The sports book at the LINQ in Las Vegas posts odds on Mexican professional soccer on Saturday, March 14, 2020. The sportsbook cut back on hours because of limited betting action. (Jeff Scheid/The Nevada Independent) Despite a head start of decades, Nevada remains in sports betting Dark Ages
Nevada was the only state with legal betting on single games until 2018 when a Supreme Court ruling nullified the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act. That 1992 law had grandfathered in Nevada sports betting, while barring new states from legalizing it. Since it was overturned, 16 other states have legalized mobile sports betting.
Nevada and Illinois are the only states that require sports bettors to enter a physical casino in order to create a mobile wagering account. Iowa and Rhode Island launched mobile sports betting with the same policy in place, but both states eventually dropped it. At points during the pandemic, the Illinois policy was suspended by the governor. In Nevada, no such allowance occurred and sportsbook operators were forced to open pop-up locations to make it easier for new players to create accounts. (The Illinois General Assembly set an expiration of its policy for March 5, 2022. That will make Nevada the only state without remote registration.)
The decision to prohibit remote registration in Nevada cannot possibly be driven by any security issue, because Nevada already permits online poker players to create accounts remotely. It is the same technology that licensed mobile sportsbooks use in other states.
Nevadans, especially those outside Las Vegas, have fewer sports betting options because of this policy. A Nevada mobile sports betting operator must have a retail sportsbook, and players must go to the sportsbook to create an account. This limits the options available to Nevadans who do not routinely travel the state or visit tourist areas. A Reno sports bettor cannot sign up at an independent sportsbook in Las Vegas. A rural sports bettor often only has one sportsbook brand nearby, if one is available at all.
Even in Las Vegas, things aren’t always easy. Attendance around major events such as the Super Bowl and March Madness […]
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