Nevada gaming regulators gave approval to a proposal from Las Vegas sports betting veteran Vic Salerno that is expected to lead to the return of daily fantasy sports betting in Nevada as early as August.
The Nevada Gaming Commission approved the licensing application for Salerno’s USFantasy to daily and weekly fantasy sports contests that will include the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR, PGA Tour and other sports using a pari-mutuel betting system, the paper reported.
Salerno’s proposed system differs from the regular online DFS model as it relies on the parimutuel betting system used in horse racing.
“Since a framework already exists this is no different than betting a horse,” Salerno said in testimony to the commission. “The casino benefits are that it attracts new players, new customers; and brings them another revenue stream and new and exciting different propositions than we’ve done before. The target market of course is going to be the millennials.”
DraftKings and FanDuel both stopped operating in Nevada after regulators ruled the sites would need state gaming licenses to accept Nevada players.
USFantasy plans to launch the concept in Nevada casinos’ race and sports books and ultimately expand it to states across the country through racetracks and even lotteries to create larger nationwide pools.
Regular fantasy sports operators are confused about the how the USFantasy product compares to normal fantasy sports operators.
“Is it truly a fantasy game or some sort of contest or instrument that is a regular gambling product? The industry is curious what exactly it is,” Peter Schoenke, chairman of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, wondered.
Under Salerno’s plan, there is none of the deep analysis of the player’s individual potential nor the camaraderie found among fantasy sports players.
“It doesn’t feel like fantasy if you’re not putting up your knowledge against someone else,” Schoenke told the AP.
In one other development, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo offered little insight on why a fantasy sports show he is involved in has been cancelled, despite reports that the NFL moved to block it for a second year.
“I don’t want to talk on that yet,” Romo told reporters. “I’ve got to go have a meeting about that this weekend. We’ll figure all that out. I haven’t really dealt with it. Just been football this off-season and they kind of filled me in on what happened. But I just haven’t talked to them yet.”
The NFFC had been scheduled for July 15-17 at the Pasadena, Calif., Convention Center. Organizers have blamed the cancellation on NFL interference.
Last year, the NFL threatened discipline for players involved with the scheduled event in Las Vegas, “for perceived association with gambling.”
Now moved to California, the NFL reportedly targeted sponsors for this year’s conference in an effort to block it, according to a report in the Fort Worth Star Telegram.
