It’s unanimous! Amateur sports regulations no longer ban betting on Olympic events at your favorite Nevada sportsbook. You can bring home the green in Vegas while your favorite USA athletes bring home the gold in Rio in August 2016.
On February 24, I reported HERE Olympics that a group led by the South Point Casino sportsbook was lobbying the Nevada Gaming Commission to rule that the ban on non-collegiate amateur sports should not apply to Olympic events because of the professional status of most participants. As hoped, the Commission totally agreed. Two days later, on February 26, In a move unopposed by anyone in the industry, gambling regulators in Nevada voted to allow betting in Las Vegas sportsbooks on the 2016 Olympic Games.
Bookmaker William Hill has already released a mobile app with future odds for many of the events. His line for the USA to win in men’s basketball opened at -320. Usain Bolt’s chances of a gold medal for the 100 meter dash are -200. You can see other futures listed in the March 12 Las Vegas Sun article by Case Keefer HERE.
Changes may eventually extend beyond Olympic sports. The commission amended the language in the regulations to specify that bets can be accepted only on events not likely to be affected by wagering. Also, there will not be betting on children’s events such as the Little League Baseball World Series. Keep in mind too, what we discussed in earlier posts about restrictions on internet betting and sports betting in all but four states currently. Nevada is hoping the 2016 summer Olympics will prove to be as financially successful for the casinos as the World Cup games were last summer. Here’s hoping they’ll be financially successful for you and me too!
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