The significant growth of the esports betting industry hasn’t gone unnoticed by legislators. Several nations took great strides to enable legal esports betting in 2020, with Puerto Rico the latest governing body to consider legalising the act of placing wagers on competitive video games.

Then-governor Wanda Vázquez Garced signed off on Senate Bill 1534, which standardises betting laws across traditional sports and esports, though it will fall to current incumbent Pedro Pierluisi to oversee its implementation.

The bill’s passing marks the first positive step in a two-year struggle to bring legal video game betting to the territory. Thus far, only a handful of US states have formally acknowledged and regulated esports betting. The Virgin Islands have certified some forms of gambling, but nothing beyond what Puerto Rico has already achieved.

Importantly, the bill’s wording specifically mentions esports alongside the standard fare, something rare among existing gambling legislation.