- DraftKings patrons of the site can now play Counter-Strike: Global Offensive as a daily fantasy game.
- The United States Supreme Court’s striking down of a 1992 federal law has paved the way for esports betting.
- Each year $150B USD in illegal bets are made on sports.
Today, DraftKings announced that patrons of the site can now play Counter-Strike: Global Offensive as a daily fantasy game. Counter Strike: Global Offensive is a team-based first-person shooter where two teams of five go head-to-head, switching sides half-way through, in the attempt to detonate a small device and defend that detonation. Detailed statistics are kept in-game such as kills, assists, deaths, damage done, accuracy, and more. This is how DraftKings will run its daily games.
DraftKings already facilitates daily games for both Rocket League and League of Legends that work similarly to that of this new Counter-Strike daily league.
DraftKings, a U.S.-based daily fantasy sports contest and sports betting provider, is normally associated with sports such as the National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB), and the National Football League (NFL), but has entered the esports space as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has forced countries to stop public gatherings which includes sporting events.
Esports competitions and matches can be played in such a way that even the players are not in close proximity (online), thus allowing the competitions to continue. As it stands esports is truly one of a very small number of sports that can still be played.
When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a 1992 federal law (Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Assn.) that banned commercial sports betting in most states, this created an opportunity for legal betting sites to allow esports betting on sites they control. According to the New York Times, this would also help eliminate the $150B in illegal wagers on professional and amateur sports that take place each year.
Now, with the decision being handed down by the highest court in the U.S., esports betting is becoming more prominent. Nevada regulators have approved betting on the ESL Pro League–another Counter-Strike league–and numerous other sites are getting ready for launch.
