William Hill Partners With Native American Resort

Sports Betting

William Hill is to work with a Native American tribe as part of its move to take advantage of looser US gambling laws.

The American arm for the bookmaker has formed a partnership with the Mescalero Apache Tribe to launch a sports book at Inn of the Mountain Gods, a resort and casino in New Mexico.

It marks the first sports book powered by William Hill in New Mexico and is the first tribal agreement for the company outside of its base in Nevada.

“Working with the Mescalero Apache Tribe and the National Indian Gaming Commission on this partnership agreement was important to us,” said David Grolman, president of retail for William Hill US.

“Inn of the Mountain Gods is one of the premier resorts and casinos in the South West and together we plan to bring a first-class experience to sports fans in the region.”

The new sports book will open prior to the start of American football season and will be situated in a newly-renovated space at the resort with 12 43-inch televisions on which punters can view the games.

Frizzell Frizzell, chief operating officer of Inn of the Mountain Gods, said: “Together with William Hill, we will offer state-of-the-art betting technology, and innovative wagering opportunities including in-play options. We know this is something our customers have been looking forward to and we’re thrilled to be able to partner with the best in the business to bring it to them.”

British bookies have rushed to expand in the US following a change to gambling laws allowing individual states to legalise sports betting.

Prior to May 2018, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act effectively banned sports betting across the USA, with the exception of a select handful of states.

But the law was overturned in the Supreme Court after a challenge by New Jersey, opening up the market.

New Mexico was the sixth state to offer sports betting following the ruling, joining Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey, Mississippi and West Virginia. Several more states have now legalised the practice.

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