Not sure yet where to begin … and while the concept of playing competitive video-game tournaments online for real money isn\’t exactly new (FIFA interactive World Cup, eg) … it\’s apparently about to get a whole lot easier.
The site is called BringIt.com, and will be legal in 39 US states. (Like holy fugk, you can even transfer funds via PayPal!)
http://www.gamepolitics.com/2009/08/03/site-allows-players-wager-video-games-legal-39-states
BringIt plans to make money on a rake — pretty much just like poker — as well as some fund withdrawal processing fees. The Associated Press on the legality of it all here.
Depending on how all this shakes down, game of luck vs. skill definitives will be even more relevant than before … and at a minimum may open a new window for online poker to distinguish itself from online gambling. The online (non-poker) gaming sites that will inevitably spring up should BringIt actually bring it, meanwhile, will have to deal with all the same regulatory stuff that we want to deal with to protect fairness, ensure integrity, disable cheat codes, etc.
Still too early to tell. And BringIt is only supposed to go live in low-stakes Beta this week. But it should be a very interesting site to watch …
(Thanks @MSomm for the tip.)