Mohegan Banks on Betfred for Virgin Hotels Las Vegas Sportsbook

British bookmaker Betfred will run the sportsbook inside Mohegan Sun Casino at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas when that venue opens in the fall.

Mohegan Gaming Entertainment (MGE the casino arm of the Connecticut Native American tribe of the same name said today Betfred USA Sports will manage the book. Financial terms of the deal weren t disclosed and MGE didn t mention other sportsbook operators it considered.

Las Vegas-based Betfred USA Sports was created in 2019 by Betfred Group specifically to enter the robust and ever-expanding US sports betting market,” according to a statement.

Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, the former Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, is in the midst of an eight-month renovation and despite facing construction challenges because of the coronavirus.

Virgin billionaire Richard Branson along with Richard Bosworth’s Bosworth Hospitality Partners and investment and real estate development firms Juniper Capital Partners and Fengate Asset Management purchased the off-Strip casino resort in . They estimate reconfiguration cost of the venue at $200 million.

As is the case with its , such as GVC Holdings Plc and William Hill, Betfred is looking to expand in the US, which is the fastest-growing sports betting market in the world.

Betfred is doing just that. The company recently became the official sportsbook partner of the Denver Broncos and is a licensed operator in Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Colorado three of the fastest-growing sports betting states in the country. That s rapid growth for a company that at the Betting on Sports America 2019 Convention in New Jersey.

Betfred, which was founded in the UK in 1967, operates 1,500 retail sports betting shops in its home country, and offers mobile and online wagering products in the UK and Spain.

In the US, MGE operates gaming properties in Connecticut, Louisiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Washington. Although real money sports wagering currently isn t offered in MGE s home state of Connecticut, the operator offers a free-to-play sports game that s backed by Kambi Group.

At the Mohegan Sun in Pennsylvania and at Resorts Casino Hotel on the Atlantic City, N.J. boardwalk, Unibet is MGE s sportsbook partner.

Sports betting was approved earlier this year in Washington, though MGE hasn t been mentioned among the tribes currently seeking licenses in that state.

MGE operates the Paragon Casino Resort in Marksville, La. Voters there will have a chance to weigh in on sports betting this November, though it will be permitted on a parish-by-parish basis.

Mohegan did not say if its Las Vegas agreement with Betfred positions the sportsbook operator to win additional related business from the tribal operator.