Many gamblers love sports betting. That’s because most gamblers love sports. It’s a natural fit – randomness, chance, entertainment, glory! – but it’s not always a legally clear area, particularly in the United States. However, new law reforms have somewhat opened up the gambling market in the States, and punters and casino owners are looking to cash in.
The latest to rush to the starting gate is casino owner, Derek Stevens, who owns the Golden Gate and the D Las Vegas in the world’s most famous gambling city.
Stevens has announced that three new “sports betting experiences” will now be available to gamblers at his properties. The development is in partnership with the media network, Vegas Stats & Information Network, which will have its own in-house studio as part of the deal.
Stevens says: “Our entrance into the legal sports wagering market is timely and will be enhanced with our 10% investment into VSiN. We look forward to operating the D and the Golden Gate Sportsbooks while creating the most dynamic sportsbook in Las Vegas history and the new VSiN Studios at our 18 Fremont project.”
This is an exciting time for sports fans in the states, who have watched the legal sports betting scene in other countries with envy for years. In May 2018, the US Supreme Court changed the law on sports betting, allowing a major liberalisation of the rules that experts reckon could see legal betting on games in the vast majority of states over the next few years.
While gambling in Nevada was already legal, these new rules allow the likes of Stevens’ massive new developments.
Massive screens will show events, while VSiN pipes in the in-depth facts and figures that will help bettors make the most of the experience.
Sports betting in the States has long had a shady history. Organised crime in America was largely built on the back of illegal gambling, which was strictly limited, but nonetheless extremely popular.
Once the preserve of shady back-street rooms with wire links to sporting events, and linked to dishonesty and fraud, sports betting will now get the palatial setting that Vegas deserves.
This new initiative will also feature an app for online users. But it will take a while for the US to catch up with the international market, which has been betting on sports on the web for years, and has a well-developed industry that’s smart and easy to use.
Players in the UK, for example can choose from wagering with cash, and even debit cards, online wallets like PayPal, there are even innovative solutions like Payforit casinos that allow direct payments straight from a mobile phone with no need to visit websites or juggle payment cards.
That is surely in the future for the US market too. For the moment, many websites still have a “No US Customers” sign up, and gamblers in America must use bricks-and-mortars casinos or race track bookies.
The new sports betting experiences in Vegas are an attempt to address this gap by creating a fun atmosphere and a luxury experience for guests who want to enjoy two great American pastimes: wagering and sports.
It’s also good news for Las Vegas, which sees a major development going up at the Golden Gate casino in part of a development that could redevelop a whole section of the desert city. They have the tech too, with VSiN, streaming information and pictures across every platform you can think of. Now they have a venue for legal sports gambling that fits their excellent service.
