VSiN Expands into Mexico with Sports Information, Analysis

Posted on: July 2, 2021, 04:12h. 

Last updated on: July 6, 2021, 05:06h.

Larry Henry Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Gaming Business, Legislation, Politics, Regulation.

The Vegas Sports Information Network began providing sports-betting programing to households in Mexico this week.

Brent Musburger
VSiN’s Brent Musburger adjusts his headset during a broadcast in Las Vegas. The company’s broadcasts are available for the first time in Mexico. VSiN since has transitioned from SiriusXM to iHeartRadio. (Image: New York Times)

The Totalplay telecommunications company on Thursday began distributing VSiN content to 10.5 million homes in Mexico, according to a statement from VSiN.

Totalplay, a Grupo Salinas company, provides interactive television services to consumers in 20 cities throughout the country. These include Mexico City, Guadalajara, Veracruz, Tijuana, Monterrey, Ciudad Juarez, and Cancun.

The partnership with Totalplay is Las Vegas-based VSiN’s first venture into Latin America. Founded in 2017, VSiN has two Las Vegas broadcast studios. One is at the South Point Hotel Casino and Spa at the southern end of the Strip. The other is downtown at Circa Resort.

VSiN features several on-air analysts, including veteran television sports broadcaster Brent Musburger. The company provides more than 18 hours of sports-betting information and analysis.

Brian Musburger, VSIN’s founder and CEO, said the company expects “to continue to grow the VSiN footprint within Latin America.”

DraftKing Acquires VSiN

In late March, DraftKings announced its purchase of then-privately held VSiN. DraftKings is a Boston-based publicly traded sports-betting company. Its operations include a smartphone app allowing bettors to participate in daily fantasy sports and wager on live sporting events.

DraftKings has said it expects to keep VSiN’s leadership team and employees and give them continued editorial independence.

Since last year, DraftKings has opened a Las Vegas office and has become a primary sponsor of the Center for Gaming Innovation. The center is housed at the International Gaming Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Expansion Into Louisiana

VSiN also recently announced it has formed a partnership with WBRZ-TV, the ABC affiliate in Baton Rouge. The television station will make VSiN sports-betting shows available for over-the-air viewers in Louisiana’s capital city.

Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) recently signed legislation legalizing sports betting in Louisiana. Sports betting cannot begin until the Gaming Control Board implements the rules required to regulate the industry.

Some state legislators hoped the board would act in time for betting to begin by football season this fall. However, the recent resignation of the board chairman has created a “hiccup” that could delay legal sports betting until 2022, said state Senate President Page Cortez (R).

Once sports betting is operational in the state, bettors will be allowed to use their smartphones to put money down on live sporting events. They also will be permitted to place bets at sportsbooks inside casinos and at kiosks in bars and restaurant that serve alcohol. Sports betting will be allowed in the 55 of 64 parishes that voted in favor of it last November.

Sports betting is legal in 21 states and Washington, D.C., according to the American Gaming Association website. It is legal but not yet operational in nine more states.