DreamHack Masters Spring Wagers Approved In Nevada
The Nevada Gaming Control Board announced on Wednesday that they will be permitting real-money wagers on DreamHack Masters Spring. This special exemption will allow all of Nevada’s licensed sportsbooks to offer – and accept – bets on the 2020 edition of DreamHack Masters. There will be three different types of wagers accepted; head to head, match winner, and overall winner.
The move signifies online gambling regulators continue to look favorably upon real-money betting on esports events – back in March we wrote about how Nevada had also allowed CS:GO wagering for the ESL Pro League.
Indeed, the DreamHack Masters Spring event is set to become the fourth CS:GO event to be approved by the Nevada Gaming Control Board within the last two months – clearly, the impact of COVID-19 has led many sportsbooks to look at new ways of generating revenue, and thankfully – the Gaming Control Board appear to be onboard.
What Are The Restrictions?
All sportsbooks in Nevada that hold a valid betting license will be able to accept wagers on the DreamHack Masters Spring as of now – however, there are some strict regulatory guidelines that need to be followed, and these have been outlined by the Control Board. First of all, the official rules which govern the event must be made publicly available via the event organizer -and this needs to be available to punters before sportsbooks begin taking wagers.
Any sportsbook in Nevada that wants to take bets on the DreamHack Masters Spring must also let the Enforcement Division know they will be doing so. They will be required to provide them with a “notification of terms”.
Unfortunately, the Control Board has ruled that in-play bets will not be allowed. This is due to the current regulatory requirements that dictate that wagers must be placed before matches begin. However, sportsbooks have been given free reign when it comes to setting their odds – and provided the rules and results surrounding the tournament are publicly (and easily) available to punters, the Control Board is pretty much giving operators a free pass to accept wagers as they like.
It’s also worth pointing out that licensed sportsbooks will also be able to offer different types of best than the three mentioned earlier – but any additional bet-type they want to offer will be subject to approval from the Control Board and will require a specific application. There’s no guarantee these requests will be accepted.
The Nevada Gaming Board’s approval for sportsbooks to legally be allowed to accept wagers on the DreamHack Spring Masters is promising news indeed. It’s also not the first time they’ve allowed operators to start taking esports bets; recently, exemptions have also been made for other popular games, including Call of Duty, Overwatch, League of Legends, iRacing and Dota 2. It’s clear punters are keen to bet on esports events, and it’s likely we’ll see operators continuing to offer these betting opportunities – especially given the current lack of sporting events around the world.
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