Sportsbooks may be unwise to ban sharps; West Virginia sports betting to launch Sept. 1

Some sportsbooks operators have opted to ban or limit sharp bettors, but others say there’s an advantage in not denying sharp action.

Not every sportsbook in Nevada takes a hardline approach to dealing with sharp bettors. Some Vegas veterans believe it is part of their responsibility as a bookmaker to accept decent-size wagers — anywhere from $500 to $2,000, for example — from any bettor in good standing. Some even welcome wiseguys, to an extent.

“We like having wise-guy action,” said Chris Andrews, sportsbook director at the South Point Casinos and a nearly 40-year Nevada bookmaker. “You can use their information if you manage them properly, and it will help your bottom line.”


West Virginia will officially be able to take legal bets starting on Sept. 1.

Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races will open its sportsbook September 1, according to its owner, Penn National. The launch will make West Virginia the fifth state to offer legal sports betting and the fourth to start after the repeal of PASPA in May.

William Hill will operate the sportsbook at Charles Town, as Legal Sports Report confirmed last week. The bookmaker previously announced a mystery partner in West Virginia sports betting whose identity is now confirmed.


DraftKings CEO Jason Roberts said sports betting will be bigger for the company than daily fantasy sports in two to three years.

“It’s probably some time in the next 2-3 years, would be my guess,” says Robins. “It all depends how quickly the states roll out. That’s really the variable… After you see 10-12 of them doing it, at that point you’ll start to see the lines cross.”


Monmouth Park was a pioneer when it came to sports betting’s legal expansion and became the first legal sportsbook in New Jersey, but now it’s lagging behind others on online offerings.

With Labor Day weekend marking the traditional start of the college football season, with a full slate of NFL games set for Sept. 9, Monmouth Park still does not have an online gaming presence.

Meanwhile, the DraftKings Sportsbook, which is based at the Resorts Casino in Atlantic City, has been online for three weeks. On Wednesday, MGM Resorts International, which owns the Borgata in Atlantic City, became the second sportsbook in the state to begin accepting wagers online, before SugarHouse Online Sportsbook & Casino, associated with the Golden Nugget casino in Atlantic City, went live Thursday.

So when will Monmouth Park, which saw numbers slump in its sportsbook in July, be joining the fray?

“I’m fairly confident we can get open by the start of football season,’’ said Dennis Drazin, the chairman and CEO of Darby Development LLC, which operates Monmouth Park.

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Each Friday, 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. 

Stumble upon something you think we should include? Email info@bettingtalk.com.

Vegas enters Stanley Cup finals as favorites; Lawmaker urges states to reject ‘integrity fee’

The Vegas Golden Knights were listed as -155 favorites to win the Stanley Cup Finals.

But Vegas, which was a 500-1 long shot before the season, opened as a minus 160 series favorite at multiple Las Vegas sports books to defeat the Washington Capitals (plus 140) in the Stanley Cup Final.

The Knights are minus 155 favorites over the Capitals (plus 135) at Station Casinos in Game 1 of the best-of-seven series, which starts Monday at T-Mobile Arena. The total is 5½ (Under minus 120).

The early action Wednesday night at Stations was on the Knights in Game 1 and on the Capitals in the series, according to Sunset Station sports book director Chuck Esposito.

Vegas, which is 6-1 at home in the playoffs, secured home-ice advantage when Washington beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0 on Wednesday in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final.


A New Jersey lawmaker encouraged every state to reject the “integrity fee” professional sports leagues have been asking for with widespread legal sports betting.

“Essentially, the leagues are asking to be paid to allow games to be played fairly,” Sweeney wrote. “Ironically, they are calling this extortion attempt an ‘integrity fee,’ even while fully aware that providing participants a stake in the volume of betting would amount to what could more accurately be called an ‘anti-integrity fee.’

“And their demand begs the question of what they would now start doing to preserve the integrity of their games that they have not been doing for years,” Sweeney added.


NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell urged lawmakers to enact “uniform standards” for states that legalize sports betting.

“These efforts include supporting commonsense legislation that protects our players, coaches and fans and maintains public confidence in our games,” Goodell said in the statement. “We are asking Congress to enact uniform standards for the states that choose to legalized sports betting that include, at a minimum, four core principles:

“1. There must be substantial consumer protections; 2. Sports leagues can protect our content and intellectual property from those who attempt to steal or misuse it; 3. Fans will have access to official, reliable league data; and 4. Law enforcement will have the resources, monitoring and enforcement tools necessary to protect our fans and penalize bad actors here and abroad.”

 

Regulators from four states said they would prefer to keep regulation at the state level.

A statement on Tuesday issued on behalf of four state regulators by the International Center for Gaming Regulation at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, concludes that “coordinated action among jurisdictions” — states and tribal agencies — is the key to stopping illegal betting and possible corruption of the sports themselves.

Although the regulators welcomed “strong support from federal-level enforcement agencies,” they took a direct swipe at the leagues, several of which have suggested that betting houses pay a fee to the leagues for the right to use their data for gambling. The leagues have suggested that the fee would also help pay for new measures to protect against things like match fixing and improper wagering.

“The so-called ‘integrity fee,’” the statement said, would “increase the costs of legal sports betting, siphon much-needed tax revenues away from state coffers, and increase state regulatory burdens.”

Although the statement was signed only by the gaming control commissioners of four states — Nevada, Massachusetts, Louisiana and Michigan — other states also appear to be at odds with the suggestion of federal oversight.


 DraftKings announced a new sportsbook earlier this week.

DraftKings is piling resources into sports betting in a move that has caught literally nobody by surprise. The pace it’s setting toward the market, though, might have caught a few folks off guard. The company’s first sports betting advertising is already up.

This week, DraftKings Sportsbook rolled out its inaugural campaign in New Jersey, scooping up highway billboards and transit signage. If you drive into Atlantic City or hop the rails out of Newark airport, you may spot one that says: “Legal sports betting in Jersey? You bet.” The crowned-D logo and black/ green palette might catch your eye if you’re a DFS customer.

Prior to last week’s ruling from the US Supreme Court, promoting sports betting like this would have been illegal under federal law. That’s no longer the case, and the skyline is already starting to show signs of change.

 

Paddy Power Betfair purchased FanDuel.

Dublin-based gaming company Paddy Power Betfair announced it had completed an acquisition of daily fantasy sports site FanDuel on Wednesday. The two parties await final regulatory approval and expect the transaction to close during Q3 this year.

That PPB was in talks with FanDuel was first reported by Legal Sports Report last week.

The news comes as the US Supreme Court struck down the federal ban on single-game wagering last week in the New Jersey sports betting case. It appears likely that decision triggered an escalation in talks that were already underway.

“We are excited to add FanDuel to the Group’s portfolio of leading sports brands,” Peter Jackson, CEO of Paddy Power Betfair, said. “This combination creates the industry’s largest online business in the US, with a large sports-focused customer base and an extensive nationwide footprint.


The PGA said they are ready to help offer shot-by-shot live betting on their events.

Golf does provide a rich set of data, which makes the sport engaging for viewers and number-crunching bettors alike. There’s a caveat, though. “The only way to really have active in-play betting,” Levinson said, “particularly with our sport, is to use official league data.”


ESPN Chalk compiled a timeline of the path to legalized sports betting.

For 26 years, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 made the business of bookmaking illegal in all but a handful of states, most notably Nevada. Much like with alcohol during the Prohibition Era, those interested in betting on sports outside of Nevada simply participated in a thriving black market that’s believed to handle an estimated $150 billion in bets annually.

On May 14, 2018, the sports betting prohibition era ended, with a resounding Supreme Court decision that struck down PASPA and set the country on a path to widespread legal sports betting.

Here is a look back at some memorable moments from the past three decades in American sports betting.


The New York Times published a feature article on Monmouth Park — a New Jersey that “made a $3 million bet and won.”

A room that was essentially a Formica-lined cafeteria received a $3 million dollar face-lift that started five years ago as the operator of the track and one of the world’s biggest sports betting operators formed a partnership to wager that New Jersey would prevail in its legalization efforts.


Some universities have said they want a piece of the action with legal sports betting.

“The schools are concerned that they’re going to be taking a lot of risk and are going to have increased compliance costs,” said Tom McMillen, head of the Division I Athletic Directors Association. “A lot of these schools have not been in the loop on a lot of this. A lot of these discussions have been going on without the universities’ input. These are the crown jewels of your states, and you can’t set public policy on sports betting without involving your universities.”

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Each Friday, 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. 

Stumble upon something you think we should include? Email info@bettingtalk.com.

Missing handicapper found dead near trail; EPL agrees with NBA, MLB on legal plan

Sports betting handicapper David Malinsky was found dead near a Mount Charleston trail outside of Las Vegas.

A longtime Las Vegas sports handicapper and writer was found dead Friday at Mount Charleston after a weeklong search.

The body of David Malinsky, 57, was discovered Friday afternoon near Mummy Spring, those who knew him confirmed.

Metropolitan Police Department’s search and rescue team, Red Rock Search and Rescue and many volunteers spent hours searching for Malinsky since he went missing April 14.

A close friend, Ted Sevransky of Las Vegas, said Malinsky slipped and fell to his death.

Malinsky was a fixture in the sports betting scene in Las Vegas and was known for his insight into betting.

“He was exemplary in everything that he did,” Sevransky, also a longtime handicapper, said, adding that Malinsky was a mentor to many.

 

A thread on our forum was started to discuss memories of Malinsky.


A spokesperson for the English Premier League said his organization agrees with the plan that the NBA and MLB have proposed for legalized sports betting in the United States.

Attorneys for the NBA and MLB are asking that sports betting operators be required to use official league data, share customer data, pay a percentage fee of the amount wagered on the sports and allow the leagues to have input on what types of bets sportsbooks are allowed to offer. The EPL supports that framework and believes a partnership between sports leagues and bookmakers would best serve the betting market.

“Broadly, we don’t think what the leagues are asking for is fundamentally wrong, if you’re trying to come up with a framework that works for both parties,” said Adrian Ford, general manager of Football DataCo, the official rights holder for the Premier League and all professional soccer leagues in England and Scotland.

Since its inception in 1992, the EPL has operated alongside the United Kingdom’s legal sports betting market, benefiting financially through data licensing rights, but not through a direct cut of the betting action. Individual clubs are free to have sponsorship agreements with bookmakers. Online sportsbook Bet365 owns Stoke City, and nine clubs have the names of betting sites across the front of their jerseys this season.

“We would not see why there would be an issue about sports getting a return from betting,” Ford told ESPN in a phone interview this week. “We’d echo some of the high-level statements the NBA has made. If someone is making money off us, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be interested in that and why we shouldn’t have some level of involvement in the commercial return. It’s clearly not what we have here [in the United Kingdom].”


According to league sources, the NBA and MLB are looking to divest their shares of daily fantasy sports operators DraftKings and FanDuel.

“This space is evolving and we saw the need to take a fresh look at the structure of our relationship,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said. “FanDuel has been, and will remain, a great partner. We have simply modified some of the components of our partnership.”

In a statement to ESPN, MLB said, “While we have initiated discussions regarding potential changes to the structure of our relationship, we look forward to continuing our valued partnership with DraftKings. MLB and DraftKings will continue to collaborate on innovative approaches to enhance the fan experience.”

A FanDuel spokesperson said, “FanDuel and the NBA will remain close commercial partners.”


NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke about the benefits of a legal and regulated sports betting market.


The Miami Marlins earned the biggest upset in baseball since 2007 with an 8-6 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Plenty of bettors were willing to lay the heavy price to back Kershaw. The game attracted more bets than any other game at MGM sportsbooks. At William Hill’s Nevada sportsbooks, 90 percent of the money wagered was on the Dodgers, including a $1,500 bet that would have netted around a $400 profit. The largest bet on the Marlins was $125, which netted $512.

Odds on the Marlins-Dodgers game varied from book to book, but the consensus closing price on the Dodgers was -400, meaning bettors had to put up $400 for a chance to win $100. The Marlins were listed as +320 underdogs at most books.

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Each Friday, 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. 

Stumble upon something you think we should include? Email info@bettingtalk.com.

 

DraftKings hires Head of Sportsbook; Bookmakers set odds for 2018 MLB season

Each Friday, 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. 

Stumble upon something you think we should include? Email info@bettingtalk.com.

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DraftKings looks to be expanding from daily fantasy sports to sports betting with the announced hiring of a Head of Sportsbook.

DraftKings, Inc. today announced Sean Hurley has been hired as the new Head of Sportsbook to help build, launch and drive the sports betting vertical at DraftKings. In this newly created role, Hurley will report to Chief Revenue Officer and co-founder, Matt Kalish.

“Sean brings a wealth of gaming experience to DraftKings and furthers our ability to be a leader in the sports betting market,” said Kalish.

Hurley will be based in DraftKings’ newly opened office in Hoboken, New Jersey. He will focus on preparing Sportsbook as a potential new line of business for DraftKings in anticipation of the pending Supreme Court decision in Christie v. National Collegiate Athletic Association.


Ahead of the 2018 MLB season, ESPN Chalk compiled regular season win totals and odds for each team to win the World Series, their division or make the playoffs.

The defending World Series champion Houston Astros stand as the co-favorite to win the 2018 World Series at 5-1 (along with the Los Angeles Dodgers) and lead the MLB with the highest win total at 96.5. Here is a look at complete odds for the 2018 season, including win totals, World Series odds, division title odds and odds to make the playoffs.


The St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals have said they would want a 1 percent integrity fee if sports betting were to become legalized in Missouri.

Mike Winter, executive director of the Missouri Gaming Association, which represents the state’s 13 casinos, said sports betting has a low profit margin. The casinos are more interested in legalizing it in order to draw people to the casino.

“We don’t see this as a huge panacea for us,” Winter said.

“I think that it will bring more viewers to watch sporting events,” added Brent Hemphill, lobbyist for Penn National Gaming.

 

 

Patriots open as favorites to win next SB; Nevada sets record for handle on big game

Each Friday, 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. 

Stumble upon something you think we should include? Email info@bettingtalk.com.

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Despite losing Super Bowl LII, the New England Patriots open as favorites to win the next Super Bowl.

New England sits atop the early odds, at 9-2 to win Super Bowl LIII at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook. The Patriots were 5-1 to win Super Bowl LII after winning Super Bowl LI 34-28 over the Atlanta Falcons.

The Steelers, at 8-1, are the only other AFC team with single-digit odds at Westgate.

The Eagles have the best odds of any NFC team at 6-1. The Minnesota Vikings (12-1), Green Bay Packers (12-1), New Orleans Saints (16-1) and Atlanta Falcons (18-1) are among the next tier of contenders.

“We opened the Eagles at 10-1, but the move to 6-1 was just a reaction to the expected money coming in after they won [on Sunday],” said Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook manager Ed Salmons. “Public will think if they won the Super Bowl without Carson Wentz, when he comes back they should be even better.”


Nevada sportsbooks handled a record $158.58 million in bets on the Super Bowl.

The books won $1.1 million when the Philadelphia Eaglesupset the New England Patriots 41-33. It’s the smallest win for the books on the Super Bowl since 2011.

The $158.58 million wagered shattered the previous high set last year by more than $20 million.


DraftKings CEO Jason Robbins said his company would pursue sports betting if it were to become legal.

“We’re certainly going to go after it,” Robins said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I think the Supreme Court — I’m hopeful — will rule that way. You can’t really predict what the government will do, but you have to be prepared.”


Supreme Court experts predict a decision on the sports betting case will come in March.

“We most likely will see a decision in early to mid-March,” said Adam Feldman, a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia Law School and creator of EmpiricalSCOTUS.com, a quantitative research site. “Since the Supreme Court term in the year 2000, the average number of days between oral argument and when an opinion was released was 93 days.”

Another expert agreed with the forecasted over/under.

“The Supreme Court is very efficient so cases are generally decided within approximately 90 days of oral argument,” said Christopher Kise, a partner at Foley & Lardner LLP who has argued four cases before the Supreme Court, including one this term. “So for this case, a decision can be expected as early as March.”

SCOTUS hears sports betting arguments; College football betting gains on NFL

Each Friday, 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. 

Stumble upon something you think we should include? Email info@bettingtalk.com.

* * *

The Supreme Court heard arguments in New Jersey’s sports betting legalization case this week. The decision should be released in the first half of 2018.

A packed courtroom watched Ted Olson, a former U.S. solicitor general representing New Jersey, argue that PASPA commandeers the commandeers the state to maintain its prohibition on sports betting.

“This is the fear of every governor, that we’ll be at the mercy of the federal government and that they’ll make us pay for it,” Christie said after the hearing. “It’s not right.”

Sports league attorney Paul Clement claimed that New Jersey is allowed to repeal its prohibitions on sports betting and therefore is not commandeered by the federal government.

Current U.S. Deputy Solicitor General Jeff Wall represented the Department of Justice on the side of the sports leagues and said states could comply with PASPA by complete repeal of their statutes on sports betting.

Chief Justice John Roberts asked Wall if, in that scenario, a child could enter a casino and gamble.

“Well, is that serious?” Roberts said. “You have no problem if there’s no prohibition at all and anybody can engage in any kind of gambling they want, a 12-year-old can come into the casino and — you’re not serious about that.”

 

ESPN Chalk’s David Purdum interviewed Dr. Adam Feldman, a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia Law School and creator of EmpiricalSCOTUS.com about the oral argument session.

What clues did you find that may indicate how certain justices may rule?

Feldman: There are certain hints that suggest New Jersey may win the case, potentially paving the way for legalized sports gambling. The justices side with the petitioning party — New Jersey, in this case — in around 60 percent of cases, so the petitioner tends to have an advantage at the outset. The justices also tend to vote against the side they interact with more. Here, while Justices Sotomayor and Kagan were more engaged with Olson, Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Breyer, Kennedy, Gorsuch and Samuel Alito were more active in the discussion with Clement. Although Justice Thomas hardly ever speaks during oral arguments, he tends to vote with the Court’s right wing, which includes Justices Alito, Roberts and Gorsuch, and so if they all vote against the sports leagues we can expect Justice Thomas to as well.

 

Dan Wolken wrote an article for USA Today about how the NCAA would respond to legalized sports betting.

And as much as they might fight it, people at the NCAA are smart enough to know that a major change in sports gambling laws ultimately will usurp any attempt to remove events from states that make it legal to wager on their games.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Emmert said. “Obviously, if you wind up with sport gambling everywhere in the country then we’re not going to stop playing championships. We’ll play wherever we have to. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

If sports betting does become legal nationwide, the NBA has put themselves in a better position than other leagues to take advantage.

The NBA is looking to be a leader in the space, entering into strategic partnerships, opening the door to major casino sponsorships and seeing a number of owners invest directly into the sports betting industry.

“When it comes to sports gambling, the NBA is Secretariat in the Belmont compared to the other leagues,” said gaming law expert Daniel Wallach, comparing the NBA’s head start to the legendary horse’s 31-length victory in 1973. “The NFL is still in the starters gate. The NBA is preparing for legalized widespread betting on its games and is ahead of the other leagues in positioning themselves to get a piece of the potential action.”

 

The decision could also be a “game-changer” for the state of New Jersey.

A fully mature New Jersey sports betting market, including online, could produce $502 million in gaming revenue, according to industry research firm Eilers & Krejcik Gaming. A study by Oxford Economics found that roughly $8 billion could be wagered annually on sports in a New Jersey legal market. Clearly, for both the tracks and casinos, being able to offer legal sports betting wouldn’t hurt.

That’s the plan at the Borgata, where Jay Rood, vice president of race and sports for MGM Resorts International, traveled in mid-November to scout possible locations to install a sportsbook.

“We already have a great racebook [at the Borgata],” Rood told ESPN from his Nevada office at the Mirage. “We zoned in on a space that’s underutilized a little bit, close to the existing racebook.”

The design and budget for building the Borgata book are still being discussed, Rood said.

“Our desire is to hub it out of Nevada. Obviously, that depends on what the regulators allow,” he added. “We don’t think we can sit on our hands and do nothing until the last second.”

William Hill is taking a similar approach at Monmouth Park.

The second phase of the transformation plan features a spruced-up, overflow area in the grandstand outside of the current sports bar, which would expand the capacity by approximately 2,500 people, according to Dennis Drazen, an attorney who represents Monmouth Park.

The third phase is the construction of a standalone sportsbook, similar to what you might find at a William Hill sportsbook in Las Vegas.

“I don’t think you can have enough TVs,” said Asher, William Hill’s CEO.

An outdoor dining venue, currently home to The Lady’s Secret Café, and valet parking are two areas being considered for the new sportsbook, estimated to cost $5 million or more. But, for now, the new Monmouth Park sportsbook is still a ways down the road. There’s a very real chance the track — and other New Jersey gaming operators — could be taking bets at some point in 2018.

“We can be open to take wagers in two weeks,” Drazin told ESPN.


With possible sports betting legalization on the way and a canceled merger between DraftKings and FanDuel, daily fantasy sports industry is in an interesting place.

It has been a weird year in the daily fantasy sports (DFS) industry.

The two leading companies in the space, DraftKings and FanDuel, canceled their planned merger, eight months after announcing it, and after their lead executives spent many more months working together behind the scenes to pull it off. It was supposed to be a synergistic combination of two close competitors into one dominant platform.

Instead, as we head into 2018, DraftKings is, by most reports, the definitive leader in DFS by market share and has taken a step into streaming live sports. FanDuel CEO Nigel Eccles, credited with fueling the rise of DFS (FanDuel launched four years before DraftKings), has left the company.

Perhaps most important: On Dec. 4, the U.S. Supreme Court will at last hear the New Jersey sports betting case, Christie et al v. NCAA et al, which will determine whether New Jersey can allow sports betting despite the existing federal ban, PASPA (Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992).


College football sports betting popularity is gaining on the NFL in Las Vegas.

At the Westgate SuperBook, there have been numerous weeks in recent seasons in which Jay Kornegay has watched his clerks write more tickets on N.C.A.A. games than those in the N.F.L. He notes that college football offers a bigger menu of games that can be bet on — often more than 50, spread out from Tuesday to Saturday — and that there has been a steep increase in the popularity of betting apps on cellphones, taking away any stigma attached to wagering.

“You no longer have to tell your wife you are going out for milk to get a bet down,” Kornegay said. “It’s right on the phone for you.”

 

Supreme Court readies for sports betting case; FanDuel announces departure of CEO Eccles

Each Friday, 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. 

Stumble upon something you think we should include? Email info@bettingtalk.com.

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The Supreme Court is about to hear arguments next week for the sports betting case and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is “cautiously optimistic.”

A “cautiously optimistic” Gov. Chris Christie will be at the U.S. Supreme Court Monday to to lend moral support as New Jersey lawyers try to convince the justices to allow legal sports betting at Garden State racetracks and casinos.

“I’m looking forward to being in court,” Christie told reporters at a public event in Newark Wednesday.

“No matter which way it goes, I think it was the right decision to make,” he said. “I’m cautiously optimistic that we’re gonna win.”

 

An opinion article published by the Washington Post said the Supreme Court should allow states to determine whether or not to legalize sports betting.

The court’s nine fine minds need not, and should not, trouble themselves with the question of whether this particular prohibition is sensible. They should, however, defend federalism by telling the national government to stop telling state governments what laws they cannot change.

 

While all four U.S. major sports leagues are fighting New Jersey’s sports betting challenge, commissioners of three of the four leagues have made public comments in support of sports betting.

The NBA and Major League Baseball see gambling as something that could enhance fan interest and open up new revenue opportunities. However, the leagues insist that appropriate regulations should be put in place to prevent corruption— something that a court ruling in New Jersey’s favor wouldn’t do, at least not right away.


FanDuel announced that CEO Nigel Eccles will step down.

Nigel Eccles, CEO and founder of daily fantasy operator FanDuel, is stepping down to pursue other opportunities, the company announced Monday morning.

Matt King, who served as Chief Financial Officer of FanDuel from 2014-16, will return to the company to replace Eccles as CEO and join the board of directors, effective immediately.

“With his strategic vision, range of experiences, and broad skill set, I cannot imagine a better individual to steer FanDuel forward,” Eccles said of King in a release announcing his departure. “With tremendous legislative strides in the past two years and the business moving into profitability in (Quarter 4), FanDuel is in a great position. I know Matt is the leader to capitalize on the momentum in the sports technology space to take FanDuel to the next level.”

Eccles, 42, founded FanDuel in 2009 and is considered the “Godfather of daily fantasy sports” by some in the industry. Under his direction, the company rose to the top of the daily fantasy industry, alongside rival DraftKings.

The company said Eccles is leaving FanDuel and stepping down from the board of directors to “focus on his next venture.”


NFL favorites went 37-15-4 against the spread in November, the best record in the Super Bowl era.

The run of favorites began on Thanksgiving, when the Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Chargers and Washington Redskins all covered the spread. Those teams were on many of the parlays that were live entering Sunday.

“We had a $500 six-teamer that hit for $24,000,” Simbal noted, while listing the bevy of parlays that hit Sunday. “Falcons, Panthers, Eagles and all three favorites from Thanksgiving.”

CG Technology had a minus-20 percent hold on parlays after the late slate of games.

“It’s like 10 weeks in, once you realize who’s horrible and who’s really good, that’s when the public really pounds these teams,” Simbal said. “These scores might have been the same scores that happened in Week 4, but by then you didn’t know the Eagles were the best team or that the Vikings were really good, so you didn’t get as much action on them.”

 

The Philadelphia Eagles are closing in the New England Patriots as favorites to win the Super Bowl.

Long shots to start the season, the Philadelphia Eagles have emerged as the clear-cut favorites in the NFC and are closing in on the New England Patriots at the top of the Las Vegas sportsbooks’ odds to win the Super Bowl.

The Eagles, who had odds as high as 65-1 in the offseason to win the Super Bowl, are now 4-1 at the Westgate SuperBook, behind only the Patriots at 7-2.

Philadelphia has won seven in a row and separated itself from other contenders in the NFC. The Eagles are 2-1 to win the conference and overwhelming -1,200 favorites in the NFC East.

“They’re legit, well-coached, well-quarterbacked,” said South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews, who last week moved the Eagles (7-2) ahead of the Patriots (4-1) in his Super Bowl odds.

 

 

MGM, William Hill plan NJ sportsbooks; FAU coach tweets about point spread after game

Each Friday, 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. 

Stumble upon something you think we should include? Email info@bettingtalk.com.

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MGM and William Hill both have plans to build sportsbooks in New Jersey.


Last week, FAU football coach Lane Kiffin referenced the point spread in a tweet after his team took an intentional safety at the end of the game which affected bet outcomes.

Florida Atlantic coach Lane Kiffin said he was joking Friday night when he tweeted about a late intentional safety affecting the betting result in the Owls’ victory over Marshall.

Florida Atlantic, which closed as a 6.5-point favorite, had a 30-23 lead with 14 seconds remaining when Kiffin opted to concede a safety rather than risking a blocked punt deep inside the Owls’ territory. He took to Twitter after the game and joked about the Owls not covering the spread with their 30-25 victory.


Last week, DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said his company will “weigh options” on whether or not to become a sportsbook if sports betting becomes legal in the United States.

Both companies sent representatives to the Global Gaming Expo — the world’s largest gaming conference — in Las Vegas last month. And while that had something to do with their DFS products, it’s foolish to think that’s the only reason either of them was there.

There are a lot of “ifs” about the legalization of sports betting. And there are plenty of reasons why DFS sites will find it challenging to become sportsbooks in the short term, if sports wagering becomes legal. But they also have some advantages.


The price of Bitcoin continues to climb and briefly jumped more than 11 percent after Square announced it was testing the currency.

 Bitcoin has again recovered quickly from a sharp drop.

The digital currency briefly surged more than 11 percent Wednesday to a high of $7,336.80 , according to CoinDesk. That’s within 10 percent of its record high of $7,879.06 hit last Wednesday. Bitcoin had fallen 30 percent below that record over the weekend amid controversy over the digital currency’s future.

 

Californian proposes sports betting legislation; Spieth, McIlroy open as co-favorites for PGA

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. 

Stumble upon something you think we should include? Email info@bettingtalk.com.

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California has joined the list of states that are working on legislation to legalize and regulate sports betting statewide if New Jersey wins its Supreme Court case.

“Whether we like it or not, Californians are already betting on sports through illegal and often unscrupulous websites in foreign countries. It is time to bring this multibillion dollar industry out of the shadows.” Gray said in laying out his proposal.

“We need to crack down on illegal and unregulated online gaming and replace it with a safe and responsible option that includes safeguards against compulsive and underage gambling, money laundering, and fraud.”


Jordan Spieth won the British Open last weekend after opening as a favorite for the tourmament. Spieth opened as a co-favorite with Rory McIlroy to win the PGA Championship.

Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook installed Spieth at 8-1 to win the title (and take home the career Grand Slam), along with Rory McIlroy at the same odds.

Spieth had a 3-shot lead entering the final round at Royal Birkdale in Lancashire, England, but lost it on a bizarre 13th hole in which he had to take an unplayable lie and hit a shot from the driving range. He finished the championship by going 5 under par in the final five holes.

Dustin Johnson opened at 10-1 to win the PGA Championship, with Rickie Fowler and Jason Day at 15-1.


Legal Sports Report outlined why the daily fantasy sports industry isn’t knocking on death’s door — contrary to the opinions of pundits and writers.

That’s when the industry got turned on its head in the wake of a bombardment of TV commercials from DraftKings and FanDuel, the infamous data leak and legal action from New York’s attorney general.

Nearly two years later, the industry is still here. And the possibility of legal sports betting in the US is on the horizon, if New Jersey prevails in its USSupreme Court case.

The future of DFS as currently situated is still uncertain — that’s especially so with the planned DraftKings-FanDuel merger being scrapped.

The possible emergence of sports betting is the latest reason being bandied about toforecast the end of the DFS industry.

But it’s doubtful the industry is just going away, silently into the night. Why?

 

 

New Jersey casino launches DFS for money; Dodgers, Astros favorites to win World Series

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. 

Stumble upon something you think we should include? Email info@bettingtalk.com.

* * *

A casino in New Jersey is now allowing visitors to play daily fantasy sports for money.

Resorts Casino Hotel on Monday launched FastPick, a daily fantasy sports game in which customers choose head-to-head player matchups of real-world athletes. If the customer’s slate of picks outperforms those assigned to the casino, the customer wins.

“I’m very excited about this new business,” Resorts president Mark Giannantonio told The Associated Press. “We expect it to be exciting for our online customers and, soon, for those who play at our casino. The idea has always been for the brick-and-mortar casino to be integrated as much as possible with our online business.”

The move marks the expansion of daily fantasy into a new casino market. But even as the activity has taken off across the country and abroad online, it has been slow to catch on at casinos in the United States. Steve Doty, a spokesman for the American Gaming Association, the casino industry’s national trade group, said the group does not know of casinos outside Nevada that offer daily fantasy games for money.


The Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Dodgers came out of the All-Star break with the best odds to win the World Series.

The Dodgers are 3-1 to win the World Series at the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, followed by the Houston Astros at 9-2. The Dodgers and Astros are co-favorites at both the MGM and South Point sportsbooks.

The Boston Red Sox (5-1), Washington Nationals (6-1) and Cleveland Indians (7-1) also are contenders with single-digit odds.

The defending-champion Chicago Cubs started the season as the consensus favorites, but after a disappointing start, they were overtaken in May by the Dodgers, Astros, Nationals and Indians. The Cubs are now listed at 12-1.


Mississippi passed a daily fantasy sports bill last year that also cleared a path for legal sports betting. Some legislators may not have realized the effect it would have on sports betting in the state and may revisit the issue now that the Supreme Court is set to look at New Jersey’s sports betting case.

But this appeared to fly under the radar of Mississippi leaders. A report last week by Mississippi Today sports columnist Rick Cleveland got more notice. Some leaders and rank-and-file lawmakers are questioning what happened, and what to do next.

“If the U.S. Supreme Court ruling creates the need to address sports gambling in Mississippi, the Gaming Commission will do so,” Bryant, a Republican, said in a statement. “I have serious concerns about the negative consequences of betting on sports.”

The bill didn’t mention sports betting, but it deleted a passage in the Gaming Control Act that prohibited casino wagering on athletic events or any events that don’t take place on a casino’s premises.

Bryant’s office further stated, “We’re not convinced HB 967 opens the door for sports betting in Mississippi. That was not part of the calculation the governor used to arrive at his decision to sign it, and it certainly was not a back-door way of clearing the legal pathway for wagering on sports.”


A Las Vegas Review-Journal article speculates on the potential outcomes for Nevada of New Jersey’s sports betting case that is heading to the Supreme Court.

Should sports betting go national, just about everything will continue to flow through Las Vegas. Odds would still emanate from the local books and the rest of the country would continue to turn to Las Vegas for its wealth of knowledge about the industry.

There is one other theory about how Nevada sports books could be hurt by the Supreme Court’s review of Christie v. the NCAA. It’s a doomsday scenario outlined by legal experts Ryan Rodenberg and John Holden in an article in the Duke Law Review, “Sports betting has an equal sovereignty problem,” and reported earlier this month by Dustin Gouker in the Legal Sports Report.

Gouker reported that there are three likely outcomes to the Supreme Court’s review of the New Jersey case: that the court upholds the lower-court finding, effectively changing nothing; that the prohibition on sports gambling is struck down as unconstitutional, taking it off the books and enabling states to legalize sports betting; or that the court says the grandfathering of Nevada sports betting under the law is unconstitutional under the equal sovereignty doctrine, effectively banning sports betting everywhere, including Nevada.

That third outcome is the ultimate bad beat for the industry.