It used to be that sports betting was the realm of Las Vegas or a local book that would take bets. But over the past several years there has been a revolution in opening of sports betting markets. Today dozens of states now permit some form of sports bets, with many offering the ability to place bets online.
Now you can add cruise ships to places that offer sports wagers.
Princess Cruises — in what could be the beginning of a trend in cruising — announced that it will now offer “Ocean Sportsbook” on its MedallionClass ships. This includes six different ships, with more coming later.
In a press release from the cruise line, they said the new sports wagering system will offer “guests the opportunity to bet on major sports competitions like professional and college football, basketball, baseball and hockey as well as a wide variety of other exciting domestic and international events.”
The new sports betting program will be available whenever cruises return to service, anticipated later this year.
How Gaming Will Work
While complete details of how the new wagering system aren’t available just yet, there were some tidbits released by the company.
Betting will be available when the ship is in international waters or where it’s permitted by authorities. When available, you can use the cruise line’s MedallionClass app to place your bets. There will also be prop bets available during live events while sailing. So if you are sailing during the Super Bowl, you’ll be able to place a wager via the app despite being thousands of miles away from Las Vegas.
Princess says that passengers can also place bets on future competitions that happen after the cruise. There were no details on how winning wagers would be paid out for either live events or wagers made for games after the cruise.
What’s more is that the new sportsbook isn’t the only advancement made to gaming during your cruise. Sports betting is part of “Ocean Casino,” a new system that lets you make wagers on lots of different games from seemingly anywhere on the ship.
“The new sportsbook is part of Ocean Casino – a digital experience that lets wagers be placed beyond the casino – stateroom, poolside, spa, and more – on an assortment of games that include blackjack, slots, poker, roulette, bingo, keno and lottery,” the press release stated.
In other words, if you want to gamble on the cruise, you don’t even have to find a spot at the casino. Imagine playing blackjack on your phone for real money while sipping a drink by the pool or playing in the theater while waiting for the show to start.
While mobile gaming and sports betting are certainly nothing new, it is a major advancement to see them come to cruising. If this new service proves successful, don’t be surprised if other cruise lines outside of Princess follow suit.
