Nevada sportsbooks do not expect betting ban on NHL team

Sportsbooks in Nevada have said they have not been informed of any potential betting ban on the new NHL ice hockey franchise that is set to launch in the US state’s gambling haven of Las Vegas.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman yesterday (Wednesday) signed off on a deal that will allow the city to house the league’s newest team.

There had been suggestions that the NHL would ban Nevada sportsbooks from taking bets on the team, which will become the first professional sports outfit to be based in Las Vegas, over fears of corruption and match-fixing.

However, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper, a number of the city’s leading sportsbooks have said that they have not been contacted over any restrictions and expect to be allowed to take bets on the team when it enters the league.

Jay Rood, sportsbook director for MGM Resorts, which owns the team’s new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, said: “I would think if the NHL is coming to Vegas, they would embrace it.

“My opinion would be that we should go ahead and book it; we don’t have an ownership interest, it’s just a facility relationship.”

Jay Kornegay, sportsbook director at Westgate, also said: “I would hope there would be no such restrictions because we would be sending the wrong message.

“We have been booking UNLV and UNR (US collegiate) games for almost 15 years now. It would not make sense at all to book local colleges and not the pro team.

“We should have our local college teams on the board. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just another game. It doesn’t attract more attention than any other game.

“There has not been a problem in 15 years, and I certainly believe there would be no problems booking a local pro team. I certainly believe we should have the NHL team on the board.

“I have not heard the possibility of some kinds of restrictions or guidelines.”

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