Las Vegas Sports Betting Was Impacted By Hackers Over the Weekend

Peter Lewisby Peter Lewis
Updated: September 20, 2023
Las Vegas Sports Betting Was Impacted By Hackers Over the Weekend

At this time of the year, the Las Vegas sports betting news is always going to be amazing thanks to the return of both the NFL and college football. Thus far this season, we’ve seen an incredible amount of bets to start the new football campaign, but some adversity arrived for Sin City recently. That’s because Las Vegas sports betting was impacted by hackers over the weekend in what proved to be a major shock.

According to a report from NBC Sports, hackers were able to get into the mainframe for multiple resorts and casinos, causing hotel reservations to either not be accepted, or for the website to state that there was no availability. Not only that, but this also resulted in multiple online sportsbooks and betting kiosks at hotels and resorts not loading. With this all starting on Friday, it of course cost Vegas a ton of dough, especially with a full slate of college games on Saturday and the NFL on Sunday.

Thankfully, things were able to get cleared up and business was back to normal in time for the NFL slate, plus the two Monday Night Football games that were featured for Week 2. Those contests were the ones between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers, plus the showdown between the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints over at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

While everyone is happy that everything is back to normal, there’s still a big concern for Las Vegas officials moving forward. Millions of dollars could have been lost had this issue lasted any longer – there’s no question that plenty of money was lost regardless of the quick fix. This is something that can’t happen again. The cyber security is going to have to improve, especially with the Super Bowl being played in Vegas this winter.

NFL betting continues to be high in Sin City despite this setback

The good news for officials is that NFL betting continues to be high in Sin City despite this latest setback. Fans could not be happier right now that the NFL is back, as we saw some incredible games in Week 1. Not only that, but there were some amazing upsets in Week 2 as well. Those upsets are always going to be good for the local sportsbooks, as that means they’re bringing in plenty of money from folks who were betting on the favorites.

The only downfall thus far for people in Las Vegas is that the Raiders have been a disappointment. While the AFC West side didn’t hold strong NFL betting odds to win the division this year, people were still hopeful that new quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo would be able to get this offense back on track and put them in a position to try and sneak into the postseason this January.

However, the Raiders are 1-1 on the year and they were just dominated by the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. In that meeting, Buffalo was able to record a 38-10 win, which not a lot of people were expecting. With the Raiders winning their first game of the year vs. Denver, fans thought they’d be able to keep things close with Josh Allen and the Bills as a whole. However, the opposite proved to be the case.

Despite this setback for the Raiders, NFL wagers are huge and Super Bowl betting is going to take off here pretty soon. Las Vegas will be hosting the big game this February at Allegiant Stadium and hotels/sportsbooks are already getting ready for Super Bowl week to arrive. There’s no question that the Super Bowl is the biggest sports betting event of the year and people will be ready to take over Las Vegas for that contest. Sports bettors can’t wait for that day to arrive.

MLB postseason betting will be massive for Las Vegas soon too

While a lot of the focus is on the football season back, and rightfully so. However, don’t forget that MLB postseason betting will be massive for Las Vegas soon too. There are about two weeks left in the MLB regular season and things are tight. Multiple teams in the NL and AL are pushing for final spots, with the Wild Card races really heating up. Plenty of baseball fans are betting on these teams in Sin City, but things will surely reach a new level once October arrives and the hype skyrockets for folks to enjoy.

The Braves and Dodgers are the top two teams in terms of MLB betting odds, but they’re both in the National League. From our chair, we have a feeling that the Braves will end up winning the NL pennant, while it’ll come down to either the Rays or Astros in the American League. However, no one knows how things will shape out and we could see an upset or two on the way in the playoffs. People will be ready to bet wildly once things get started and we can’t wait for the postseason action to get here.

Peter Lewis

Peter Lewis Jr. comes from Mississippi where he and his family spend their days discussing college football, baseball and basketball. He's written sports journalism for years after studying journalism at a local university. Over time, Peter has cultivated extensive knowledge covering sports betting legislation across the country. He closely tracks the latest regulatory developments and provides key insights into their impacts. Peter also offers sharp MLB betting analysis, leveraging stats and trends to identify value on matchups.

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