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.
* * *
Two New Jersey lawmakers have introduced the “nuclear option” to legalizing sports betting in their state.
The bill is A 4303 was introduced last week by Assemblymen Ralph Caputo and John Burzichelli.
It is a fairly straightforward piece of legislation. It attempts to abide by the prescription of the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which has intimated to New Jersey that its prior laws ran afoul of PASPA, but that a full repeal would not do so.
Prior laws limited wagering to casinos and racetracks.
A recent poll found that 48 percent of Americans favored changing federal law to allow states to offer legal sports betting while 39 percent were against it.
Support is the strongest among younger Americans with 60 percent of the under 35 crowd favoring a change in the laws. Not surprisingly, eight in ten of those who have bet on sports informally in the past 12 months are also in favor.
The Chicago Cubs won the World Series, ending a 108-year championship drought for the team. The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook has listed them as favorites to win it next year.
The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook has the Cubs listed as clear-cut favorites, at 3-1, to win next year’s World Series. They are the only team with odds in the single digits.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington Nationals and Boston Red Sox each opened at 10-1 to win next year’s World Series. The Cleveland Indians are among three teams at 12-1.
The Patriots haven’t been kind to Las Vegas sportsbooks this season.
“The public is betting the Patriots like every week now,” Ed Salmons, assistant manager at the Westgate SuperBook said. “[The Patriots] are like their free spot in bingo. It’s the one thing that’s working for them.”
A student writer for UTEP’s newspaper made his case for legalization of sports betting in the United States.
Well, gambling comes with all kinds of inherent nastiness. Just ask Pastor Howard Batson of First Baptist Church in Amarillo.
“I think the legislature needs to think long and hard before they subject the people of the panhandle, or the great state of Texas, to all the seedy underbelly that comes with something like gambling,” Batson said to KFDA TV of Lubbock.
That sounds just awful if you ask me. I mean, just look at all of the seediness all around us. In an op-ed in the New York Times in 2014, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver estimated that illegal sports gambling in the United States could see as much as $400 billion wagered annually. We are surrounded by seediness. Can you feel it?
Better yet, do you feel it every time you walk into the grocery or convenience store? After all, the state of Texas is responsible for running the biggest gambling ring in the state, the Texas lottery. While telling everyone around that gambling is dangerous for people and that they only want what is best for their constituents, politicians consistently fight against sports wagering while supporting legalized gambling in their own backyards.