Golden Nugget Shutters Nevada Sportsbook App

The Golden Nugget Nevada sports betting app no longer works. The company stopped taking wagers on its mobile sports betting app this week.

Golden Nugget mobile sportsbook accounts are still active. App users can visit a retail Golden Nugget sportsbook to withdraw funds. Users can leave the funds in their accounts if they can’t make it to a retail location to make a withdrawal.

Retail sportsbooks for Golden Nugget in Nevada remain open. The downtown Las Vegas casino sportsbook is open daily from 9 am until 9 pm. The Laughlin location opens at 11 am on weekdays and 8 am on weekends. The Laughlin sportsbook closes at 6:30 pm on weekdays and 7 pm on weekends.

Even though the mobile accounts are still active, the app will not accept wagers. All bets with Golden Nugget must take place in person at a retail sportsbook in Las Vegas or Laughlin.

Two options for pending wagers

Pending wagers in a Golden Nugget mobile sportsbook account can be handled in two ways.

A mobile app user can visit a Golden Nugget retail sportsbook and print paper tickets of any unresolved wagers then cash it if it wins. The casino will mail a check for any unresolved wagers for those who don’t get a printed ticket. It will take about 60 days after the final mobile wager is resolved before Golden Nugget sends a check.

The sportsbook will process any and grade any unresolved bets as usual if they’re left in a mobile account.

No new online sports betting solution (yet)

In an email to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Golden Nugget says the company looks forward “to providing a new mobile solution in the future.”

Golden Nugget didn’t offer any other information. There’s no timeline for when a new app will be available.

Time is on the side of Golden Nugget. Sports betting in Nevada is slow during the summer. There are no pro or college football games during the summer.

The NBA and NHL playoffs will be finished in just over a month. The majority of sports betting activity during the summer months is on MLB games and football futures.

A quick look at the upcoming Nevada Gaming Control Board agenda for May doesn’t list any potential new sports betting app operators.

Could DraftKings enter the Nevada market?

Golden Nugget hasn’t revealed any information about a new app or sportsbook partner. However, in 2021, DraftKings acquired Golden Nugget Online Gaming (GNOG) for $1.56 billion.

GNOG was a separate company from Golden Nugget’s retail casino operations.

The deal also gives DraftKings access to 5.5 million members of the Golden Nugget and Landry’s rewards club. Golden Nugget owner Tilman Fertitta also owns Landry’s restaurants.

There’s one more component to this deal. When the deal was announced, Golden Nugget planned to eventually rebrand its retail sports betting venues as DraftKings Sportsbooks. There’s no timeline on when this might happen.

This deal does not include online sports betting. Perhaps, the synergy between the two companies could include a mobile sports betting component in the future.

Nevada’s in-person registration requirement is one reason DraftKings doesn’t operate in the Silver State. This is also a reason why FanDuel doesn’t appear to be in a rush to bring their mobile sportsbook app to Nevada.

Last year, Boyd Gaming opened a FanDuel-branded sportsbook at Fremont Hotel and Casino. Boyd still provides odds for the sportsbook bearing the FanDuel brand.

Neither company has mentioned plans for the future. It’s possible to connect the dots to think that Golden Nugget and DraftKings might do something similar in time for the next football season.

Whatever the case, Golden Nugget should have a new app in time for the next football season.