For the first time, Nevada sportsbooks are going to allow betting on a virtual auto racing event, starting with the iRacing event at the virtual Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday.
With the number of viewership that the 2020 eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series has been receiving, Nevada Gaming Control decided to approve betting on the virtual NASCAR races. Scott Warfield, NASCAR managing director of gaming, explained on NASCAR’s media site:
During this time of uncertainty, eNASCAR has provided sports fans around the world with an exciting form of sports entertainment that is helping restore some normalcy to the weekend.
Now, courtesy of our partners at Penn Interactive, fans can foster an even deeper connection with the new series and have even more incentive to tune into eNASCAR on Fox and FS1.
While Nevada regulators were hesitant to approve betting on esports until now, but with the ongoing crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing recognition of the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series has made them change their regulations on esports events. esports Counter-Strike and 2020 ESL One Dota Los Angeles tournaments have also been approved by Nevada Gaming Control.