INDUSTRY WANTS TO INSURE INTEGRITY

with prize purses over $1,000. Kieckhefer has proposed an amendment to increase the commission to five members and create a technical advisory committee of esports professionals, including game publishers, event organizers and players. The committee would advise the commission on esports standards and sanctioning. Members would not receive compensation.

The amendment would also remove the $1,000 threshold for events sanctioned by the commission, which would decide which tournaments would be regulated.

“There are different ways that you can slice it up, right? There are collegiate tournaments, there are amateur tournaments, there are professional tournaments, there are a bunch of buddies who want to get together to throw a tournament,” he said. “I think experts should be able to make the decision about what types of events should be sanctioned and they should set that threshold.”

Kieckhefer said the commission could also address issues such as allegations of match fixing or point shaving.

“This would be the first (body) that really has some sort of regulatory oversight where it tries to establish standards and ensure that they’re followed and enforced, and I think what’s really interesting about that is we’re not alone in thinking about it,” he said. Regulatory measures are also being discussed in Japan and the European Union.

Hannigan said there had been a push in the esports community to ensure integrity, and the industry takes cheating violations seriously.

He said his company wanted to be an active partner on any issue that would positively affect the esports community.

“When you think about Las Vegas, it’s so well positioned with all of the hotels, the entertainment, the infrastructure … for continued growth and attracting esports events,” Hannigan said.

Kieckhefer said a light-touch regulatory body would give esports a further boost.

“You don’t want to use the term legitimize because it might undermine what happened already, but it will create a little more authority, I think, and there’s value in that,’ Kieckhefer said. “When a government starts taking something like this more seriously, that should give confidence to investors to put money into companies in this ecosystem.”

OTTO KITSINGER / AP Students work in the control room during an esports match March 4 in Boise, Idaho. Nevada Republican state Sen. Ben Kieckhefer wants the state Legislature to create a sanctioning body modeled after the Nevada Athletic Commission to regulate esports games that pit video players and teams against each other for money and championships.