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 [email protected].
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Could Donald Trump winning the election be a good thing for proponents of legalized sports betting?
With speculation that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie could be gunning for a U.S. Attorney General appointment by President-elect Donald Trump, there’s perhaps never been such a bright future for regulated sports betting in America.
Trump said back in the early 1990s that sports betting regulation was “vital to putting the bookies out of business.” That was back when he was an Atlantic City casino owner. Sports betting reform has been talked about for years, and Trump ran on a platform of change to the political status quo.
Another article looks at if a Trump presidency could bring legalized online gambling.
Essentially, it may be hard for anti-Trump supporters to refrain from shaking the shoulders of those Americans who gave Trump the mighty “X” for the presidential election last week merely because they had hoped he would legalize online gambling. Truthfully, the evidence at hand does not shine any proof that he may or that he is even thinking about doing anything of the sort. In fact, there seems to be more evidence proving that he will remain supportive of the Federal Wire Act as opposed to changing the federal laws within the U.S.
Legal Sports Report takes a look at what progress has been made since NBA Commissioner Adam Silver’s op-ed in the New York Times published two years ago.
- After the op-ed, little has come from Silver other than reiterating that position that he favors a regulated sports betting environment.
- Silver favors a “federal framework” for sports betting, something that is not going to happen in the US any time soon. That position was recently reiterated by former NBA Commissioner David Stern (who was not speaking on behalf of the NBA or Silver, but whose position is in line.)
- The American Gaming Association is starting a lobbying push on sports betting in Congress, likely early next year. The NBA has no plans to publicly be a part of that push.
- The NBA remains a plaintiff in the New Jersey sports betting case. The state has attempted to legalize sports betting, while the US pro leagues have opposed that effort.
Amaya’s former CEO made a bid to buy the company at a value of $6.7 billion.
Baazov founded Amaya, which was an obscure publicly-traded Montreal gambling company until Baazov pulled off the deal of a lifetime in 2014. He struck an agreement to buy the world’s biggest online poker companies, PokerStars and Full Tilt, for $4.9 billion, and got big Wall Street players like Blackstone Group to finance the transaction.
William Hill has made changes to its board since its merger deal with Amaya failed.
William Hill has appointed three new members to its board that has been under fire following a tumultuous year in which the UK bookmaker has lost a chief executive and was forced to call off a transformative merger after key shareholders refused to back the deal.
Colorado joined Nevada as the only states to allow daily fantasy sports-style pari-mutuel wagering.
Off-track betting sites in Colorado will set opening odds, projections and scoring rules determined by USFantasy Sports. Bettors can wager on football players in different pools or “games” to outscore all the other football players in the pool. Players score points according to yards gained and touchdowns scored, plus other methods.
Sunday’s crazy NFL action also provided one of the biggest betting weeks of the season for Las Vegas sportsbooks.
“I certainly will bet this is the highest handle we’ve had on a Sunday this season,” Vaccaro said.
The Seahawks-Patriots game in prime time drew the largest wagering handle of the day. Vaccaro said straight bets were nearly even on each side, but the bookmakers got the win because of more parlays and teasers on New England.