EEG announces partnership with Hard Rock Atlantic City for casino esports event
Esports Entertainment Group (EEG) has announced a partnership with Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City to hold an in-person event inside the casino, the first sanctioned skill-based esports wagering event in the United States.
The New Jersey-Based group was set to host a Madden NFL 22 esports skill-based wagering tournament with Hard Rock Atlantic City on January 22-23. It was also announced that the 256-person event was the first skill-based gaming event approved by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.
The details
EEG said that the participants would be allowed to bet on themselves in all rounds of the event. The two-day competition was set to be operated by EEG’s event operations platform, LANDuel, which will be launched at the event.
EEG further revealed that the event space would provide personal computers for tournament spectators and casino guests for them to bet on their own matches outside of the tournament.
Players competing at the event will be required to check in to create their LANDuel account and once they are assigned to a computer, they begin the tournament play. Players then place their bets and compete with other players to make their way to the finals
What they said
“We are extremely excited to partner with one of the top global hotel and casino venues to kickstart the world of regulated peer to peer wagering in esports,” said Grant Johnson, CEO of Esports Entertainment Group,
“This partnership and event are a tremendous accomplishment for our brand and creates a wide variety of opportunities for our groups to explore more innovative esports events.”
The release asserted that the partnership was set to make esports betting events and installations a “permanent” activity at the casino and hotel venue through LAnDuel.
In addition, Joe Lupo, President of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City was “extremely proud” of this partnership and promised to “offer a one-of-a-kind esports wagering experience.”
“You don’t see many live, skill-based esports events, so in that regard, Esports Entertainment Group’s activation with Hard Rock Atlantic City is quite unique,” Esports Insider commented on the collaboration.
“Perhaps, more importantly, the backroom staff at EEG has gotten approval from New Jersey regulators to carry out the event. It’ll be interesting to see if esports indeed becomes a common suspect on the casino floors of the Hard Rock in Atlantic City as the release states.”
Previously, it was announced on Tuesday, December 7 that EEG would partner with the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League for the Madden 22 Tournament.
“The popular tournament gives fans the opportunity to compete against each other for a chance to win exclusive Los Angeles Chargers prizes, such as two tickets to an NFL game and a custom Chargers jersey,” EEG said in a statement.
Chargers Chief Revenue Officer Jim Rushton added that the partnership would create “deeper connections and meaningful engagements with our fans”.
“We believe this first Madden Tournament will be very popular with our fans and a fun way for them to compete to experience a Chargers Game at SoFi Stadium and earn other amazing Chargers prizes.”
The online tournament is set to take place on Tuesday, December 21.
