Although there isn’t a whole lot of activity to keep sports gambling fans happy right now, things will, eventually, recover. Sports leagues will get back onto the fields and courts and sportsbooks will start putting up the lines once more. In some places, this could begin sooner rather than later, as the top two soccer leagues in Germany are now ready for a re-launch. In anticipation of the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and the global shutdown it caused, Colorado has been busy getting its sports gambling processes in place, and casinos that were awarded licenses have been busy looking for some assistance to manage the operations. One of the most successful sportsbooks in Nevada is now ready for expansion and is set to be one of the first entities to launch in the Centennial State. Provided it meets with regulatory approval, SuperBook will be able to start taking bets at The Lodge Casino in Black Hawk when Colorado’s sports gambling market goes live on May 1.
Jay Kornegay, the VP of race and sports operations for the Westgate, explains, “The casinos operating in Colorado are in remote areas, unlike Nevada and the Strip. They are mountain towns, so the remote signup option Coloradans have for mobile apps is vital. To have that convenience of signing up for a mobile app from your couch rather than go to a physical location like you do in Nevada is big … Most of our handle, 95 percent will be mobile” in the state.
In the western half of the U.S., Nevada rules the sports gambling scene – not surprising since it was the only state to be authorized to accept legal sports wagers for decades. However, some industry analysts believe that Colorado has the potential to jump ahead of the Silver State in terms of sports gambling revenue, and the SuperBook could be able to capitalize substantially from operations in both states.
Kornegay adds of the new partnership, slamming the coronavirus for getting in the way, “Our initial plan was to launch mobile May 1 to match Colorado sports betting. Unfortunately, we’re dealing with unforeseen circumstances, which is hindering the launch. We’re ready to operate, one, when we know it’s safe for everyone, and two, at least one major league restarts play or starts play. Those two things have to happen.”