The 2017 League of Legends world championship. You can bet on Esports in many US states (Photo by Richard Ye. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license).
The popularity of Esports in the USA is unquestionable. Some 37% of the worldwide Esports market exists in North America.
Another popular activity growing alongside this Esports spurt is betting on Esports. In 2024, the Esports betting market worldwide was assessed to be worth $671.78 million US.
Again, the USA is leading the way. Statistics show that the United States is creating vast Esports gambling revenue. The projected betting handle for American Esports betting in 2024 is $721.2 million.
That’s despite the fact that several US states are slow or even reluctant to add Esports as a legal betting market within their state. Currently, 38 US states offer legal and regulated sports betting to people inside their state.
Five states – Nevada, New Jersey, Colorado, Tennessee and West Virginia – offer 100% access to wagering on Esports. Several other states, including Arkansas, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island – limited Esports betting is permitted.
However, the majority of US states that offer legal and regulated sports betting still maintain a 100% prohibition on Esports betting. For instance, the best sports betting apps Maryland offers don’t offer any type of wagering on Esports.
Looking through the states that have come aboard to offer Esports betting, let’s examine each one and see what’s on its Esports wagering menu.
New Jersey
In 2019, the Garden State became the first US state to provide legal and regulated Esports betting via its sportsbooks. All of the top sports betting sites in the state offer wagering on Esports events. The state was required to modify its gaming laws to incorporate Esports.
Caesars was quick to embrace Esports in New Jersey. Caesar’s Atlantic City would play host to the first esports tournament in the state with Gears of War Pro Circuit in 2017. Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City would host a Rainbow Six Siege Pro League Event one year later. New Jersey even briefly offered an all-Esports sports betting site, VIE.gg, although it ceased operating after about a year in business.
Nevada
With massive crowds attending Esports events, it’s no wonder that sports betting sites in the USA are beginning to take wagers on Esports (Photo by SteelSeries. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license).
It seems only natural that the US leader in the gambling industry would be among the first to embrace ESports betting, and that’s been the case in Nevada for several years. In October 2023, the Nevada Gaming Commission cleared the path to complete legalized Esports betting within state lines.
Esports betting was allowable prior to this change, but in the past, each event was assessed on a case-by-case basis. In 2020, for example, the NGC approved wagering on the League of Legends European Championship (LEC), League of Legends Championship Series (LCS), and the Overwatch League (OWL).
Since 2023, betting on any Esports event has been widely approved. Nevada also permits gambling on Esports virtual sporting events such as eNASCAR. However, the NGC still has the power to ban or prohibit any Esports competition it feels does not meet the standard required for wagering purposes.
Tennessee
The sports betting market in the Volunteer State is unique in that it operates 100% online. There are no retail sports anywhere within Tennessee state lines. Therefore, it only seems natural that betting on Esports should be part of the Tennessee sports wagering landscape.
Online Esports betting regulations were adopted by the Tennessee Sports Wagering Advisory Council (SWAC) on March 10, 2022. That was nearly two years following the November 2022 launch of online sports betting in the Volunteer State.
While Tennessee does offer widespread Esports betting, the Tennessee Sports Wagering Advisory Council must approve every competition individually before online sportsbooks are permitted to offer odds to those looking to bet on ESports events.
West Virginia
While not one of the major US sports betting states in terms of population size or sportsbooks offered, West Virginia stands out as one of the small number of US states that welcomes the opportunity to provide wagering on Esports competition.
In 2021, a bill passed through both houses of the West Virginia state government that made betting on Esports 100% legal. West Virginia sports bettors can wager on such Esports events as League of Legends (League), Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), Dota 2, Valorant, and Fortnite, as well as many other options.
Another perk to betting on Esports in West Virginia is that the legal betting age is 18. In most US states, you must legally place a bet at least 21 years old.
Colorado
The Centennial State was another state that was an early arrival to the Esports betting party. It was in 2019 that Colorado began to legally offer wagering on Esports events.
However, for odds to be offered on an Esports event in Colorado, the competition must be approved by a sports regulating body. None of the players involved in the Esports competition can be of high-school age. Dota2, Call of Duty, League of Legends and Fortnite are the most popular Esports games in terms of betting in Colorado. You can also wager on virtual sports competitions like eNASCAR and NBA 2K. There are nearly 20 types of Esports bets that Colorado bettors can play.
