No Heisman here
Headed to Vegas before football season starts? Don’t be surprised when you walk into a casino looking to bet on the Heisman trophy and the option doesn’t exist. This isn’t anything new to the Vegas landscape however it remains the main individual award in sports the casual fan would like to bet if given the opportunity. The Nevada Gaming Control Board has restrictions in place prohibiting the type of wagers sportsbooks in Nevada are able to accept. Those particular contests are limited to greyhound races, horse races, or athletic sporting events. There’s a laundry list of parameters pertaining to sporting events themselves as well but rather than bore you with legalese, contests need to be classified as games of chance at both the professional and collegiate level. Books are also not allowed to book any amateur athletics either that are deemed non-collegiate sports. For any other sports related wagers to be accepted, special permissions need to be issued after appropriate paperwork is submitted.
While working at Caesars I attempted to go through the approval process for booking the Heisman. By no means is this a simple yes/no questionnaire with a high success rate. Gaming requests a list of items to protect the market’s integrity; asking for specifics on how votes are submitted, counted, and a winner ultimately verified among other things. Gaming’s primary responsibility is keeping market’s transparent, serving to protect the casino and player alike. I do believe we’ll see the Heisman on the betting board very soon given the award’s defined rules on voting and deadlines. When the time comes, casinos willing to book this particular market will need to close wagering days before all ballots are submitted unlike offshores that currently take bets up until the award is handed out in New York. Nevada hasn’t been known for progressive tendencies in the past yet the reluctance to book any award in sports or entertainment that’s voted on could be the next domino to fall in given bookmakers/and bettors desire to see an expanded sportsbook menu.
