By Mark Smith
Enchantment Sports
Editor in Chief
It certainly raised eyebrows when Enchantment Sports broke the news that Isleta Resort & Casino would take bets on New Mexico Lobo and New Mexico State Aggie sporting events during the upcoming school year.
Isleta got plenty of feedback — probably positive and negative — but is committed to do so. Good for Isleta!
Las Vegas takes UNLV and Nevada bets, so props to Isleta for doing so with the Land of Enchantment’s two major universities.
The following is a statement from Isleta, which opened its temporary sportsbook on Monday and is scheduled to have a new facility by mid-November.
Sports fans can visit Isleta Resort & Casino to place bets on their favorite local teams, Pro Baseball, Pro Football Regular Season Win Totals, English Premiere League, UFC, WNBA, PGA Golf, NASCAR, and more! The Resort has partnered with USBookmaking to bring the latest and greatest sports betting technology to New Mexico.
The decision to accept wagers on college athletics is a policy decision. However, one of the reasons for having legal, regulated sports wagering is to create transparency in the market. It is much easier for operators who have a stake in a privileged license to invest in protecting their asset. This is why sports betting operators will share information with regulators on suspicious wagers (any wager that may come from a college participant or be based on inside information). In fact, there are several examples of when our sports books alerted regulators and ultimately NCAA on unusual betting. The regulated market can monitor for unusual betting patterns, betting heavily on an unfavored team, and large bets for games that would not normally garner such bets (although you will expect some regional bias in the area).
The bookies and those who might be willing to commit corruption are going to avoid a regulated market and, instead, just use the illegal market where there is no oversight, reporting, and license at risk. At Isleta Resort & Casino, we look forward to providing a regulated and fun gaming experience.
Mark Smith has worked in New Mexico sports media for more than four decades, and is one of the most decorated sports journalists in state history. Smith has won more than 30 combined awards in print, television and radio.
He has covered the Greater Albuquerque Men’s City Amateur Golf Championship the past 40 years, and the even’ts trophy is named after him. The trophy is on display at Los Altos Golf Course.
Contact Mark at mark.enchantmentsportsNM@gmail.com.
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