Las Vegas casinos not rushing to join daily fantasy game

Casinos and sports books, the only companies who can legally offer daily fantasy sports sites in Nevada, are instead watching and waiting from the bleachers.
It has been more than a week since Nevada regulators told the daily fantasy sports industry to get a gambling license or get out, and before they made their exits, the top two companies inferred regulators were playing favorites to protect Nevada’s golden ticket: casinos and sports books.
On Friday, DraftKings reiterated in an emailed statement, “we understand that the gaming industry is important to Nevada and, for that reason, Nevada is taking this exclusionary approach against the increasingly popular fantasy sports industry.”
There was no playing favorites, say state regulators and casino operators.
The state’s sports books, for one, haven’t suffered with the recent existence of daily fantasy sports. They kept $227 million of what was bet on football, basketball, baseball and other sports last year, up 61 percent since 2011, according to Nevada Gaming Control Board statistics.
While last week’s legal opinion opened the door for already-licensed gambling establishments to enter the daily fantasy sports game in Nevada, none appear to be rushing to join.
“No brick-and-mortar wants to put their license at risk,” said Chris Jones, a gambling industry analyst with Union Gaming. “I don’t think the operators will get involved until there’s much better clarity.” AP