Nevada Gaming Commission Under Pressure to Legalize Betting on Olympic Games

Las Vegas Sportsbooks hope to see ban on Olympics betting lifted in time for the 2016 Summer Games.

A number of Las Vegas sportsbooks have joined their forces in an attempt to persuade the Nevada Gaming Commission to betting on the Olympics events ahead of the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Wagering on Olympic events is currently illegal in Nevada, mostly because the competition is classified as an amateur sport. This is something that Vegas sports betting operators aim to change and they appear to have some pretty strong arguments.

Las Vegas Sportsbooks Have a Strong Case

They are claiming that professional players are also taking part in the events, which is difficult to argue when we have NBA stars such as LeBron James and other world-class sportsmen representing their countries at the competition.

The sportsbooks representatives believe that online betting operators are given an unfair advantage seeing as they are free to quote prices on Olympic events, unlike the Las Vegas sportsbooks.

In case the Nevada Gaming Commission legalize betting on the Olympics, the books on the Las Vegas strip would finally be able to offer prices on major sports like basketball, soccer and hockey.

Minor sports such as track racing, figure skating and swimming would also find its place in the sportsbooks, meaning that punters would be able to place bets on events involving the likes of Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps.

Tourists visiting from around the world were surprised to hear that they are not allowed to bet on the Summer Games events, and no doubt that the books’ profits would rise considerably during the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro if NGC succumbs to the pressure.

International Olympic Committee Has No Problem with Betting on Olympics

Las Vegas books have also pointed out that the International Olympic Committee has nothing against bets being placed on the competition, provided there is no foul play involved.

They don’t think that this would create an additional pressure to influence the outcome of certain evens given that online and high street bookmakers around the world have been allowing wagers on the Summer Games for quite some time.

The sportsbooks representatives will finally have their chance to be heard by the Nevada Gaming Commission as a scheduled workshop will be held at the end of January.

We will follow any new developments in this interesting case, so stay tuned for the latest sports betting news.