makers William Hill have reacted to the new bill banning sports betting kiosks in the state of Nevada by altering their service. Their 84 kiosks state-wide will no longer take bets or allow punters to withdraw winnings or open accounts, but will continue to take monetary deposits and give updates on games.

The change comes after Governor Brian Sandoval signed Senate Bill 416 to ban sports betting kiosks in establishments such as bars or small casinos holding a restricted licence. Under state law a restricted licence permits establishments to operate up to 15 slot machines but will no longer allow betting on sports events.

It had been suggested that the kiosks, now described as “mobile sports deposit hotspots” by William Hill’s director of business Dan Shapiro, were becoming a threat to traditional casinos.

Steve Arcana, COO of Las Vegas operators Golden Gaming Inc, said of the law change: “We’re not happy about it; our customers like sports betting, but at the end of the day we’ll follow the law.”

Bruce Archer