Esports Entertainment Group Forms Skill-Based Wagering Partnership with Hard Rock Casino
Published: Dec 15, 2021 - Last Updated: Jul 7, 2023
It’s a widely-known fact that in the United States, esports betting is a relatively touchy subject. For the most part, esports betting is somewhat ‘outlawed’, with markets being made available on a state-by-state basis. Recently, an announcement was made that actively challenges this fact. When 2022 arrives, we’ll see the first-ever ‘sanctioned’ esports skill-based wagering event, held at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Atlantic City, in New Jersey. It’s a landmark partnership between that establishment and the Esports Entertainment Group.
This event is being regarded as a ‘tremendous accomplishment’, and it promises to offer both competitors and bettors a never-before-seen experience. The tournament is poised to kickstart a wave of activity on LANDuel, a player-vs-player wagering platform that the Esports Entertainment Group purchased in June of 2021.
Into The Competition
Between the 22nd and the 23rd of January, 2022, this enormous, inaugural tournament will be held. It’ll feature the gaming talents of 256 players, battling it out on Madden NFL 22. As this tournament is backed by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, esports betting will be the order of the day. However, it isn’t necessarily the esports betting that we all know and love, as a slight twist is being applied by the EEG and the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
For this event, competitors will be permitted to place wagers on themselves throughout the tournament. These bets will be backed by the aforementioned LANDuel platform, hosted by EEG itself. Outside of the tournament, it has been said that non-competitors will be able to play, utilising the LANDuel platform and placing bets on their own performance. The Hard Rock Casino and Hotel is all too happy to welcome this event, with Joe Lupo, President, stating:
We are extremely proud to offer a one-of-a-kind esports wagering experience in partnership with EEG. We are confident that this innovative and highly regulated partnership will prove to be a success, contributing to our market-leading gaming offers.
As part of this grand partnership, the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino will collaborate with EEG to install a permanent esports betting structure. This truly is a unique event, and it could lay the groundwork for future events to occur across the country.
Not Necessarily The First
While this in-person tournament genuinely is a one-of-a-kind event, it isn’t the first time a peer-to-peer wagering platform has existed. While LANDuel will be the operator of choice for this event, there was once an offering that presented similar opportunities to players. Last year, we covered the Unikrn UMode platform, which gave players the ability to place wagers on themselves when competing against other gamers.
While Unikrn has temporarily closed, it is due to resurface in 2022, following an acquisition by Entain. If you’d like to learn more about the platform ahead of the re-launch, check out our Unirkn review. It’s a specialist esports betting platform with fantastic potential for both new and veteran bettors.
