Esports production provider Skillshot Media and American esports team Ghost Gaming have announced a partnership with the Georgia chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation is well-known for granting the wishes of critically ill children, giving them the opportunity to fulfill one of their dreams. Recently, Make-A-Wish executives have noticed an increasing number of these children expressing wishes related to esports.
The organization is not new to collaborating with the esports industry, as Make-A-Wish first partnered with Riot Games a decade ago.
Bad sports betting guidelines not sidelining Skillshot Videos and Ghosting Gaming
Once several legal efforts to legalize sports betting in Georgia all fell short before the 2023 legislative session ended, it also meant that fans of major esports competitions had their legal bets sidelined alongside professional and collegiate sports contests.
While that pushes the clock forward on betting legalization until next year, Skillshot Media and Ghost Gaming are not waiting to get involved in Georgia.
In 2021, Skillshot Media opened an esports facility in an uptown Atlanta mall that serves as a training ground and headquarters for Ghost Gaming.
“I have witnessed firsthand the power of a wish to change lives, and the power of the gaming community to grant those wishes,” said John Harris, CEO of Skillshot Media and Ghost Gaming, in a statement. “We are able to use our platform and engage a community of millions to amplify the amazing work of Make-A-Wish Georgia in providing hope to children and their families.”
By setting up shop in Atlanta, Skillshot and Ghost Gaming are not only making some incredible wishes come true but also positioning themselves for a future sports betting industry in Georgia.
Where are normally esports bets legal?
While three dozen U.S. states have legalized sports betting, only about a third of them allow sportsbooks to offer wagering on esports events to some extent. Nevada, New Jersey, Tennessee, and West Virginia have fully legalized esports betting, while an increasing number
of states are regulating the industry.
These states include Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Louisiana, Maryland, Nebraska, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming.
In this context, “regulated” means that bettors can wager on a limited range of esports markets and cannot do so through all available retail and online outlets.
Each state has a minimum age requirement for esports betting, ranging from 21 in most states to 18 in Wyoming.
Challenges experiencing esports gambling
In January 2022, New Jersey licensed the first esports betting agency, known as ESports Entertainment Group (EEG), along with its betting platform called Strive.gg.
However, nine months later, EEG announced that Strive.gg was shutting down its operations worldwide.
Just weeks before the shutdown, EEG CEO Grant Johnson stated that regulators, casino operators, and several professional sports teams had shown interest in esports. But Johnson expressed surprise at what he called the “ridiculous” concern that video games could lead to real violence and tarnish the reputation of anyone involved in promoting esports betting.
As mentioned, some states only allow esports betting on an event-by-event basis, which creates a complex process with little visibility. Many customers may not even be aware that the option exists.
The main concern in these markets has been not only about esports betting potentially attracting underage individuals who evade minimum-age laws, but also about the age of the esports players themselves. It is not uncommon for some esports professionals to be under the age of 21, raising the question, “Can a bet be placed on them?”
The answer to this question varies from state to state.
State laws vary in wagers in under-age participants
In Maryland, the betting law permits wagering on “an electronic sports or video game competition in which each participant is at least 18 years old.”
On the other hand, Tennessee laws do not specify the age of the gamer. It allows wagers on “any multiplayer game played competitively for spectators, either in real-time or through remote network, in which success primarily depends on the superior knowledge, training, experience, and adroitness of the players.”
Some states allow betting on events where the majority of participants are at least 21 years old, such as golf.
In 2021, in New Jersey, Megha Ganne, a U.S. Women’s Open player, was eligible to be the subject of bets at the state’s sportsbooks even though she was a 17-year-old high school junior in the state. This became more of an academic issue when Ganne, an amateur, had a share of the first-round lead and remained in contention through the weekend.
Lawmakers in many statehouses would likely oppose the idea of adults betting money on high schoolers, as evidenced by existing state gambling laws that prohibit wagers on high school/prep school sports.
Another issue facing lawmakers is whether to allow esports professionals aged 21 and over to legally wager on themselves at sportsbooks. This is not possible with traditional professional sports leagues, but esports has opened the door through bet-on-yourself programs.
If Georgia ever legalizes gambling, esports betting parameters will surely be debated, as they have been in every state where it has been legalized.
Fortunately, the young clients of the Make-A-Wish Foundation won’t have to wait for lawmakers’ decisions before seeing their esports dreams come true.
Jon Brennan included the improvement of legal sports betting on the list of issues considered by New Jersey arbitration judges in 2011. He would typically cover the lawsuit filed by the NFL and four other sports organizations against the state from 2012 to 2018, pending the ruling of the US Supreme Court on PASPA. The US Supreme Court eventually struck down PASPA. Since then, Brennan has been monitoring the efforts to legalize betting in every state, including Georgia.
