Hopes for New Jersey eSports betting return

The somewhat confusing New Jersey position on the legality of eSports betting took an interesting turn mid-week when regulator the Division of Gaming Enforcement issued a set of Emergency Regulations indicating that as long as all competitors in eSports competitions are over the age of 18 years, the competitions are legal in the Garden State and open to betting under new state legislation.

Our readers will recall that earlier in the week it appeared that eSports betting had been excluded from the state law legalising sports betting following the overthrow of PASPA by the US Supreme Court last month. The apparent prohibition created a lively media and social media firestorm as the public rose up in protest.

The relevant section of the Emergency Regulations reads:

‘“Sports event” means any sport, athletic contest or athletic event not prohibited by the Director, including all professional electronic sports and competitive video game events that are not sponsored by high schools, do not include high school teams and do not include any participant under the age of 18 years.”

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