- Betfred’s plan to open a sportsbook at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas is moving forward.
- The Nevada Gaming Control Board has voted to recommend approval of Betfred’s license.
- The 1,300-square-foot Betfred Sportsbook at Virgin Hotels will have four betting windows and several self-service betting kiosks.
After a two-year wait, the plan to open a retail sportsbook at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas is finally moving forward.
On Wednesday, the Nevada Gaming Control Board voted 4-0 to recommend the British-founded sportsbook Betfred for licensing during its regular meeting.
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas will finally get a sportsbook after the Nevada Gaming Control Board on Wednesday recommended licensing for Betfred Group Ltd. as operators.https://t.co/2FP19A6QR0
— Las Vegas Review-Journal (@reviewjournal) January 25, 2023
Vice-chair Steven Cohen did not participate in the discussion and recused himself from the voting because lawyers at the law firm where he is a partner – Cohen Johnson, are involved. Cohen also met with representatives of Betfred before his appointment to the Board but does not have a pecuniary interest.
The betting shop at Virgin Hotels will have a 1,300-square-foot area. It will be powered by a state-of-the-art IGT betting system with four betting windows and several self-service betting kiosks. The facility will feature five 80-inch screens and a seating capacity of 100 bettors.
Initially, the Betfred book will offer only sports wagers and without race bets. Officials told the NGCB during a special meeting that they hope to add race betting and a mobile app before the end of this year.
When Virgin Hotels opened in March 2021, it already had allotted space for a sportsbook. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions at that time and the distance between Betfred’s headquarters in the U.K. and Las Vegas, it took the parties involved this long to finally move forward with the establishment of the sportsbook.
Betfred Questioned Over U.K. Fine
Present during Wednesday’s NGCB hearing was Betfred founder and chairman Fred Done who joined his team as they faced tough questions from the Board Members, who requested clarifications regarding the company’s failure to disclose a recent heavy fine levied by British regulators against Betfred.
The issue was the $3.6 million fine issued by the UK Gambling Commission for Betfred’s failure to adequately maintain social responsibility and anti-money laundering controls after the bookmaker accepted bets worth tens of thousands from bettors without doing security checks.
Per Board chairman Watkins:
In the end, the NGCB accepted Betfred’s explanation that it was not aware of the extent of information that it was required to provide in its license application. The Board then proceeded to unanimously vote in favor of the British sportsbook.
About Betfred
Betfred was founded in the north of England in 1967 by Fred and his brother Peter. It began with a single betting shop in Ordsall, Salford but is now the second-largest retail sportsbook operator in the United Kingdom after Entain. It currently operates 1,470 betting shops in the UK and has more than 11,000 employees worldwide.
Should the Commission grant final approval to Betfred, Nevada would be the 10th U.S. state where it has a presence. Currently, Betfred operates in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington. Betfred also plans to launch in six additional states this year – Alabama, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Oregon.
The Betfred sportsbook at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas will operate under the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, which runs the Virgin Casino. All but one of the employees at the sportsbook will be employed by Mohegan, with Betfred deploying one full-time manager on the premises. Player disputes, however, will be handled by Mohegan, not Betfred.
