Tag: Betting Roundup

The NFL will allow betting lounges in stadiums, but no physical sportsbooks.

“We’re allowing betting lounges,” Halpin told ESPN on Friday. “Similar to daily fantasy lounges today, in an adult, discreet area, there will be a betting setup, but we’re not going to have betting windows.”

Under the new league policy, teams can designate official sportsbook sponsors and display signage in stadiums with some restrictions. The word “sponsor” must be included in reference to sportsbooks, and sports betting signage remains prohibited in the lower bowls of stadiums.

Previously, casino sponsorships were allowed, but references to sportsbooks were not. In January 2019, the NFL named Caesars Entertainment as the league’s first official casino sponsor, a deal that did not include sports betting. Teams have accepted casino sponsorships for years, but without sports betting.

The Kansas Senate passed a sports betting bill this week.

After months of talking about the issue, the full Senate debated sports betting for the first time. The bill passed 23-15.

Senators went back and forth for hours about the details of the bill. They talked about where revenue should go, whether horse racing or greyhound racing should be a part of the bill, and how much money should be set aside for gambling addiction.

The state would allow both betting in casinos and online, with the state getting 5.5 percent and 8 percent of revenues respectively.

Two percent of all revenues would go to the gambling and addictions grant fund.

With the bill, the state would be able to collect on bets placed on college and professional games that lawmakers believe is currently going on.

“It’s not a new outlet because I think we know that it’s happening, we hope that it’s a new safer outlet,” Lawrence Senator Marci Francisco said. “Why not have it controlled by the state, and then make sure for those people who are participating in that wagering that it’s non-offshore, that they know that their bets will be acknowledged.”

A New York man pled guilty to attempting to bribe a Division 1 college basketball player to fix a game.

Benjamin Bifalco, 25, of Staten Island, New York, pleaded guilty to attempted sports bribery Thursday morning in the Eastern District of New York.

Sentencing is scheduled for June, according to Bifalco’s attorney Vincent J. Martinelli. Under the statute, Bifalco faces up to five years of prison, however, prosecutors recommended to the judge up to six months of incarceration.

Martinelli told ESPN that Bifalco admitted to the court that he offered money to a player in return for making sure his team lost by more than the point spread. According to Martinelli, the player did not accept the offer and the attempt to compromise the game never came to fruition.

The player and school targeted have not been revealed.

Brian Urlacher’s brother, Casey Urlacher, was one of ten people charged for operating an illegal sports betting business in Illinois.

Casey Urlacher, the mayor of the Illinois village of Mettawa, is accused in U.S. District Court of conspiracy and running an illegal gambling business.

Prosecutors allege that Casey Urlacher and the others ran a ring that raked in millions of dollars. Prosecutors said the Urlacher, 40, acted as an agent for the gambling ring. He is accused of recruiting bettors in exchange for a cut of their eventual losses.

Brian Urlacher wasn’t named in the indictment.

“I don’t know nothing about it,” Casey Urlacher told the Chicago Sun-Times when asked about the charges.

 

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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.

Eleven amendments were tacked on to Kentucky’s sports betting bill last week, complicating its future.

Rep. Adam Koenig, R-Erlanger, the main sponsor for House Bill 137, told The Courier Journal the 11 floor amendments were all filed by Republican opponents of his legislation and expanded gambling, assuming their intent was to throw a wrench into the bill’s progress.

After passing out of a House committee by an 18-0 vote on Jan. 15, HB 137 has been passed over for a vote on the House floor every day of the legislative session.

Despite 40 co-sponsors, the near-unanimous support of House Democrats and backing from Gov. Andy Beshear, the bill is having trouble gaining majority support in that chamber’s GOP caucus, which it needs in order to get a vote on the House floor.

“This is a Republican Party caucus issue,” Koenig said. “I think it’s fair to say that if a bill has the majority support of the (Republican) caucus, it probably would get heard. We’ve got some work to do to get to that point.”

The bill would allow Kentuckians to bet on sporting events at licensed facilities, limited to horse racing tracks and the Kentucky Speedway. People could also download a mobile phone application to bet on sports anywhere. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission would be responsible for regulating sports betting.

A Las Vegas sportsbook expects Houston Astros batters to get beaned by pitches at a high rate next season.

On Monday, sportsbook William Hill set the over/under on number of Astros batters to get plunked this season at 83.5.

In the past five seasons, only nine teams have been hit by pitches more than 83.5 times, but, with the anger over the sign-stealing scandal involving Houston, there is plenty of reason to believe the Astros will be targeted frequently.

Enough opposing players and managers have expressed their displeasure with the Astros that new Houston manager Dusty Baker has publicly urged MLB to protect Astros hitters from intentionally being beaned.

“I’m depending on the league to try to put a stop to this seemingly premeditated retaliation that I’m hearing about,” Baker told reporters Saturday. “And in most instances in life, you get kind of reprimanded when you have premeditated anything. I’m just hoping that the league puts a stop to this before somebody gets hurt.”

New York lawmakers are discussing whether or not to allow mobile and online sports betting in the state.

As state lawmakers debate whether to legalize mobile sports betting in the Empire State, New Yorkers wagered $837 million on sporting events in New Jersey last year, according to an industry-funded study released Tuesday.

That is almost a fifth of the $4.6 billion that was bet in New Jersey last year on sporting events, according to state figures. And for state Sen. Joe Addabbo, a Queens Democrat, it represents millions of dollars in tax revenue that is going to New Jersey but could help bridge New York’s budget…

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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.

In the final minute of Super Bowl LIV, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes lost 15 rushing yards kneeling the ball to secure a 31-20 victory. Those lost rushing yards changed fortunes for Mahomes’ rushing yards prop bettors.

Mahomes’ over/under rushing yards opened as low as 27.5 and was bet up to as high 36.5. Mahomes had 44 yards entering Kansas City’s final possession. With the Chiefs leading 31-20 and 57 seconds remaining, Mahomes kneeled on three straight plays, losing 15 yards. He finished with 29 yards rushing, a costly outcome for bettors.

“That was close to a six-figure swing [in favor of the house],” said Jeff Davis, director of trading for Caesars Sportsbook.

Out of the hundreds of proposition wagers offered by William Hill U.S. sportsbooks, more money was bet on the over on Mahomes’ rushing yards than was bet on any other market. Seventy-five percent of the bets and 68% of the money wagered on prop was on the over.

Patrick Mahomes has opened as the favorite to win MVP next season and the Chiefs opened as favorites to win the Super Bowl.

Mahomes, the NFL’s MVP in 2018, opened last season as the favorite at Westgate at 4-1 odds. Lamar Jackson (100-1) took home the award after an impressive season leading the Baltimore Ravens to the No. 1 seed and a 14-2 regular-season record.

“Mahomes is the best quarterback and he didn’t win last year,” Ed Salmons, vice president of risk at the SuperBook, told ESPN. “He’s gotta be the favorite.”

Jackson opens with the second-best odds this year at 6-1, followed by Russell Wilson at 10-1. Deshaun Watson (12-1), Dak Prescott (16-1) and Carson Wentz (16-1) round out the players with odds shorter than 20-1.

The Chiefs opened at 6-1 to win Super Bowl LV at Caesars Sportsbook, followed by the Baltimore Ravens at 7-1 and the San Francisco 49ers at 8-1.

Mahomes rallied the Chiefs past the 49ers on Sunday to win Super Bowl LIV 31-20.

The New Orleans Saints (11-1) and the New England Patriots (14-1) are among the next tier of Super Bowl LV contenders at Caesars, but both teams have veteran quarterbacks with decisions to make.

The NFL may be looking to hire a vice president of sports betting.

The NFL resisted any connection to gambling for decades. Now, it’s hiring a vice president that will specialize in betting.

The league’s change in philosophy on gambling has been abrupt, but necessary. Legal Sports Report said the NFL is looking for a new vice president of sports betting to “oversee the league’s betting initiatives” and cited a job description being circulated by headhunters.

The NFL couldn’t afford to act like gambling on its game doesn’t exist, especially with 20 states now having legislation allowing legal sports wagering with more states likely to add it. It’s just rather shocking, with the league’s history of being staunchly against anything remotely related to gambling.

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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.

Penn National Gaming will buy Barstool Sports at a valuation of $450 million.

Advocates of legalized sports gambling in Kansas endorsed Wednesday a proposal allowing the four state-sanctioned casinos to take bets on college and professional athletic events on a casino’s premises and through internet or mobile devices.

Commercial retailers and other businesses in Kansas that have sought an opportunity to engage in sports betting operations through the Kansas Lottery weren’t included in the bill submitted to the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee. The bill would deliver to the state government a 7.5% tax on casino wagers and 10% tax on mobile bets, but the legislation wouldn’t earmark a percentage of revenue for city or county governments.

A former contestant from “The Bachelor” was forced to forfeit a $1-million prize from winning a daily fantasy football tournament.

On NFL wild-card weekend (Jan. 4-5), Tolbert finished with the top score in DraftKings’ Millionaire Maker contest. She bested more than 105,000 entries and thought she had won the $1 million top prize. Controversy ensued, however, and DraftKings began looking into allegations that Tolbert worked with her husband, Tanner Tolbert, a known high-volume daily fantasy player, to circumvent entry limits into the contest.

On Saturday, DraftKings announced that it was updating the standings for “several contests” and began notifying impacted customers. Tolbert was no longer listed as the winner of the Millionaire Maker contest. An entry with the username spclk36, who had been in second place behind Tolbert, was now at the top of the leaderboard. Tolbert was no longer listed and as recently as Tuesday had not received the $1 million prize, according to her husband.

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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.

The Kansas City Chiefs are a small favorite over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV.

The consensus opening line at sportsbooks around the nation was pick ’em. The point spread had grown to Kansas City -1 late Sunday night at most shops.

According to ESPN Stats & Information’s line archive, no Super Bowl has ever closed with a point spread of pick ’em. Four Super Bowls have had a line of less than two. This year’s Super Bowl appears destined to be the fifth.

Caesars Sportsbook opened the Chiefs at -1.5 on Sunday and took early bets on the 49ers.

“We had the Chiefs a little higher than the 49ers in our power ratings,” Alan Berg, senior oddsmaker for Caesars Sportsbook, told ESPN on Sunday night. “You can make a case for either team, and I expect decent, balanced action from the public.”

Missouri could pass a bill legalizing sports betting this year.

Missouri State Rep. Wes Rogers, a democrat from Kansas City, said there’s bipartisan support for several bills that could legalize sports betting in the Show-Me-State.

“Sports gambling is pretty straightforward; you let the casinos build the books, you start taking bets, you start generating tax revenue, and then you’re bringing something to the white market which is already rampant on the black market,” Rogers said.

It doesn’t look like mobile or online betting will be legal in New York anytime soon.

The regulations approved last year by the state Gaming Commission require casinos to only take wagers within the lounge area. Cuomo’s proposal would amend the provision to allow bets to be accepted anywhere on the casino floor.

Casinos and lawmakers hope Cuomo will warm to the idea of allowing mobile sports bets. He has been reluctant to support an expansion of sports wagering due to constitutional concerns.

State Sen. Joseph Addabbo, a Queens Democrat who chairs the Senate Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering, told The Citizen in an interview Wednesday that New York is losing revenue to neighboring states, such as New Jersey and Pennsylvania, that offer mobile sports betting.

If California were to legalize sports betting, it could be the largest market in the country.

The market could generate $250 million to $500 million in tax revenue for the state based on whether the tax rate is 10% or 20%, Gray said.

“It is clear that we are quickly heading in the direction of a well-thought-out, legal sports betting framework here in California,” Gray said at a hearing earlier this month. “We need to create this framework to ensure regulatory oversight and provide consumer protections to get this long-standing and emerging activity out of the shadows of the illicit or black market.”

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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.

Bookmakers won big as the Tennessee Titans upset the Baltimore Ravens 28-12.

“It was our biggest football win of the season, a great result for us,” John Murray, executive director at the SuperBook at Westgate Las Vegas, told ESPN. “So many parlays to Baltimore money line and guys chasing the Ravens in-game. Under was big, too.”

The story was the same at several other sportsbooks, as the Titans’ victory knocked out many money-line parlays and teasers.

“It was a high six-figure win for us,” Alan Berg, senior oddsmaker at Caesars Entertainment, told ESPN. “A phenomenal result for the house. You name it, we made money off it: straight bets, teasers, parlays.”

Following the upset of the Ravens, the Kansas City Chiefs are once again favorites to win the Super Bowl this season.

The Chiefs are the favorites at 11-10 as of Monday morning at Caesars Sportsbook. The 49ers are next at 7-5, followed by the Tennessee Titans at 15-2 and Green Bay Packers at 17-2.

In mid-October, with quarterback Patrick Mahomes recovering from a knee injury, the Chiefs were second-tier Super Bowl contenders, behind the New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, 49ers and Packers on the oddsboard at Caesars. Mahomes returned quickly and helped the Chiefs close out the regular season with six straight wins. Their last loss, however, was to the upstart Titans, their opponent in the AFC Championship Game.

LSU completed a perfect college football season by winning the national championship. Runner-up Clemson has opened as the favorite to win next year.

With quarterback Trevor Lawrence returning for his junior season and another stellar recruiting class on the way, Clemson has been installed as the consensus favorite to win next season’s College Football Playoff.

Clemson opened as the favorite at 2-1 at Caesars Sportsbook, followed by Alabama at 4-1, LSU at 9-2 and Ohio State at 7-1.

Clemson reached the playoff in each of the past five seasons, winning two national championships. Clemson lost to LSU 42-25 on Monday, though, snapping its 29-game winning streak and handing Lawrence his first collegiate loss.

Colorado saw more than 50 license applications for up to 33 total sports betting licenses it plans to distribute in the coming months.

The state has received more than 50 license applications since November, according to Dan Hartman, director of the Department of Revenue’s Gaming Enforcement Division. That includes 28 from existing casinos, 10 from operators looking to run retail sportsbooks and 13 from internet apps. The names of the applicants have not been disclosed.

The first licensees are expected to be approved in February, though they won’t be able to take bets until Colorado’s new sports gambling law goes into effect on May 1.

New Hampshire residents who are near the Maine border are reporting issues with their sports betting apps.

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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.

California is among the states pushing to legalize sports betting in 2020.

California state lawmakers held a preliminary hearing on sports betting Wednesday, joining several other states considering legalization in 2020 in a rapid push that could soon eclipse more than half the United States by year-end.

Overseen by state senators and assembly members, the hearing will include commentary from sports betting industry experts on factors that should be considered in sports betting legislation. California state Sen. Bill Dodd and Assemblyman Adam Gray, both Democrats, plan to use their feedback to help shape a bill for eventual inclusion on the November ballot, according to Legal Sports Report.

California is one of nine states exploring legalized sports betting in 2020, according to the American Gaming Association, a lobbyist group that represents the U.S. casino industry. A total of 20 states have legalized some form of sports betting since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal ban in May 2018. Michigan is the latest state to do so with legislation that passed in December

“We will likely approach a total of 30 states with some form of legal sports betting by the end of 2020,” said Chris Grove, managing director of sports and emerging verticals at Eilers & Krejcik Gaming.

Sports betting operators in Michigan may be required to use official data from pro sports leagues after lawmakers approved a requirement in the state’s sports betting bill.

Pro sports leagues had “strongly advocated” for the Michigan policy, acknowledged Rep. Brandt Iden, the chief sponsor of the sports betting bill.

“It’s obviously something that was very important to the leagues,” said Iden, R-Oshtemo Township, the House Ways and Means Committee chairman.

But most states have been reluctant to adopt “official league data” requirements, said John Holden, an assistant professor at Oklahoma State University who has studied gaming and sports integrity.

The requirements add fees to wagers and prevent other sports data companies from launching and competing with businesses aligned with the leagues, giving more of the data market to the leagues, he said.

“I think it’s bad for consumers,” Holden explained. “That cost, at some point, is going to be passed on to consumers.”

MGM will relaunch its sports betting app in Nevada under the BetMGM brand.

The move comes after MGM and GVC’s joint venture, Roar Digital, secured approval from the Nevada Gaming Control Board on Wednesday to operate mobile Nevada sports betting in the state.

MGM will continue to run its retail sportsbooks, but Roar will now take over the digital aspects of the operation as a service provider.

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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.

Michigan could be the next state to legalize sports betting.

Legislation that would create the framework for sports betting and internet gaming in Michigan cleared the Senate Wednesday morning morning after amendments were made to the proposal the House passed this fall.

The Senate passed an array of amended gaming-related bills Wednesday with wide bipartisan support, and the House began approving the updated legislation later Wednesday afternoon.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer needs to sign the legislation for it to become law. Whitmer spokesperson Tiffany Brown said Tuesday the governor “is pleased with the progress made on gaming over the course of this year” and said the changes made addressed many of her initial concerns.

“This is a good, bipartisan solution made possible by working together on a complex issue, and the governor looks forward to closely reviewing this package once it hits her desk,” Brown said in an email.

Arizona Cardinals defensive back Josh Shaw was suspended from the NFL through the 2020 season for gambling on league games. He has appealed his suspension.

Shaw, who is on injured reserve, has not played during his first season with the Cardinals. He placed at least one of his wagers on Nov. 10 at a Las Vegas sportsbook operated by Caesars Entertainment, multiple gaming industry sources told ESPN.

According to the sources, Shaw bet a three-team parlay on the second-half results of three Week 10 games, including the Cardinals’ game at Tampa Bay. On his parlay, Shaw bet against Arizona, backing the Buccaneers to cover the second-half spread against the Cardinals. The Buccaneers failed to cover the second-half spread and the bet, which the sources said was for a few thousand dollars, did not win.

The NFL found no evidence that Shaw used inside information to make his bet or that any game had been compromised.

Shaw, who had a player’s card with Caesars, had bet with the company previously, sources said, but not on the NFL until Nov. 10. Immediately after realizing Shaw had bet on the NFL, Caesars contacted the Nevada Gaming Control Board and subsequently the NFL, which launched an investigation.

Sports betting handle in Indiana increased 60.6 percent following the introduction of mobile sports betting.

 Mobile bets accounted for $96.2 million in handle, or 65.3% of Indiana’s total handle last month. That’s up from 52.4% in October but still a bit shy of the more than 80% share found in New Jersey or Pennsylvania.

Those states followed a similar trajectory to what is happening in Indiana. Mobile share grew steadily over the first few months of legal sports betting to reach more than four out of every five wagers today.

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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.