The most difficult thing about placing a sports bet isn’t picking the winner -- it’s getting to the sportsbook.
For fans traveling to Vegas, getting to the sportsbook by 9 a.m. for a college football game or 10 a.m. for an NFL game after a night of carousing is tough. I can’t count the number of times I’ve missed the starts of early games because I was still sleeping in my hotel room.
Then there are the times where you’re waiting for your 4 p.m. business meeting and you realize that the early basketball games are about to start. (Yes, some of us have actual business meetings in Vegas.)
And even for people living in Nevada, journeying through traffic to a sportsbook can be a pain.
Fortunately, Leroy’s Sportsbook has the solution to those problems: Placing bets on your smartphones.
In September, Leroy’s launched the country’s first mobile phone application for sports betting. The app, which currently works only on BlackBerry devices, allows people to place bets with Leroy’s Sportsbook as long they’re in the state of Nevada when they’re placing the bet.
The app has been so successful that Leroy’s has submitted a Droid app to the Nevada Gaming Control Board that does the same thing.
“The (BlackBerry) app far exceeded our expectations,” says John English, Leroy’s senior vice president. “We branched off into development of Android models because it is quickly overtaking the marketplace. Everything is working better than expected.”
English expects Leroy’s iPhone app will come next.
Here’s how the Leroy’s app works: If you’re visiting (or living in Nevada), you have to visit a Leroy’s Sportsbook location to set up an account. (Leroy’s has 77 locations in Nevada, but only 34 can currently set up mobile betting accounts.) If you’re visiting the strip in Las Vegas, the Riviera and Sahara’s are the places to go to get an account.
To set up the account, you’ll need your BlackBerry, identification and money to fund account. After the account is set up, they’ll send you the BlackBerry app.
“Once the application is on your phone, you can bet just like you can at any sportsbook in the state a Nevada,” English says.
For non-Nevada residents, the Leroy’s mobile account is only temporary -- lasting three or four days. If you run out of money –- maybe that should be when you run out of money -- you can call Leroy’s up and drop more money into your account using a credit card. In the future, you might be able to use your wireless phone account or an e-wallet to fund your account.
“We’re trying to make every convenience available to our customers,” English says. “Whether or not the Gaming Board will approve is up to the regulators.”
And whether or not you sleep in is up to you.
