Nevada Premieres Regulated Betting on Virtual NASCAR Races

On Friday, the Nevada Gaming Control Board made a landmark decision announcing that the state’s sportsbooks are finally legally allowed to accept bets on the 2020 eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series. This newly regulated form of betting took off with last weekend’s event from the virtual Bristol Motor Speedway, which was the third in the series.

It is the first time that sportsbooks in the Silver State have been allowed to offer bets on virtual car racing events. In the past, the NGCB had been adamant when it came to the question of permitting residents to bet on virtual sports. However, following the recent struggles that sportsbooks have been facing, it was a much-welcomed move by the state’s gaming board.

More Virtual Sports Betting Events Approved for Betting

Two weeks ago, the race at the virtual Texas Motor Speedway set a record of 1.3 million viewers across FS1 and Fox, which is the biggest viewership ever for a televised eSports event. This new record topples the one previously held by the season premiere race of the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series at the Homestead-Miami Speedway which attracted over 900,000 viewers on FS1.

For sure, these numbers are a clear indication of the increasing demand for electronic sports, especially since many of us are stuck at home after all major sports events were called off. It’s no wonder why the Nevada Gaming Control Board has of late been more flexible on allowing regulated betting on eSports events, a previously unthinkable decision.

Other than the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series, the NGCB approved wagering on Dota 2’s 2020 ESL One Los Angeles last Friday. Besides, in the past two weeks the regulator has also okayed wagers on two Counter Strike: Global Offensive professional eSports leagues namely ESL Pro League Season 11: North America and the ESL Meisterschaft. To date, this brings a total of 4 approved virtual sports that the NGCB has approved for regulated betting.

Guidelines for Betting on eSports in Nevada

Nevertheless, even with the long-awaited green light on betting on virtual tournaments, wagers won’t include all the options that most of us are used to. Given that this is not exactly a traditional sport, the Nevada Gaming Control Board laid out a handful of rules to guide the activity. The most significant regulations that came with the new announcement are as follows;

All bookies must inform the bettors and patrons that iRacing simulators and the equipment that will be used for eNASCAR races might not be completely identical.
Official rules and regulations have to be published on the website of either the event hosts, the racing event organizer or the sanctioning body
The only types of wagers approved for eNASCAR races include match winners and driver-to-driver matchups. On the flip side, three types of wagers, i.e. overall winner, match winner and head to head have been allowed for the likes of ESL One Los Angeles.
Extra bets could be allowed but will need a separate application and approval first before they are available
In-play betting is not permitted, and therefore, all wagers must have been placed before the match or race begins.

As tight as the rules are, this progressive change brings a breath of fresh air and a whole lot of excitement in Nevada, now that residents can put their money where their mouth is on virtual sports.

Currently, the Draftkings online sportsbook is the only US sports betting site that took wagers on last weekend’s eNASCAR tournament. William Hill US, on the other hand, accepted wagers for the eNASCAR event via its mobile application.