The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) recently announced the inclusion of NASCAR iRacing to its list of approved events for sports betting. It reflects as eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series on the list.

Categorization as eSports

The DGE has not classified NASCAR iRacing as “racing.” Instead, it has added it to the “eSport” category. This is because the competition occurs in a racing simulator, not a physical track with real vehicles. All eSports must be specifically permitted by the DGE before they can be offered for sports betting in the state.

The state of Nevada also authorized NASCAR iRacing betting last weekend. The state does not classify the competition as a professional event. However, many professional iRacing drivers and NASCAR drivers participate in the event.

Can iRacing replace real racing?

For now, NASCAR iRacing is the closest thing that people will get to the real NASCAR races. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the sporting events have been canceled which has left the sports betting operators stunned. As there are no events to bet on, these operators are now looking for eSports events that could help them recover their losses.

iRacing can be defined as a simple video game. However, it is much more advanced than an average Xbox or PlayStation game. It is the deepest auto racing simulation game that you can find on the market. This is the reason why racing the game feels more realistic and is filled with more thrills. The game comes with simulations of dozens of real race tracks that are accurate to the smallest degree. All the details have been faithfully reproduced in the game.

All the cars are programmed with the physics engines so that they can handle the race just like the real vehicle they have been built on. This will include things like fuel consumption and tire wear. Legendary racer Jeff Gordon said that iRacing sims feel exactly like real vehicles, they just don’t have G-forces. The athletes participating in the eNASCAR iRacing Pro event include iRacing pros as well as retired and current NASCAR drivers. Some of the competitors use a regular gaming PC coupled with a steering wheel while others maintain a custom cockpit rig.

The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational event has become very popular in recent times. The first of these events was held on March 22 this year. It was telecasted on the FSI cable network and had 93,000 viewers.