Events G2E LAS VEGAS IAGA Conference Sessions
looking to create is at the pre-planning stage. He’s meeting with the major publishing houses to gather their thoughts and is speaking with the Nevada Gaming Control Board to access their views. Te plan is to establish both the ground rules and the red flags being raised on both sides. “Right now we’re just posing the questions,” says McMullen. “We’re going to have to address the structure of the eSports sector as a whole as there’s currently no accountability. No one has asked the publishers, who hold the intellectual copyrights to these games, if these third-parties are even allowed to conduct betting on the outcomes of their games/matches. Tey’re making money from someone else’s IP without explicit permission and that has to change. If the publishers are going to abide by policies and rules determined by the eSports Commission, then they need to be financially incentivised to do so - which potentially means taking a percentage of the rake.”
Te absence of money returning to the publishers means that right now, all the risk and all the potential regulatory burden is falling on the shoulders of the IP holders, while the betting operators take the cash without any accountability. It’s a position that McMullen thinks is both unfair and unsustainable. He believes that those operating eSports betting are doing so under the premise that they won’t be challenged or, if the rules do change, that they can’t be caught. Te analogy he uses is speeding faster than the police can catch you - an apt description of the current legal vacuum. A league body would ensure that wagering is fair for everyone, and McMullen believes that a rake is the answer to a major part of the issue.
ON THE WINNING TEAM McMullen is not, it must be stressed, some kind of
moral crusader. While there’s been a great deal of chatter about this issue on both sides of the regulatory fence, there’s also been a distinct lack of champions wanting to take up the issue. Sam’s involvement has been instigated by the Nevada Gaming Control Board
and it’s a response in the US to moves at the international level to address the problems surrounding eSports wagering. Tere have already been moves in Europe to establish an international eSports coalition, though it’s one that’s not as closely associated with a regulator.
In July, the eSports Integrity Coalition (ESIC) was officially launched in London, which saw the appointment of a commissioner to at as a recognised guardian of the integrity of eSports. It’s a response to the rapidly increasing threat of betting fraud arising from the burgeoning eSports betting market and is tasked with taking responsibility for “disruption, prevention, investigation and prosecution of all forms of cheating, including, but not limited to match manipulation and doping.” EISC is setting out its own standards too, creating a Participant Code of Conduct, an Anti-Corruption Code and Anti-Doping Policy, which can be viewed on the website
www.eSportsintegrity.com.
Te advantage McMullen and his team have is the backing of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, but the team is under no illusion that it’s going to be a straightforward process. “Tis is going to be marathon not a sprint,” concedes McMullen. “We’re not going to find an immediate solution. It’s taken the gambling industry decades to create its rules and regulations around slot machines, table games etc. We know this isn’t something that we can tackle at once. However, we do need to create a dialogue now and there’s a need for someone in the middle to moderate for both sides. We’re not looking to do this long-term, but rather use our connections to the eSports sector to instigate the process. And I believe that we’re uniquely positioned to get the ball rolling towards a framework that can be agreed upon by all parties.”
To listen to Sam McMullen debate this topic in more detail, sign in to the iAGA gaming session ‘Evolving Ways to Play, at G2E 2016.
“We’re not going to find an immediate solution. It’s taken the gambling
industry decades to create its rules and regulations
around slot machines, table games etc. We know this
isn’t something that we can tackle at once. However, we do need to create a
dialogue now and there’s a need for someone in the middle to moderate for both sides.”
IAGA
Critical Issues in Gaming Monday September 26, 2016 Sands Convention Centre, Las Vegas 10:00 - 17:15
Join the IAGA at G2E on Monday, September 26 for a full day of informative sessions focused on critical compliance, law and regulation issues facing gaming.
NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE /
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