With both being products of the rapid advancement of the digital age, online casinos and eSports have experienced massive growth in popularity over the years. While both broadly fall under the category of online gaming, and do have some similarities and overlap, the distinctions between them usually come down to the manner in which each is regulated.
Being forms of entertainment, so far, both have also been in a constant state of flux in terms of where and in what manner they are regulated. That has sometimes cast periods of uncertainty over them. However, what is certain, is that both are highly popular and constantly growing. While things may always change, for now, here’s a look at the differences between how online casinos and eSports are regulated.
Online Casinos Have More Jurisdictional Flexibility
The first point of departure comes from what online casinos and eSports can offer players. Online casinos have evolved rapidly in the last two decades. One of their most startling advancements have come from so-called crypto casinos. These allow forms of private online gambling, greater anonymity, a more secure experience, and ways to circumvent geo-restrictions (source: https://insidebitcoins.com/bitcoin-casinos)
Online casinos that allow players to bet with or utilize cryptocurrency as a payment or payout method are, to an extent, harder to regulate. The fact that many online casino platforms also operate via offshore sites also play a hand in how they are able to avoid falling under local jurisdiction and the often stringent and complex regulatory regimes that feature in major markets like the UK and various states within the USA.
At its core, online casinos are sites or apps that facilitate the online playing of casino games, such as traditional card and table games like poker, blackjack, or roulette, and even a wide variety of slot games. The wide appeal of them stem from the fact that virtually any popular casino game can be played fairly, securely, for real money, and from the comfort of one’s own home.
The fact that many of the most popular and most secure online casinos now also accept cryptocurrencies only add to their allure. The most popular online gambling platforms that also operate as a trusted crypto casino are able to offer customers more flexibility, better privacy, cheaper, and more secure ways to enjoy their favorite casino games without being bogged down by local regulations.
Since the entire nature of online casinos means they can be accessed and utilized remotely, the company that runs them can be registered anywhere in the world, without a need to have a physical location in the region of their biggest markets. This, of course, affects which legal jurisdiction they fall under, with most able to avoid harsh or overly restrictive regulations by being owned by companies that are registered in offshore countries.
How eSports Differs
On the other hand, eSports has grown in popularity as an alternative to traditional sports that place an emphasis on athleticism. In contrast, eSports offer avid gamers the opportunity to play their favorite games professionally, and as a part of internationally recognized competitions and tournaments. This also means professional players can build real and lucrative careers through their favorite games, earning actual money and huge cash prizes for winning or placing in major tournaments.
The appeal of eSports also stems from the fact that it can be accessed and participated in entirely on a remote basis. This means that spectators and fans from all over the world can livestream tournaments, with platforms like Twitch making for popular ways for professional gamers to build up their popularity and fan bases.
eSports Doesn’t Have a Central Regulating Body
The growth and popularity of eSports has also created an online betting market for it, essentially placing it within the purview of the same regulations that apply to online sports betting and gambling. However, as an industry on its own, eSports currently lacks a worldwide unifying regulatory body.
While traditional sports are known for their global regulatory bodies which play an important role in them and ensure uniform rules and regulations across jurisdictions, eSports have more than one body attempting to create a similar structure for it. For example, football is currently regulated worldwide by FIFA, which organizes all of its major international tournaments like the world cup, and other major events — also ensuring that all local and regional regulatory bodies must abide by its overarching regulations.
eSports currently has multiple organizations such as the Esports Integrity Coalition (ECIC) and the International Esports Federation (IeSF) all vying for overall regulatory prominence over the industry as a whole. In contrast, online casinos are currently regulated by jurisdiction, and generally, subsumed under, or catered for as offshoots of regular gambling laws of general application within that jurisdiction.
Fairness, Legality, and Inclusivity
Both online casinos and eSports also have international organizations that cater to rules and customs that regulate things like fairness and certain legalities. Due to the fact that online casinos use real money, fairness is an important factor, with the largest and most popular online casinos voluntarily adhering to regular audits and publicly accessible accreditations that ensure international fairness standards are always met.
One such practice is for online slot games to utilize Random Number Generators (RNG) technology to ensure every player has a fair and random chance of winning. On the other hand, fairness in eSports focuses more on ensuring no players can gain an unfair advantage in competition through cheating or other tactics.
The industry also uses standards and rules to foster an open and inclusive platform accessible to anyone regardless of personal attributes, like ethnicity, gender, race, sexual orientation, or economic background. Massively popular games have their own standardized rules for championship tournaments, like that for Call of Duty.
Conclusion
While both online casinos and eSports have both become massive industries that are growing in popularity year-by-year, each have distinctive qualities and regulatory regimes. Where sports betting extends to eSports, the regulations usually fall under the same ones that govern a given betting site’s ordinary sports betting laws.
In general, online casinos are regulated by jurisdiction and fall under general or specialized gambling laws of general application, depending on the region. However, since the holding companies of online casinos are often registered offshore, and now offer things like crypto casinos, players have more ways to bypass local regulations for a more private gambling experience.
Meanwhile, eSports currently lacks a unifying regulatory body. However, it’s slowly developed rules and customs relating to important goals like fairness and inclusivity.
