William Hill sportsbook at Capital One Arena
The NBA playoffs are in the midst of the first round, so don’t expect anything particularly memorable to occur (though my Milwaukee Bucks are the only team to advance so far and the only team to sweep their opponent). All the really fun stuff happens later. The Washington Wizards-Philadelphia 76ers game on Saturday, however, was notable for an interesting reason: it became the first professional sporting event (not counting horse racing) in the U.S. where a sportsbook took legal bets right there at the venue.
The William Hill sportsbook at Capital One Arena opened over the summer, but while the permanent betting lounge was under construction, William Hill took bets out of the arena’s box office. Despite not having a real space, lines were still very long. The permanent venue opened last week.
On Saturday, many fans arrived in the early afternoon to watch Manchester City and Chelsea of the Champions League and, of course, place bets. Bettors were allowed to wager on the Wizards/Sixers game during the game itself and some stayed afterward to watch the Jazz square off against the Grizzlies (on television, of course).
William Hill told ESPN that 40% of the money bet on the NBA at its Capital One Arena facility on Saturday was wagered on the Wizards/Sixers game, as one might expect. It was also the busiest day for the sportsbook “in a long time,” according to William Hill vice president of strategy and business Dan Shapiro.
The sportsbook has 13 self-serve kiosks, 17 manned betting windows, two bars, and a full-service restaurant.
NBA has led the way
It is perhaps fitting that it was an NBA game that featured the first bets placed at a sports venue in the United States. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was the one proponent of legalized sports betting among the heads of U.S. professional sports for a number of years. The others finally went along with it when they saw the writing on the wall.
In 2014, Silver wrote an op-ed for The New York Times, calling for the pastime’s legalization. His attitude was one of facing reality, that it made more sense to accept that sports betting is a thing than denying it.
“Outside of the United States,” he said, “sports betting and other forms of gambling are popular, widely legal and subject to regulation. In England, for example, a sports bet can be placed on a smartphone, at a stadium kiosk or even using a television remote control,” and that there was “an obvious appetite among sports fans for a safe and legal way to wager on professional sporting events.”
In 2017, Silver talked about sports betting some more on ESPN Radio’s “Golic and Wingo” show, saying, “It’s legal in most other jurisdictions in the world, particularly in Europe, where people bet on their smart phones throughout soccer games, it’s closely regulated, they can monitor if there’s an irregularity activity, something we cannot do right now because it’s largely all illegal.”
Adam Silver was on hand Saturday night for a tour of the two-floor William Hill facility.
