The bill is scheduled for a first hearing tomorrow (Wednesday) before the state Senate Judiciary panel.
Republican state Senator Ben Kieckhefer told the Reno Gazette Journal that the creation of a state oversight body could help attract events and boost tourism in Las Vegas and northern Nevada. “That’s the hope,” he said, pointing to Athletic Commission regulation of mixed martial arts. “That partnership with those events really helped that industry explode and grow to what it is today,” he added.
Under the measure, the governor would appoint a commission executive director and commissioners to regulate eSports and require sponsors to get permits for events with purses of more than US$1,000. The commission would need state funding.
Nevada has an industry-leading state Gaming Commission and Gaming Control Board. The Legislature in 2019 created a Cannabis Compliance Board to regulate the state’s lucrative legal marijuana market.
Kieckhefer said eSports is growing and that nearly 5,300 tournaments were held worldwide in 2019, attracting more than 27,000 players and millions of viewers live or online. The industry is expected to bring in nearly US$1.6 billion in annual revenue by 2023, compared with US$950 million in 2020.
An estimated US$15 billion a year is wagered on eSports globally, Kieckhefer said, putting it at a level with golf and tennis.
He said the new 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders, could host huge events like the typically sold-out League of Legends World Championship now held at rotating venues each fall.
The 2018 final held in Berlin, Madrid and Paris was watched by nearly 100 million unique viewers, identified by their IP addresses, according to League of Legends figures. That was up from 60 million viewers in 2017.
In 2016, the last time the championships were held in North America, the venues were in Chicago, San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles.
Kieckhefer, who represents the Carson City area, said northern Nevada could also host events. He cited the example of events hosted at the 78-lane National Bowling Stadium that opened in 1995.
Source: GMB / AP
