This week in Gambling
This is a new feature I’ve wanted to add to the site for a long time. Naturally you’re all going to ask what took me so long to do so and the simple answer is I don’t know. Each Thursday moving forward my goal is to collect some of the most relevant sports betting articles to share right here. Whether it’s about legalization, fantasy, strategy, or history the goal will be to help educate the community using the voices of others. In order to make this an even better exercise I’d encourage loyal readers of the blog or just sports betting enthusiasts to email articles they think would be worth sharing. I’m realistic: you all have lives, families, and schedules that don’t let you scan the internet for interesting articles. Hopefully I can help the process because making for a more educated sports betting community helps all of us.
Topic – Daily Fantasy – Source USA TODAY
LAS VEGAS — The head honchos at FanDuel want to make something very clear.
The product they sell is not sports betting, they say. It’s something different. In exchange for an entry fee, FanDuel allows sports fans the chance to win cash prizes every day based on the performance of players in professional or college sports.
click here to read full article
My Take: This is a discussion that’s not going away any time soon: is daily fantasy sports betting? The author does a nice job getting different view points on the topic. I think the spread of daily fantasy only helps full legalization of sports betting in all 50 states become an eventual reality but to say somehow it’s not gambling is borderline preposterous.
Topic – Illegal Bookmaking – Source New Orleans News
A federal judge Wednesday sentenced a St. Tammany Parish bookmaker to eight months in prison for paying a website based in Costa Rica to help him run an illegal sports gambling business.
click here to read full article
My Take: I’m honestly surprised there aren’t more stories of this nature regarding the proliferation of price per head books. Bookmaking in the modern era isn’t done with pen, paper, and a bank of pay phones like the old days. Illegal bookmakers will continue to flourish much like bootleggers did during prohibition: people want to gamble and there’s always going to be someone willing to take their bets.
Topic – NJ Sports Betting – Source Charlotte Observer
NEWARK, N.J. A court filing Wednesday in New Jersey’s effort to allow sports betting takes the four major pro sports leagues to task for their involvement in fantasy sports competitions, claiming that that precludes them from dictating what the state can do.
Click here to read full article
My Take: It’s going to sound like a broken record but it’s one I’m sick of listening to about legalized wagering impacting the integrity of professional sports. Contrary to popular belief Vegas actually works with the major sports and NCAA to prevent match fixing in any capacity. By keeping sports betting illegal, sports actually remain more susceptible to shady shit than they otherwise would. Just once I’d like those making decisions to talk to the right people rather than perpetuating myths.
Topic – Story of the Computer Group – Source Offshore Bettor
He was in the bed sleeping when the two men walked into his bedroom. Billy Walters sleeps in a big clean bed in Las Vegas, in a small but elaborate home renovated to his liking, with palm trees and white flowerpots and two satellite dishes in the yard, and four large televisions in the den, and a security guard who sits just out of sight behind the shrubs across the street. This environment was disrupted early last Jan. 5, when the two strangers introduced themselves to Billy Walters with all the subtlety of an alarm clock. He greeted them by sitting up in the bed, blinking. His wife wasn’t in the bed with him. They already had her, probably.
Click here to read full article
My Take: One of, well probably the biggest, name in sports gambling is Billy Walters. He’s been moving lines for years at books around the world and it’s damn near impossible to avoid people seeking his games or true positions. For those new to the industry, Billy himself doesn’t walk into sportsbooks in Vegas (for the most part) but rather sends in hordes of runners to get down 100’s of thousands or even millions on his biggest bets. While this article is a little bit older it’s one of the best out there for people unfamiliar with his story.
