The William Hill name will be erased from the sports betting landscape in the near future after Caesars completes the rebranding process. But for now, William Hill is the toast of the town after doing something no sportsbook had yet to do in the U.S..
It opened a sportsbook in a U.S. stadium.
A deal had been in place for William Hill to open a sportsbook in Capital One Arena, the home of the NBA’s Wizards and the NHL’s Capitals, since 2019. But in 2020, William Hill opened a temporary sportsbook in the arena’s box office, complete with seven betting windows and nine kiosks.
The new facility will have quite a few more of both. The two-story, 18,000 square foot establishment will have as many as 20 betting windows and over a dozen self-serve kiosks for bettors to place their wagers. It will also be the home of a sports betting show, “By The Book.”
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The @WilliamHillUS Sportsbook at @MSE's @CapitalOneArena is here!
This marks the 1st ever sports betting venue to operate within a pro sports arena in the U.S. with a restaurant concept by Michelin-star Chef Nicholas Stefanelli. pic.twitter.com/v5YDujXfVR
— William Hill D.C. (@WilliamHillDC) May 26, 2021
Fans will be able to watch the action as they place their bets on one of over 100 televisions or the jumbotron hanging from the center of the building.
Ted Leonis, the owner of Monumental Sports (which owns the arena, the Wizards, Capitals and WNBA’s Mystics), had this to say at the ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 26:
“You look around this sportsbook, it feels like day trading for the millennial and Gen Z, very highly educated, highly compensated person that [can] come and buy season tickets — buy tickets for thousands of dollars — to now have a rooting interest in, to be able to come in and enjoy how all this data is presented. It’s very synergistic for the leagues and teams.”
The sportsbook could eventually become the first of many inside U.S. stadiums.
One of the most significant concerns sports leagues had when PAPSA got overturned was how to get a piece of the sports betting pie. The “integrity fee” was doomed from the start. Allowing sportsbooks to set up shop in stadiums may be the best way (whether fans are allowed to bet during games or not).
Teams have been setting up betting lounges to cater to those wanting to make a bet on their mobile devices. There has been talk of a few baseball stadiums opening sportsbooks, but the books will not be accessible from inside the stadium.
Photo Credit: Google Creative Common Licenses
