5/23/17

Will NFL Fans Be Able To Gamble At Las Vegas Raiders’ Games?

You can bet on just about anything in Las Vegas casinos and sportsbooks, but could you soon be making wagers inside the future home of the NFL’s Oakland Las Vegas Raiders? 

It’s possible, ESPN reports, as the Las Vegas Stadium Authority voted last week to approve a lease for the NFL team’s new home — which they won’t actually occupy until 2020 — that contains a bit of a betting loophole.

While the lease, which must still be approved by NFL owners, prohibits “any gaming or gambling, maintaining or operating of a Gaming Establishment and/or sports wagering or any wagering on racing or other non-sports events,” it doesn’t mention anything about virtual gambling.

This loophole could allow visitors of the stadium to use mobile sports betting apps offered by sportsbooks in the state, officials with the Nevada Gaming Commission and Stadium Authority tell ESPN.

Many of the sportsbooks in Nevada allow gamblers to place bets on sporting events via a specific mobile app, as long as they are inside state lines, ESPN notes.

With the Raiders planning to move to the Silver state in 2020, it seems that when someone goes to the stadium to watch a game they can use their always present smartphone to make a little wager.

A spokesperson for the NFL tells ESPN that the Raiders are required to abide by League gambling rules, but didn’t specify which rules he was referencing.

Of course, the NFL has two years to take action on the loophole; either by negotiating a new lease or asking the Nevada Gaming Commission to use geolocation technology to cut off access to sportsbook’s apps in the stadium. So far, however, a rep for the Commission tells ESPN it hasn’t been approached by the NFL.

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