Soon, you may be able to place a bet at Buffalo Wild Wings

As sports betting gets legalized around the country, Buffalo Wild Wings is ready to embrace it.

As sports betting gets legalized around the United States, surely eventually to all 50 states, the barrier to entry for people who want to place bets will also break down. Buffalo Wild Wings, with the simple slogan of “Wings. Beer. Sports.” would be an easy candidate among national bar/restaurant chains to embrace sports betting.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a federal law restricting legal sports gambling to primarily Nevada back in May, Delaware, Mississippi and New Jersey have begun offering Las Vegas-style sports betting. West Virginia is expected to follow by the time the NFL season starts, and some analysts have suggested more than half of states will have legal sports betting within five years.

That’s a budding opportunity for sports bars, and Buffalo Wild Wings perhaps more than most.

In a statement to ESPN, a spokesperson for the company said just that.

“As the largest sports bar in America, we believe Buffalo Wild Wings is uniquely positioned to leverage sports gaming to enhance the restaurant experience for our guests,” “We are actively exploring opportunities, including potential partners, as we evaluate the next steps for our brand.”

Buffalo Wild Wings has suffered from slumping sales in recent years, with CEO Sally Smith blaming millennial consumers who prefer delivery from restaurants and eating quickly last year. With fewer in-restaurant patrons, lower alcohol sales and lower margins have followed.

There are hurdles left to clear for Buffalo Wild Wings to have sports betting in their restaurants, as states legalize it. Here are some of the more prominent ones.

-How bets can be placed (table kiosks, old school betting sheets, IPads/tablets, phone app)
-How often bets could be placed (play-by-play, each quarter, etc.)
-How bets can be funded (cash, credit)
-Betting limits (if any, based on dollar amount, per game, etc.)
-Broader monitoring and regulation

And that leaves out how the major sports leagues, who are starting to angle for their cut of sports betting revenue, would get their share of the money made by people betting at a bar.

Gambling is a slippery slope, especially when alcohol is added. But the stigma attached to embracing and legalizing sports betting is eroding, and Buffalo Wild Wings is getting ahead of the curve by exploring it as an opportunity for its business.