The status of the legality of eSports betting in the state of Michigan is murky at best and may require additional legislation to clarify the situation.
Currently, HB 4916 allows for bets on “athletic events,” defined as:
“…a sports activity that involves the athletic skill of 1 or more players or participants. Athletic event does not include any of the following:
- (i) Horse racing if sports betting on that race is pari-mutuel
- (ii) Any sport or athletic event played by individuals that are at the high school level or below unless the majority of participants in the sport or athletic event are 18 years of age or older
- (iii) Roulette, poker, blackjack, a card game, a dice game, or any other game or contest typically offered in a casino other than sports betting
- (iv) A fantasy contest.”
Consequently, the future of the legality of eSports betting in Michigan could come down to an exact definition of “athletic skill” is defined. matter. In the meantime, it is murky whether eSports better is legal or not and it will take the Michigan lawmakers another legislative session at least to clarify.
Until there is a direct statement of the legal status of eSports gaming in Michigan, it is best to play it safe and assume it illegal for now.
What are eSports?
Given the unprecedented decision of the U.S. Federal Supreme Court in May 2018 to rule in favor of legalizing sports betting, we anticipate that eSports betting will also become part of the fabric of online betting in the state of Michigan.
eSports has transformed video game play at its highest-level into a full-time professional sport in which the best players sign multi-million-dollar contracts to compete for glory. eSports are mostly played by teams and in league and tournament formats.
The electronic games themselves are equivalent to different sports types. For example, in eSports, the games CS:GO and Overwatch are equivalent to, say, NHL and MLB. eSports is the theoretical concept, while the different electronic game types are loosely equivalent to different sport types.
Betting on eSports is growing enormously in popularity every year. International sportsbooks offer a range of betting markets across all major eSports tournaments and formats.
With the $100 billion revenue threshold mark globally in 2018 about to be crossed, eSports is easily the highest-level competition in gaming today with all the best players in the world taking part, and with millions of fanatical fans across the globe.
Watch for betting on eSports soon at your favorite Michigan sportsbook.
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