Betfred Continues U.S. Expansion Ahead Of Super Bowl

Betfred is coming to Sin City.

The UK sportsbook company has received authorization from the Nevada Gaming Commission to begin its operations in the Silver State, where its sportsbook will join forces with the Mohegan Sun Casino at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. This has been years in the making for the UK operator since Betfred’s licensing process stalled during the pandemic; the former Hard Rock property has been without a sportsbook since it opened in March 2021.

The newest member of a prominent Nevada sports betting landscape - already home to the best sportsbooks in the world - expects to be taking bets in time for Super Bowl LVII.

Betfred, however, can make its case for already being one of the best sports betting sites in the world. Founded in 1967 when British brothers Fred and Peter Done used winnings from England’s World Cup to start the company, Betfred today has 1,400 betting shops which are the second most in the UK.

The company also has operations in the UK and Africa and continues to expand in the United States, with Nevada marking its 10th U.S. market.

Betfred recently went live in the newly active Ohio sports betting market, where it made headlines for announcing its decision to payout all futures bets on the Cincinnati Bengals to win the Super Bowl even before the AFC Championship game was played (and it turns out that was a good bet for those who took it, with the Bengals losing to the Chiefs in the AFC title game.)

Betfred hopes to launch in another eight states in 2023 (including Nevada) and another five more states in 2024, according to Fred Done’s statement announcing that Bengals payout. In total, the company is also licensed to operate in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, Virginia, and Maryland. 

The impact on Nevada's mobile betting landscape

Mohegan Sun already has the equipment to take sports wagers on-site, but when the Betfred sportsbook opens in Nevada, mobile wagering will not yet be available. Betfred hopes to have mobile sports betting ready to go for the 2023 college and pro football seasons.

For Nevada bettors looking to see the Super Bowl odds that Betfred will post for the big game, they’ll have to enjoy the retail sportsbook experience at the Virgin property where there will be seating for up to 100 people, a dozen 80-inch TVs, 4 ticket windows, and 2 self-serve kiosks.

That the retail experience is a major attraction in Nevada, where the state’s casinos have generated over $1 billion each month for 22 consecutive months. But Betfred will have its work cut out for it when it does finally launch its mobile sportsbook since Nevada is essentially the gambling epicenter f the U.S. and was the first state to offer online sports betting in 2010.

BetMGM is one of the most popular mobile sportsbooks in the Silver State, with Caesars and WynnBet also competing for market share. A unique nuance for mobile sports betting in Nevada is the fact that there is no remote registration for sportsbooks and online sports betting is restricted to mobile applications.

These nuances mean that bettors must go to the physical location the mobile sportsbook is tethered to for sign-up, and they cannot use a desktop or mobile site to wager from. This may present an advantage for a new mobile sportsbook with an established retail location like the one Betfred will have catering to patrons of the Mohegan Sun Casino and Virgin Hotels Las Vegas overall. 

The most wonderful time of the year

As the sports betting world prepares for its "Super Bowl" - which happens to be the actual Super Bowl –  entering a new market to collect its first bets for this big event is a smart customer acquisition play on the part of Betfred.

Once live, the new sportsbook should be primed to ride the Super Bowl momentum right into March Madness when Vegas is swarming with bettors celebrating the annual men’s college basketball tournament. Whether casting bets in-person or online, there’s no doubt Nevada sports betting promos are poised for a big push in these next few months.