Pennsylvania Lawmaker Renews Push to Legalize Esports Betting

Pennsylvania State Rep. Ed Neilson has introduced legislation earlier this week to legalize esports betting. Rep. Neilson made an attempt to do so in 2023, however, the bill stalled shortly after introduction.

Betting on esports would be similar to betting on a team when sports betting, whether it be the NFL, NBA or MLB. Neilson defines esports as an event, according to HB 1636:.

“An organized competition involving video games in which players compete against each other, individually or as teams, and the dominant element in determining the results is the relative skill of the players.”

The bill says that Pennsylvania bettors would be pro and college sports, a motor race event, esports or “any other competition or event of any kind approved for sports wagering by the board.”

Definition of ‘sporting events’ could be updated

As esports has become more and more popular across in Pennsylvania, Rep. Neilson is taking another shot at legalization. He also sees a chance to improve the statutes of what a sporting event actually is.

Rep. Neilson shared his ideas in a memo he wrote back in December. He said:

“Our laws do not provide the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) with this authority. These issues came to light a few years ago when there was interest in offering wagers on the National Football League (NFL) draft.

“Unfortunately, the NFL draft was not specifically referenced as a sporting event in our statutes and the PGCB had no authority to approve the event.”

That does not mean Rep. Neilson is advocating for odds on the NFL Draft. He just wants the laws to be more clear for the PGCB:

“To address these issues, I will be introducing legislation that would authorize wagering on E-Sports events and provide the PGCB with the deference in deciding what Pennsylvania’s sports wagering catalog should look like. “This change would not allow for anything and everything to be wagered on in Pennsylvania.”

The bill does not have any additional information on updated laws and statutes for sports betting, other than including esports as a sporting event. However, that could come with amendments should legislation move forward.

It also does not include a minimum age for esports players to bet on, either.