Betfred finally has a Nevada gaming license. The company will power the sportsbook at the Mohegan Sun Casino inside Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
The licensing approval from the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) comes shortly after a recommendation earlier in the week during an emergency Nevada Gaming Control Board meeting.
The Mohegan Sun Casino inside Virgin opened in March 2021 with a dormant sportsbook. For nearly two years, the venue has been showing games, but there was no operator to take any wagers.
That will change sooner than later. Mohegan Las Vegas general manager Joe Hassan says the company hopes to be operating in time to take Super Bowl bets on Feb. 12.
Mohegan will staff the sportsbook that will be managed by Betfred. All employees will report to Mohegan executives. The Betfred manager will report to his company as well as Mohegan.
When the Betfred at Mohegan Sun sportsbook opens, it will only offer retail sports betting inside the casino. Betfred will not offer a mobile sports betting app until the next football season.
Similarly, the sportsbook won’t have parlay cards until that time, either. Parlay cards are most popular during football season, so the delay isn’t a surprise.
There are also no plans to offer parimutuel horse race betting upon opening. This could change in the future but don’t hold your breath. Very few new sportsbooks are offering traditional horse race betting.
Betfred at Mohegan Sun sportsbook
While Betfred at Mohegan Sun sportsbook is inside of Virgin, the hotel operator has nothing to do with the sportsbook operation.
The sportsbook at the Mohegan Sun Casino is just under 1,300 square feet. There is room for approximately 100 people to watch the games on the video wall or one of 12 80” TVs.
For comparison, this is larger than either of the two newest retail sportsbooks to open in downtown Las Vegas.
Guests will also be able to watch the games at Skybox. The sports bar and lounge are outside the Mohegan casino but under the same Virgin roof.
The sportsbook betting counter has room for four ticket writers. There will also be two kiosks available inside the sportsbook. Betfred says the kiosks will have additional betting options.
There’s no word on whether or not there will be more kiosks around the property like other Nevada casinos offer.
Since there won’t be any mobile wagering when the sportsbook launches, all wagers must be placed with a person or kiosk inside the Mohegan Sun Casino at Virgin.
Betfred continues to expand
Betfred is a legal sportsbook with operations in the United Kingdom, South Africa and the United States. The company started in the UK in 1967, and operations continue to grow. In addition to Nevada, Betfred offers legal sports betting in the following states:
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Iowa
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Virginia
- Washington, DC
Betfred plans to launch in another five states at various points throughout the year.
The sportsbook operator has been in the news this week after pledging that it will pay all US bets on the Cincinnati Bengals to win the Super Bowl placed on Jan. 25, 2023, or earlier.
Bryan Bennett, chief operating officer of Betfred USA Sports, said:
“As a partner of the Bengals, we’ve had a special relationship with Bengals fans all season. After the team’s huge win on the road in Buffalo last week, we had seen enough to believe they’re the best team in the league. As a result, we made the decision to pay existing championship bets early as a goodwill gesture to fans and customers.”
During its meeting with the NGCB earlier this week, a spokesperson for Betfred said the company already has a partnership with the Vegas Golden Knights. The company has not shed light on any future promotions when it launches in Las Vegas.
