Bettors will be able to wager on Las Vegas Knights games in Nevada, as the NHL is not moving to block wagering on the franchise’s games, per ESPN.
Betting on the Golden Knights
The news came via ESPN’s Emily Kaplan:
News: The NHL did not request for Golden Knights games to be removed from Nevada’s legal sportsbooks, deputy… https://t.co/IF9i4J5q3o
— Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) September 6, 2017
The league had up to 30 days before the first official Knights game of the season to make a request to Nevada gaming regulators to prohibit the booking of wagers on Knights games. For now, it appears, any books that want to take action on Knights’ games are free to do so.
The issue had become cloudy when Knights majority owner Bill Foley earlier told ESPN that “we go down on the sports books so you won’t be able to bet on the Golden Knights at some of the local casinos.” It’s still unclear how that comment from Foley could be accurate.
It’s still feasible that games could be taken off at some nearby books, as deputy commissioner Bill Daly alluded to “betting around the arena.” Sportsbooks are available at New York New York and Monte Carlo. Those are two MGM properties just steps from TMobile Arena, where the Knights play their home games.
NHL vs. sports betting
The NHL has been fairly quiet on the issue of legal sports betting in recent years.
Commissioner Gary Bettman, on more than one occasion, has said that he doesn’t think his sport lends itself to sports betting. The NHL also said that the team could sign deals with casinos that feature sportsbooks.
However, it remains a plaintiff in the ongoing New Jersey sports betting case headed to the US Supreme Court.
Regardless, the fact that the NHL is tolerating, if not embracing, regulated betting on Knights games is surely a good sign. If the NHL had asked for Nevada sports betting not to be legal for Knights games, it might have been a setback for the cause of legal sports wagering in the US.
The NBA, meanwhile, appears to be welcoming the owner of Golden Nugget Casinos — which operates sportsbooks — as the new owner of the Houston Rockets. And the NFL is increasingly just fine with gambling, if not sports gambling.
