Casino operator Las Vegas Sands is belatedly tossing its hat into the US sports betting ring, upending the longstanding antagonism toward online gambling displayed by the company’s founder. 

On Friday, Bloomberg quoted sources who claimed Sands president Rob Goldstein – now acting CEO/chairman after Sheldon Adelson went on medical leave – was having early talks with an unspecified number of prospective sports betting technology partners. Sands shares enjoyed a brief spike on the news but closed Friday down 0.4%. 

Bloomberg didn’t identify any of Sands’ prospective partners, but suggested that the betting product that ultimately emerges could either be an existing platform with the Sands brand attached or a bespoke platform. Naturally, neither Sands nor Goldstein are saying anything to unmuddy these waters. 

There is of course no reason to expend any effort trying to gain market share in the US sports betting market if you don’t have an online component. New Jersey, which surpassed Nevada last year to become America’s top betting state, derived 93.6% of November’s record $931.6m betting handle from its digital sportsbooks.