Arrieta, Cubs close as -375 favorites; Raiders face non-gambling issues in potential move

Twice weekly, we’ll comb through as many articles, tweets and podcasts as we can find related to the world of sports betting and daily fantasy sports, and publish the good stuff here. 

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Jake Arrieta and the Chicago Cubs closed as a -365 favorite at Bookmaker.eu in a home against Taylor Jungmann and the Milwaukee Brewers. This makes the Cubs the largest MLB favorites since Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers on July 8, 2015. Arietta, who was coming off a no-hitter outing last week, led the Cubs to a 7-2 victory.


The Oakland Raiders seem to be pushing forward with their possible move to Las Vegas, but ESPN’s David Purdum writes that the team will face opposition unrelated to the city’s legal sports betting.

A big push is coming from casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, the chairman and CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, and real estate agency Majestic Realty. Under the current proposal, the stadium project would be funded partially by the public, with money earmarked for a new convention center diverted to the stadium. Adelson owns one of the largest convention centers in Las Vegas, the Sands Expo and Convention Center.

“We’ve had other cases, whether it’s hockey or basketball or soccer, that the gaming issue was a forefront stumbling block,” said Jay Kornegay, vice president of race and sports at the Westgate Resort and Casino and a 20-year Las Vegas veteran. “This time around it really hasn’t been discussed. And I think that’s surprising that somehow the sports gambling aspect hasn’t become a major hurdle.”


Sports betting handle in Nevada continues to grow as recent figures show $459 million in bets placed in March 2016, up about $50 million from last year, according to newly released Nevada Gaming Control Board figures.

Nevada sportsbooks took $459 million in bets in March, according to figures from the Nevada Gaming Control Board released today, the vast majority of that coming on professional and college basketball. March is the biggest month for basketball betting, with the men’s NCAAbasketball tournament — aka March Madness — and the NBA regular season winding down.

That’s up about $50 million over March of last year and an increase of $100 million over the handle in March of 2013, according to historical data on sports betting in Nevada

Overall revenue, however, was down in March, year over year. The sportsbooks won just $9.7 million, as they had to pay out about $13 million in old winning football tickets. That’s down significantly from the $18.5 million win for sportsbooks last March.


The Australian federal government is closing a loophole that allowed live betting during sports events along with other changes intended to minimize problem gambling.

Bets during sporting matches are banned online but permitted over the phone and in person. William Hill was investigated by the Australian federal police last year for its “click to call” function, which enables a computer or phone microphone when punters place live bets from its website or app, technically fulfilling the “phonecall” requirement.

Live bets are considered by gambling safety advocates to be a particularly risky form of gambling, encouraging more frequent betting and chasing of losses.

The review found the rate of problem gambling was three times higher among those who gamble online compared with gamblers in general.


A California legislative committee unanimously voted to pass a bill that would legalize and regulate online poker in the state.

The bill — AB 2863 — passed the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee unanimously, 19-0, on Wednesday.

“The question of how to regulate iPoker has been in front of the Legislature for nearly a decade,”committee chair and and bill sponsor Adam Gray said in a press release after the vote. “We have not rushed this process. We have taken the time necessary to thoroughly understand and respond to the concerns put forth by stakeholders. Through this process, we have created a coalition that is willing to acknowledge the problem and support a comprehensive solution.”