When the Supreme Court decided to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in May 2018, it allowed all 50 states to make their own decision on whether they wanted to legalize sports betting or not.
This put Nevada in a tight spot as prior to the Supreme Court ruling, Nevada had pretty much a monopoly over the sports betting market in America.
Nevada’s sports betting regulations are a bit outdated given the fact that it did not have to worry about competition for a number of years.
However, now that 20 states have legalized sports betting markets up and running, Nevada is feeling the pressure and one of the reasons for that pressure is outdated sports betting regulation.
Nevada’s regulations were set down decades ago. This is not surprising considering that the state legalized sports betting in 1949. The problem is that the new breed of sports betting regulations take modern technology into account and make things easier for the sportsbook operators and bettors. One prime example of this is sports betting account registration.
Nevada does not allow online registration like New Jersey as it requires bettors to show up in person and register and retail sportsbook. This outdated practice is hurting Nevada’s sports betting numbers.
KTNV Channel 13 Las Vegas
In a statement, Brendan Bussmann, a partner at casino research firm Global Market Advisors, said
Nevada was the leader in being able to allow mobile wagering (first) dating clear back to the wager pager. But it has not taken the full leap with mobile registration. In order for Nevada to continue to be the leader in gaming regulation, it should evolve their regulations to allow mobile registration.
Showing up in person at Nevada sportsbooks can be difficult for punters. Lining up at a kiosk just to place a bet when it could be done from the comfort of one’s home can be irritating to most sports bettors. Nevada is missing out on many opportunities by sticking to outdated laws that prevent remote registration.
This is especially true when it comes to peak sports betting times such as the Super Bowl, NBA playoffs and March Madness. Many bettors in Nevada will not go to the trouble of showing up in person, spending close to an hour in a queue to place their bets. Many of them either turn to illegal online sportsbooks or go to a state which allows online sports betting.
Nevada legislators have looked at making changes to their gaming laws in the past but have not taken a decision on remote registration. It might be time for them to reconsider their stance or continue losing out on sports betting revenue.
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