Boyd Gaming CEO Keith Smith spoke exclusively to Gambling Insider on the proposition of integrity fees and believes they undermine the values of Las Vegas operators.
Elite-level leagues, such as MLB and the NBA, have discussed charging operators 1% of sports betting handle involving their relevant competitions.
Using a 1% fee and a 5% hold, this could roughly work out to 20% of revenue.
While the leagues have cut their asking price to 0.25%, operators across the US still find this unjustified.
Smith agrees, telling Gambling Insider: "I’m highly opposed and frankly highly offended by the term because integrity fees implies we were operating with a lack of integrity in the past.
"I can tell you we’ve operated sports betting here in Nevada for more than 40 years at a very high level, with very few scandals."
Smith added: "We don’t need integrity fees; we’ve been doing this for a very long time. You don’t see it in the UK, or elsewhere in the world. I am offended by the whole notion."
Smith was speaking to Gambling Insider for the upcoming US CEO Special, due to be published in the September/October edition of the magazine. Click here to read when available.
