Esports Insider release whitepaper covering U.S. regulations
New York-based law firm Zuber Lawler and esports business news site Esports Insider released a whitepaper dedicated to esports betting regulation in the U.S.
The whitepaper, entitled “U.S. Esports Gambling Report 2021” offers readers an overview of the history of federal betting regulation in the country, a forward look from industry stakeholders, and a detailed analysis of regulation in every state.
Covering legislative developments through 2021, the report is crystal clear in its scope:
Legal sports betting, daily fantasy sports, and taxation within U.S. jurisdictions.
The report does not cover skin betting, gray market, or offshore betting, nor does it discuss skill-based wagering.
The overview of federal betting regulations before and after the overturning of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) is particularly beneficial for readers and stakeholders looking to brush up on how regulation works in the states. This includes a wrap-up of the way federal regulations intersect with state-level laws–something that will be useful, particularly for newcomers to the market.
The report additionally provides an overview of sports betting regulations and what it means for esports betting, including:
The legality of esports betting for each state jurisdiction, as well as an overview on how such regulation has developed over time.
Digestible graphics indicating what forms of gambling are legal in each state.
An overview of state taxation and key regulatory personnel.
The “industry thoughts” portion of the whitepaper includes contributions from academics, regulators, operators, and esports data suppliers including Brett Abarbanel, PhD and director of research at UNLV International Gaming Institute; Martin Lycka, SVP American regulatory affairs at Entain; Hai Ng, integrity ambassador at the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC); Marek Suchar, co-founder and managing director at Oddin; William Thornton, VP at GRID; and Peter Zhalov,CEO at Livestream Gaming Ltd.
Esports is a part of the regulatory conversation to differing degrees. Brett Abarbanel notes that “sports betting has steadily grown over the last 5-7 years” and through the pandemic, “esports is often included as part of the discussion.”
For Peter Zhalov and Livestream, the U.S. opportunity has tremendous upside, stating that “the size of the industry will only be limited by the regulator.”
This sentiment was echoed by other contributors who were bullish on the size of the U.S. market. Entain’s Martin Lycka believes that “the U.S. has every chance to become the world’s largest betting market.”
🦈 Sharpr Take: Overall, the whitepaper is useful for establishing a baseline knowledge of esports betting in the United States. Different audiences will find specific parts of the whitepaper helpful.
For operators and suppliers, the state-by-state breakdown is quite valuable, especially if you’re considering entering the U.S. market or a specific jurisdiction for the first time. It’s also handy if you’re a larger operator wanting to target esports customers now or in the future.
You can download the report on the ESI Marketplace using the code ‘SHARPR’ for a 20% discount until the end of July.
Editor’s note: Sharpr was supplied with a copy of the full report for the purposes of this article.
Duelbits partners with Oddin to offer esports betting
Duelbits, a cryptocurrency casino operator, has partnered with Oddin.gg to add esports betting to its recently-launched sportsbook product.
Oddin.gg will provide Duelbits with its esports odds feed and risk management services.
The partnership will add a variety of popular esports titles to the operator’s sportsbook, including League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Dota 2, as well as select mobile games, such as Honor of Kings.
Duelbits Head of Sportsbook Ross Haffie described esports and crypto as “the new frontier,” adding that it’s vital for operators to provide users with the best offers and products.
Duelbits is the latest in a string of partnerships Oddin.gg has secured in the last year, becoming the supplier for a number of key operators including Betway and Esports Entertainment Group.
🗞 In the news
Mastercard VP Jessica Klimczak has joined Entain to “relaunch the Unikrn brand.”
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision faces a competition probe in the UK.
SportsFlare has signed a live in-game data license with Bayes Esports.
📈 By the numbers
Infinite Realty has closed the $470M acquisition of esports and entertainment company ReKTGlobal.
MLBB Southeast Asia Cup 2022 has topped the esports viewership charts in June, courting more than 2.8M concurrent viewers.