Category: Legal

Washington State Legislature Looks at Skins Gambling

MLS latest to venture into esports

Major League Soccer is the latest to venture into esports.  It was announced that the MLS is partnering with EA Sports to create a competitive league around FIFA 18.

Last year, it was announced an eLeague featuring several cities with NBA teams centered around the NBA2K video game franchise.  The NFL has worked with the Madden franchise in offering tournaments around the football game.

19 MLS teams will participate with each club selecting its own player from its region.  It will debut in April at a gaming festival in Boston.

The league will be known as eMLS.

Jack in the Box signs on as esports primary sponsor for Dallas Overwatch team

Fast Food chain Jack in the Box announced a “multiyear, multimillion-dollar” sponsorship deal to display its logo on jerseys worn by the Dallas Fuel of the Overwatch League.

The Fuel is owned by Team Envy and is one of 12 global franchises that’ll compete in the inaugural season of the Overwatch league starting in December.  The deal also includes Team Envy’s Call of Duty team.

Jack in the Box sees esports as a way to reach a hard-to-reach demo according to the company.  The signing make the Fuel the first Overwatch team to sign a primary sponsor.

Microsoft stores to host League of Legends tournaments

Late last month Microsoft announced that it will turn its physical stores into esports gaming arenas.  The move intends to bring players into its stores and will likely help enhance retail.

Partnering with ASUS Republic of Gamers and HyperX, it will host weekly League of Legends events across the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and Australia.

Via Microsoft

Touted as ROG Arena, players of all levels will get a chance to play League Unlocked, a premium experience for official League of Legends partners and live events.

The move acknowledges the popularity of esports and hopes to capitalize on bringing together a community of players.  Obviously, having these tournaments in the Microsoft store provides retail opportunities for the company.  An interesting idea that will likely foster a relationship between the company and the burgeoning rise of esports across the world.

Twitch announces plan for users to earn money

Live video gaming site Twitch revealed new ways for its users to monetize through the use of its site.

On Wednesday, it announced 20 new extensions to help content creators increase engagement and interaction.  “Twitch Extensions” allows users to customize their channel pages with interactive features, including polls, leaderboards, tickers, interactive game information, virtual pets among other things.  While the extensions will facilitate engagement, it will also help streamers generate additional revenue.

An extension called “Gear on Amazon” lets Twitch creators show off their favorite Amazon products.  Similar to clicking through an Amazon Associates web site, if a viewer makes a purchase through the site, the creator will earn a commission. Even though Amazon.com owns Twitch, it’s the first time that the site users have been invited to join the program.

In addition, Twitch is opening up the extension platform broadly to third-party developers.

The move is another sign of the continued monetization of esports.  While Twitch is expanding into to other areas, gaming is at its core and utilizing the popularity to incentivize its most popular users to help the company sell product makes sense.  We will see how many Twitch users hop aboard.

NFL partners with EA for Madden foray into esports

The NFL is the latest to dive into esports with a partnership with EA Sports to create a nationwide “Madden NFL 18” tournament.  The Club Championship will begin with local tournaments in each of the 32 team league markets with a representative from each team getting a chance to represent the team in the championship rounds.

The individual teams will wet up the tournaments and they may be hosted at NFL stadiums and other team facilities.  The championship-round events will take place at the Pro Bowl in Orlando and Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis.

The move brings the NFL into esports.  Although it is not the same as the NBA’s formation of an eleague with Take-Two Interactive, it is a push toward involving its video game with fans.  Notably, only 17 NBA teams are participating in the initiative which starts this fall.  But all 32 NFL teams will be participating in Madden.

There were no financial terms on the creation of the Madden NFL Club Championship.  Although there was no announcement on a broadcast or streaming deal which would air the tournament, you might expect one occurring in the near future.

ESPN had aired previous tournaments involving EA Sports’ Madden series.

The move reflects the growing market for esports and leagues attempting to jump on the bandwagon to engage fans and eventually monetize.

eSports to receive consideration for 2024 Olympics

The Washington Post reports that Paris is considering the inclusion of eSports in its 2024 Olympic program.  The inclusion of video gaming is a sign of legitimacy for a sport that is growing more and more each year.

According to a report by Fortune, fans are expected to reach 145 million people in 2017.  The Asian Games will debut eSports as an exhibition event in 2018 and add it officially in 2022.  eSports is set to appear at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games next month.  Four games will be featured next year:  Dota 2, StarCraft II, Hearthstone and a sports game.

Last week, Dota 2, held its annual event at the KeyArena in Seattle.  The tournament offered $25 million in prize money and fans flocked to watch on the big screens inside the Arena as well as those set up around the concourses.

Undeniably, eSports is a big business with massive opportunities for game developers, creators and, of course, players.  It will be interesting to see how receptive eSports will be for an Olympic committee which has excluded baseball in the past.

FTC to block DFS company merger

A proposed merger between DraftKings, Inc. and FanDuel, Inc. will be challenged by the Federal Trade Commission.  The FTC claims that the merger would create a company that controls more than 90 percent of the market.

In the past rivals, the companies decided to join forces in November 2016 as each fought state regulators to get Daily Fantasy Sports legalized.  According to data from Eilers and Krejcik Gaming, the two companies have 95 percent of daily fantasy sports.

The FTC will file a lawsuit requesting a preliminary injunction to prevent the companies from closing the deal while it proceeds with an internal review to determine if the merger is legal under antitrust law.

Nevada law establishes esports betting in state

A new Nevada law signed by the Governor late last month clarified the legality on esports betting.  The new bill allows parimutuel esports betting within the state.

The new law amends language to ensure that “other events” are included in parimutuel wagering.  The gaming laws and parimutuel laws are different in Nevada and thus the law sought to clarify the legality of betting on esports.

The move is another sign that Vegas wants to be the hub of esports.  Some Vegas hotels are converting some of its space to host esports gaming tournaments.  The lure is to bring in the younger demo with hopes of it spilling into their casinos.  The new bill grants the chance for a broader opportunity to bet on esports.