Betfred, a U.K.-based sportsbook operator, recently confirmed that it still plans to open a sportsbook at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, despite the fact that it has yet to receive its license from Nevada regulators.
Melissa Castillo, director of marketing for Betfred USA Sports, said in a statement that although the company “typically refrains from commenting on regulatory or licensing matters,” they are continuing to “work with the Nevada Gaming Control Board on our (Nevada) license and look forward to opening the sportsbook at the Virgin Hotel Las Vegas when that process has been completed.”
Officials for Virgin Hotels declined to comment further on the matter. The casino opened in March of 2021, but has not yet had a dedicated sportsbook.
At the time of opening, General Manager Joe Hasson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the expectation was to have an operational sportsbook sometime “in the second quarter of 2021.” Even then, Hasson said that Betfred was “still working their way through licensing and suitability with the Nevada Gaming Control Board.”
Interestingly, a sports bar on the property called Money, Baby! mysteriously closed last month—Virgin issued a statement saying that it had “not been provided with any notice of closure from MBLV, LLC,” which is the bar’s parent company. However, Money, Baby! released its own cryptic statement, which read in part: “We expect all of the facts surrounding the closure of Money, Baby! Las Vegas to come out in the future, but we have no further comment at this time. “
It is unknown whether or not Betfred’s continued delays had an impact on the sports bar’s closing.
