Establishing a dialogue with game publishers will be integral to scaling eSports in the U.S, according to panelists speaking at ICE London Wednesday.
The discussion was focused specifically on the future of eSports following the U.S Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act last May.
The panel urged game publishers to take a stance more akin to that of the sports leagues, warning that the current disconnect between the two industries had the potential to drastically limit the market.
Esports integrity commissioner Ian Smith said the publishers were “in denial” about the existence of gambling on their games. As a result, they were neglecting their duty to educate participants.
Jennifer Roberts, associate director of UNLV’s International Center for Gaming Regulation said, “From a consumer protection point of view, this has to be done because otherwise the publishers are putting themselves a risk of further regulation, further oversight, and destroying the product.”
Added Roberts, “The gambling exists, it’s just like sports, so (publishers can) confront it and do something about it or let it be illegal until it’s shut down and destroys the industry.”
The panel, which also included ESP Gaming President Jeff Liboon and Efighting League Chairman Umesh Perera, unanimously agreed that the publishers were the largest unique challenge to eSports’ future.
Liboon said the key to minimizing this threat was to be selective about who pitched the eSports agenda to publishers.
“If you have the right people push it responsibly, then things work out,” he said, adding that he had sympathy with publishers who had seen the industry “marred by a ton of scandal on the gambling side.”
“They’re there to make games, that’s making the majority of their revenue. If any gambling revenue comes alongside it, if you’re a big publisher, that’s great but you don’t want to jeopardize your main source of income,” Liboon said.
The panel also expressed concern over the emerging threat of the U.S Department of Justice’s revised ruling on the Federal Wire Act, which superseded the 2011 opinion that the law only applied to sports betting. Many in gaming industry are concerned the new interpretation could curtail the online gaming industry in the U.S.
Roberts described the 1961 criminal federal law as “the biggest hurdle” the industry was facing in the U.S at this time.
She said last month’s reinterpretation of the Wire Act has increased uncertainty around its application to all gambling transactions, even those inside state lines.
“People are left wondering are they going to get a knock on their door from federal law enforcement saying you are in violation of this law, so it’s kind of terrifying,” she said.
