BetMGM has become the first sports betting app in the U.S. to allow customers to use one account across all of its legal state markets.
Specifically, it is now possible for visitors to Las Vegas to use their BetMGM accounts created outside of the state of Nevada. Although, as per Silver State gambling regulations, customers must still register their account in person at a retail sports betting venue in the state before placing a wager. That includes the BetMGM sportsbook venue at the Las Vegas Strip’s Park MGM, pictured above.
Because of that complicated rule and various other regulations, Nevada remained an outlier state in agreements that let customers use one sports betting app account across multiple states.
The Las Vegas-based operator BetMGM operates nine retail sportsbooks in Las Vegas. Once players register their existing BetMGM account from another state at a Nevada location, they are now free to use that account’s cash balance and other preferences while in the Silver State.
Previously, visitors to Nevada who already had a BetMGM account were required to make a new one if they wanted to bet from their mobile while in the state.
“What this does is it enables our consumers who travel in from other states to seamlessly use their wallet while they’re in Vegas,” said BetMGM’s CFO Matt Prevost.
“They still obviously have to go through the sign-up process on-property and sign up in Nevada, like always. But this connects the entire experience for them as customers. We’ve been working on this for years. And knock on a lot of wood, we’ve received regulatory approval and the technical delivery will happen this week.”
The Long Game
It was actually in 2023 that BetMGM finished up the agreement with all 28 other legal U.S. sports betting markets it operates in. But it took them longer to sort out the complicated arrangement in coowner MGM Resorts International’s home state.
“We completed this single wallet enablement in all other jurisdictions outside of Nevada last summer,” said Prevost.
“So this time last year, we had to go to each and every regulator and get this approved, and we, for a variety of reasons, technical and from a regulatory perspective, saved Nevada for last.”
Now that BetMGM has shown a path forward that is suitable for sportsbooks and Nevada gaming regulators, Prevost says he expects other sports betting operators with presence in Las Vegas to follow suit.
He added he wasn’t sure what financial impact the change will have. But he thinks the added convenience and ease will have a positive impact on overall sports betting handle (and Nevada’s gaming tax income).
“I think it may actually be a benefit to the state of Nevada in the form of incremental revenue and incremental taxes,” Prevost said.
David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
