Nevada sportsbooks are now accepting bets on some of the most popular esports competitions in the world.
Starting this week, betting markets on Overwatch League (OWL), League of Legends European Championship (LEC), and the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) in North America are available to gamblers in the United States.
With the widespread shutdown of sporting events due to the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), bookmakers have started to offer increasingly creative markets for customers.
Esports are dominating the featured sections of popular North American-facing bookmakers, replacing the likes of football, basketball, baseball, and hockey.
Sports fans have still been able to get their share of sports action, however, as betting for Madden NFL, NBA 2K, and FIFA 20 competitions have been widely available at betting sites since the pandemic started.
The Nevada Gaming Control’s decision to approve gambling on OWL, LEC, and LCS is a huge step forward for the leagues who will likely now gain the attention of many who have not previously been exposed to esports before.
A LEC best-of-five series between G2 Esports and MAD Lions commences today. North America’s LCS kicks off not long after with Evil Geniuses facing FlyQuest in another best-of-five series.
2020 #LCS Spring Finals weekend kicks off tomorrow at 1PM PDT / 10PM CEST with @FlyQuest facing off against @EvilGeniuses. The winner of that match will move on to face @Cloud9 in the 2020 #LCS Spring Finals on Sunday at 1PM PDT / 10PM CEST! pic.twitter.com/YIbZXnBi4R
— LCS (@LCSOfficial) April 17, 2020
