Fans at future Las Vegas Raiders home games will be able to "legally place bets on their phones" from inside the planned $1.7B, 65,000-seat stadium, "unless the league can persuade Nevada gaming officials to change policy," according to David Purdum of ESPN.com. Last week, the Las Vegas Stadium Authority unanimously approved a conditional lease agreement for the Raiders that includes language that prohibits "any Gaming or Gambling, the maintaining or operating of a Gaming Establishment and/or sports wagering or any wagering on racing or other non-sports events." However, nothing in the lease "blocks access to the mobile sports betting apps offered by the majority of the state's regulated sportsbooks." Nevada books have been "offering mobile sports betting for several years, allowing bettors to place wagers on their mobile devices from anywhere inside state lines." The NFL could ask the Nevada Gaming Commission to "prohibit access to the mobile sports betting apps at the stadium using available geolocation technology." The NFL during its games in the U.K., where gambling also is legal, "shuts down betting kiosks that are located inside venues like Wembley Stadium, but mobile wagering takes place inside the stadium regardless" (ESPN.com, 5/22). YAHOO SPORTS' Frank Schwab wrote it is "quite possible the NFL, which doesn’t exactly seem to be well versed in gambling technology, hadn’t thought of this option" before announcing the Raiders' move. However, there "doesn’t seem to be any real reason for the gaming commission to block the apps, if the NFL even asks, unless it just wants to be nice to the multi-billion dollar league" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 5/22).
