Given the legalization of sports wagering in Illinois, the potential favorable law for eSports betting has not yet transformed into available eSports betting for fans in the Land of Lincoln. Illinois lawmakers decided against legalizing eSports betting for now when they voted the definition of a sport (excluding eSports) into state law:
“A professional sport or athletic event, a collegiate sport or athletic event, a motor race event, or any other event or competition of relative skill authorized by the Board under this Act.”
However, like most matters pertaining to sports betting in Illinois, debate is not off the table and there is plenty of scope for eSports wagering in the future.
What are eSports?
eSports has effectively transformed highest-level of video game play into a full-time professional sport. The very best players are signing multi-million-dollar contracts with big budget professional teams. eSports are mostly played in the team format in tournament play.
The electronic games themselves are roughly equivalent to different sports types. For example, in eSports, the games CS:GO, Dota 2 and Overwatch are equivalent to, say, NHL, NFL and MLB. eSports is the overarching concept, while the different electronic game types are equivalent to the different types of sports.
Betting on eSports is now huge. International sportsbooks offer a range of betting markets across all major eSports tournaments and formats, and the global amounts bet on eSports are growing exponentially each year.
With the Global $100 billion revenue threshold mark in 2018 about to be crossed, eSports is the highest-level competition in gaming today, with millions of fanatical fans across the globe, and the best players in the world taking part.
