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 NCAA remains a fierce opponent of legalizing sports betting nationwide.
“The NCAA opposes all forms of legal and illegal sports wagering, which has the potential to undermine the integrity of sports contests and jeopardizes the welfare of student-athletes and the intercollegiate athletics community,” the organization wrote on its site.
Tom McMillen, the president and CEO of the NCAA Division I Athletic Directors Association — which recently rebranded itself as Lead1 — wasn’t shy about his group’s concerns.
“There are some deep-seeded feelings that this is a particularly delicate situation in the college arena,” said McMillen, a retired professional basketball player and a former Democratic congressman from Maryland.
Noting that unpaid college athletes are especially vulnerable to large amounts of money flowing through their game and that “there is a serious concern as to where all this new money would go,” McMillen said that nearly 80 percent of the members of his group were opposed to legalized sports betting.
“These kids are on scholarship. Listen, we’ve seen point-shaving scandals before,” he said. “We’re concerned.”
ESPN Chalk ranked the current sports betting legislation status for every state in the country.
To measure the change in the landscape, ESPN Chalk ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of how likely it is for each jurisdiction to join Nevada in offering a full scale of legal sports betting options.
A record number of NBA teams were at least 20 games below a .500 record at the All-Star break, and with a highly projected draft class, sportsbooks will deal with a lot of tanking in the second half of the season.
“We see it every year,” Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook head NBA oddsmaker Jeff Sherman told ESPN. “It’s part of being informed of what’s going on.”
“The NBA is always a headache,” William Hill director of trading Nick Bogdanovich said. “Sharper players already have lower limits.”
However, this particular stretch might force one bookmaker into uncharted territory.
“It [may] get to the point as weeks go by [where I don’t] book those games,” Golden Nugget sportsbook director Tony Miller said. He did promise lower betting limits for games involving teams out of playoff contention.
The Vegas Golden Knights are now listed as favorites to win the Stanley Cup.
Updated odds to win Stanley Cup @LVSuperBook:
Golden Knights 5/1
Penguins 6/1
Lightning 6/1
Predators 7/1
Bruins 8/1
Jets 9/1
Maple Leafs 9/1— David Payne Purdum (@DavidPurdum) February 20, 2018