GAMING AMERICA | ARI FOX
ESPORTS IN THE CASINO We spoke with Ari Fox, of the Casino Esports Conference, about all things esports betting; including the future of the casino experience, how publishers can capitalize on the huge gamer market globally and the importance of authenticity when creating an esports wagering platform. When the Covid-19 pandemic first put the world into lockdown in March 2020, taking with it all live sports events and in turn the pastime of millions of bettors across the globe, esports was there to step in. Indeed, as people got used to spending time indoors, betting on popular video games became a regular occurrence, with products such as FIFA, League of Legends, and Counter Strike Global Offensive taking center stage, keeping the betting market alive. However, since then, esports betting has receded into the background, once again being usurped by its older, and much wealthier, cousin. With that in mind we caught up with Ari Fox, of the Casino Esports Conference and Gameacon, to get the rundown on the current state of 30 | GAMINGAMERICA
esports betting, and the potential it has to become a gaming powerhouse.
Can you give us a brief overview of esports betting in 2022? And the aims of the Casino Esports Conference? So, New Jersey just recently passed a law to allow esports betting for the very first time. There were a number of legislative issues involved in this because they (New Jersey lawmakers) were concerned about bettors being under the age of 18, so they made an addendum where as long as the majority of the players are over the age of 18 then that game can be sanctioned and allowed for wagering. That happened
recently and other states, like Nevada, are looking into this also. Because of the sheer numbers the esports community can bring, there is a large demand for esports wagering to work. However, I always say to people that there is a bigger picture that the industry as a whole is missing, this is why we run the Casino Esports Conference (CEC). When you compare esports to traditional sports, which is commonly done, those who come at it from the sports wagering side judge them via the same parameters; this shouldn’t be the case. Thus, the purpose of the CEC is to say, “if you want to extract anything from the esports bettor, in terms of brick and mortar, the bigger picture needs to be
