2 States Use Sports Betting In Bid To Land Redskins Stadium

© USA Today

The Washington Redskins are playing a game of political football with two states and owner Dan Snyder is calling the plays.

He’s betting big on the outcome.

Legal sports betting is a recognized new source of revenue for the NFL, even a bargaining point in the current collective bargaining agreement being considered by the NFLPA. And the controversial Snyder has attempted to make his team a prize in a contest between Maryland and Virginia in passing the sports betting bill most advantageous to his cause. Snyder wants a new or spruced-up stadium, and he wants the ability to exploit this new flow of revenue from sports betting. And he lobbied hard in both states to get it.

Snyder doesn’t figure to be the last owner to attempt such a move. He just happened to arrive at a post-PASPA time and an exploitable place at an opportune moment. This is a new avenue for owners, Roger Noll, an emeritus professor of economics at Stanford University told Gambling.com.

"Until quite recently all leagues frowned on [gambling and sports betting]," he said. "The big change in the last couple of years is that leagues no longer oppose their teams becoming involved."

In the process, in this case, Snyder has set in motion a new means for sports betting to impact sports, and penned the latest chapter in a rivalry between two states that fought wars over oysters.

Sports Betting Almost Ready in Place Team Calls ‘Home’

Snyder’s franchise currently plays at FedEx Field in the D.C. suburb of Landover, Maryland. Maryland moved another step closer toward legalizing sports betting on Tuesday.

Progress for Snyder, and two good developments in a week for a team that has produced a lot of bad weeks in recent seasons. Virginia legislators moved the proverbial ball over the line in overtime on Sunday to pass a sweeping gambling bill that would include state-wide online and mobile. And the right for a coveted first professional sports team, almost certainly the Redskins, to gain a gaming license.

Daniel Snyder visited Annapolis yesterday persuade lawmakers to give him a sports betting license at a future Washington Redskins stadium in Maryland (with ⁦@OvettaWashPost⁩) https://t.co/JK8NUnqYdK — Erin Cox (@ErinatThePost) January 22, 2020

Washington, D.C., which is right there in the team name, has legalized sports betting and may launch by April in a market where sports teams can open their own in-venue sportsbooks and control their own proprietary betting zones around them. But the beloved NFL team left for the suburbs in 1997 and there’s little chance of it traversing the Potomac again, partly because Snyder owns a vast amount of property around FedEx Field — although his lease expires on the stadium in 2027 — where he could build a sprawling entertainment complex and his unicorn domed stadium. Or, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, he could be gazing southward.

According to the Times-Dispatch, Snyder is scoping out an undisclosed location in Virginia with “better access” to the district. The team already headquarters in Ashburn, Virginia, and holds training camp in Richmond.

Certainly, owners have long leveraged their professional teams as a means to land new stadiums. The Las Vegas Raiders will next season debut in gleaming Allegiant Stadium in the gambling mecca of Nevada, but that transaction was another chapter in the Davis family’s dysfunctional relationship with Oakland. Owners have moved or threatened to for tax breaks or better revenue-sharing, but with Snyder’s stated intention to self-finance a venue in a more accommodating to his sports betting aspirations is unique.

Sports Venues Will Soon Have Sportsbooks

Seven Metro stops from where the Redskins used to play, a William Hill sportsbook is scheduled to open in Capital One Arena, home to the Capitals (NHL), Wizards (NBA) and various other properties owned by Ted Leonsis’ Monumental Sports. Assuming D.C. launches its retail and mobile system by the end of March, Snyder could have had his sportsbook much sooner than Virginia or Maryland can provide, albeit not in a new or freshened stadium.

And while the NFL has allowed franchises to take on sportsbook sponsors, it still has not officially signed off on in-stadium betting parlors. The league can’t do anything about betting on mobile phones, however, in states such as Indiana, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Leonsis’ showplace will be the test case as the first actual sportsbook in a North American sports venue. And, predicted GeoComply CEO David Briggs, the envy of his peers.

“Every legislator or team owner that goes to Ted Leonsis' Capital One Arena, if they see a wonderful sports betting experience which enhances the entertainment value of the game and the environment,” he said, “if there's a nice cash experience and nice remote experience and they go away to their state or their team and their stadium and they're going to say 'I want this here too.' ”

A FanDuel sportsbook is located in Meadowlands Racetrack, which sits in the edge of the property housing MetLife Stadium.

“What you have at MetLife is obviously an incredibly complex logistical situation with a partner, but you have tens of thousands of people that also want to make it over to a sportsbook,” FanDuel CEO Matt King said. “And, so, what we do there is frankly work with MetLife and the Jets and the Giants to create the best game-day experience. But it's slightly different than what Ted's going to have happen at Monumental.”

And Snyder — if he gets his wish list.

How Maryland Sports Betting Bill Benefits Snyder

The Maryland Senate on Tuesday passed a sports betting measure, 47-0. The legislation would require passage in the House and then approval through a voter referendum in November.

The Maryland bill allows the state lottery, six casinos, horse racing tracks and the owner of a “sports facility” to secure sports betting licenses. In the details is the part Snyder must enjoy. The bill defines a “sports facility” eligible to receive a sports betting license as “a stadium located in Prince George’s County that is used primarily for professional football.” That’s FedEx Field.

SB4 reads: “The owner of a sports facility may not apply for a sports wagering license until the owner enters into an agreement with Prince George’s County for the construction of a mixed-use development and the construction or reconstruction of a sports facility in Prince George’s County within a 1.5-mile radius” of FedEx Field by July 1, 2022.

How Virginia Sports Betting Law Benefits Snyder

The legislation passed this weekend in Virginia would allow the first top-tier professional sports team taking residence there to apply to offer in-stadium and online sports betting through a gaming partner. Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam is expected to sign the bill, but hasn’t commented since its passage.

Virginia passed a bill first, but considering the state’s dearth of gaming history, might require deep into 2021 to raise a sports betting market. Relocation and construction of a new stadium figures to require longer than that, however.

What Will Snyder Do?

For now, Snyder can attempt to stealthily shop for and purchase whatever parcels of land are available in Virginia, from the Beltway to beyond.

Redskins Coach Ron Rivera is scheduled to hold a press conference with Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney on Thursday, but telegraphing stadium deals wouldn’t seem the purview of a first-year coach.

If Maryland takes the next two steps, then Snyder can really shop. He should be able to open some sort of sports betting operation on his Landover property much sooner.

And then there’s the math: Maryland’s license fee would be $2.5 million under the current bill. Virginia’s is $250,000 for an initial three-year permit and $200,000 for subsequent three-year renewals.

One betting slip in hand, Snyder must wait a while to see if he can truly hedge his bet with Maryland and Virginia lawmakers courting his team. And he won’t be last.