Category Archives: Gambling

The legality of sports gambling has varied greatly over time and place.

At 17 acres, it was the largest gambling house ever constructed, and at a cost of $1.2 billion, it was also the most expensive.

I was not with him on the 29th when he was gambling and then drove home and actually got the DUI.

She was gambling on a coin toss where somehow heads, you win would have been politically more advantageous than tails, I lose.

Is gambling culture more desirable than gay culture and counterculture?

But the other side of the coin would be, inevitably, the flowering of crime and corruption around the gambling business.

Still, gambling seemed to be made particularly fascinating here, and he wanted to be fascinated, wanted it badly.

Jorgensen's gambling room was different from the bar and dining room as they were from each other.

She wondered if the old gambling spirit had broken out again, and asked if they were playing poker or mont.

Lessard was away in the holegambling and other thingsI hinted the idea to him; he jumped at it, as I thought he would.

It is in tune with the old gambling spirit that still colors the country; no doubt has kept it alive.

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Gambling | Definition of Gambling at Dictionary.com

(WVNS) March is National Problem Gambling Awareness Month, which also happens to be during the month of the biggest college basketball games, the NCAA Tournament.

Sheila Moran is the Director of Marketing and Communication for 1-800 Gambler. She said it is not a coincidence that awareness month is in March, because they know this month is a very popular time to gamble.

According to The Problem Gambling Help Network of West Virginia at least one in 50 people in the Mountain State have a serious issue. The goal is to help address their problem, and provide solutions.

We focus a lot on prevention. We show that many people, if not most people, gamble at some point in their life, so it is important to understand the difference between recreational gambling and problem gambling and when theyve crossed that line and what to do when theyve crossed that line, Moran said.

If you know someone that needs help, 1-800-GAMBLER offers a 24 hour help line along with a 24 hour chat room. A gambler can speak to a crisis counselor and also receive free treatment for their problem.

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It is not a coincidence the NCAA Tournament and National Problem Gambling Awareness Month both happen in March - WVNS-TV

During game broadcasts, announcers rarely mentioned a games odds with anything more than a wink and a nod. NFL announcer Al Michaels once referenced a play that made the games total points exceed the point spread by saying, thats over-whelming.

Fast forward to 2021, and Charles Barkley now openly discusses gambling odds during his betting segment before and after NBA games on the popular TV show Inside the NBA, which airs on TNT.

In fact, many TV broadcasts of pro sports games today feature ads from leading U.S. sportsbooks DraftKings DKNG, +6.46% or FanDuel, and odds for games are now shown on TV networks regularly.

Sports betting TV shows have also launched: ESPN DIS, -0.59% created a show dedicated to sports gambling called the Daily Wager, and CBS VIACA, +0.65% also has a gambling show called SportsLine Edge, for example. ESPN even began featuring point spreads on its famous BottomLine ticker.

How did we go from winks and nods to this in just three years?

The first domino fell in 2018 when the Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) and took away the federal governments power to regulate sports betting. Now its up to individual states to craft their own legislation surrounding sports betting.

Early success for states like New Jersey, which had nearly $3 billion wagered in just its first year of legalized sports betting, prompted more states to pass their own sports betting legislation. Twenty states as well as Washington, D.C. now have some form of legal sports betting.

Gambling no longer feels tawdry and in the shadows, Chad Millman, CEO of betting data company Action Network, said shortly after the ban on sports betting was lifted. It has democratized information, and people are thinking opportunistically because they love sports.

Since the PASPA ban was lifted, over $45 billion has been legally wagered in the U.S., according to Legal Sports Report.

Once it was clear that sports betting had major staying power in the U.S. markets, media companies began partnering with sportsbooks. ESPN, Turner Sports and Barstool Sports signed official sportsbook partnerships and tried to steer their audiences towards betting.

Its safe to say that all the sports rights owners are trying to find new ways to engage fans, FanDuel CEO Matt King told MarketWatch.

Both ESPN and Turner own sports broadcasting rights to NBA and NFL games and members of sports talk shows like ESPNs Jalen Rose and TNTs Charles Barkley have inked endorsement deals with BetMGM MGM, +1.32% and FanDuel, respectively.

Barkley says he wagered $100,000 on the Portland Trail Blazers to make it the NBA Finals at +2800 odds during TNTs NBA game coverage.

Hey, I was thinking more about the $2.8 million, Barkley would later say, about how much money the bet could have made him.

A TV analyst talking about betting like that during a broadcast is a stark contrast from where we were a few years ago when most sports leagues were against the idea of betting on their games.

When the first seeds of sports betting legalization were being planted in 2012, the NFL was not a supporter. New Jersey was attempting to legalize sports betting at the state level with federal sports betting ban still in place.

Its a very strongly held view in the NFL it has been for decades that the threat that gambling could occur in the NFL or fixing of games or that any outcome could be influenced by the outside could be very damaging to the NFL and very difficult to ever recover from, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in 2012.

The NFL, which just signed a $110 billion media rights deal, has since moved a team to sports betting capital of the U.S. Las Vegas and has accepted a sportsbook partnership deal from Caesars CZR, -1.41%.

Heres what Goodell says now: We think that sports gambling in many ways creates a lot more engagement for our fans. It gives them another opportunity to engage with the game.

The billions added in annual revenue from legal sports betting led the NFL to allow individual teams to sell several official sportsbooks sponsorships too. Some sports teams like the New York Giants and the Washington Wizards have physical sportsbooks inside their stadiums. These successful sportsbooks famously have large quantities of cash and spend huge amount on marketing.

Leagues including the NBA, NFL and NHL have released statements saying they would prefer sports betting was federally regulated instead of regulated by states so they could charge integrity fees, a sports betting tax from the leagues at a large scale.

There are still schisms within the industry. While there are numerous TV shows, podcasts and pregame analysts talking about sports betting, its still rarely mentioned during actual game broadcasts.

Gambling is legalized in a few states now. Its not widespread across the entire country and our policy has been that in our football telecasts, including the SEC on CBS and the NFL, we dont discuss gambling information, lines, over/unders, CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus said ahead of the Super Bowl LIII. We dont do that. Thats our policy.

This is especially true for college sports, which has a more uneasy relationship with gambling than pro sports leagues. Sports betting critics will often say that game-fixing could be more prevalent in college sports because the participants are not paid, allowing bad actors to potentially sway teenagers into improperly influencing the outcome through bribes or other maneuvers.

The NCAA has released several statements in recent weeks discussing the perils of sports betting.

The 2021 NCAA March Madness basketball Tournament begins this week and is expected to see over $1 billion in total legal wagering, a record for any sporting event.

See also: Avoid these four mistakes when filling out your March Madness bracket

Multiple sources at Warner Media, the company broadcasting the March Madness Tournament, told MarketWatch that odds and lines will not be shown during this years tournament broadcasts. That includes pregame and postgame coverage.

Additionally, there will be no advertisements from sportsbooks during the games, the sources confirmed.

The 2021 tournament will take place in Indiana, a state where sports betting is legal.

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Have you noticed how much gambling talk there is on sports TV? How we got here - MarketWatch

The smart money is against embattled Gov. Andrew Cuomo being reelected next year, according to one online gambling operation.

But the scandal-scarred Democrat isnt likely to call it quits and resign by the end of next month, based on odds being offered by BetOnline.ag.

The website will pay out only 1-4 on wagers that Cuomo will lose if he seeks a fourth term, compared to 5-2 that hell win.

It also puts the odds of Cuomo resigning by April 30 at 3-1, and 5-2 that he wont.

The number of bets placed so far in is the four-figure range, said the sites sportsbook manager, Dave Mason.

The online casino began encouraging customers to gamble on Cuomos likely reelection when he was first getting backlash over his handling of nursing homes amid the coronavirus pandemic, Mason said.

Those odds opened at Yes +150 [3-2]/No -200 [1-2] and the bettors hammered the No pretty fast, he said.

But, Mason added, At this point, theres no reason for us to believe hes going to step down unless President Biden asks him to.

Biden has said he will await the results of an independent investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo, but this week added that the governor will probably end up being prosecuted, too if the claims against him are confirmed.

Cuomo has repeatedly vowed not to resign but recently refused to say if hell make good on an earlier pledge to run again in 2022.

His office didnt immediately return a request for comment.

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Odds against Gov. Andrew Cuomo's reelection next year, gambling site says - New York Post

Youd be hard pressed to come up with a single action that shaped the future of Nevada more than Gov. Fred B. Balzars signing of the open-gambling bill on March 19, 1931.

Nevadans didnt necessarily realize its significance at the time, though.

The wide-open gambling bill, establishing licensed gambling in all forms in the state of Nevada, was passed by the senate late this afternoon by a vote of 13-3, one not voting, read the story on the front page of the Las Vegas Evening Review and Journal on March 17.

It went on to say that the law would become effective as soon as it was signed by Balzar, although there was uncertainty as to when that would happen because he was ill at home.

The story took second billing that day to the merger of the existing Ferguson-Balcom and Las Vegas hospitals and the pending construction of a new 50-bed hospital at 12th and Stewart streets.

The following day, a story by the United Press we didnt yet have a Carson City bureau reported that it could be days before the ailing governor signed the bill. As to the economics of the legislation, a license fee of $50 per table and $12.50 per handle for slot machines would be charged, with counties taking 50 percent of the money and the city and state each taking 25 percent.

That information was upstaged by a story about a prison riot in Joliet, Illinois.

On March 19, UP reported that while waiting for Gov. Balzars signature, Reno announced plans for casinos that would outrival anything in the United States in splendor and gaming attractions. The story concluded with reports from around the state that casinos will lose no time in satisfying the supposed demand for wide-open games.

Heres the entirety of the March 20 report from the Associated Press announcing the start of legalized gambling: Governor Fred B. Balzar returned to his office for a short time (yesterday) and one of his first official acts was to sign the newly enacted gambling bill which becomes effective immediately.

Thats it.

That sentence got less play on that days front page than a story about two California teenagers who stole a Chevrolet coupe and drove it to Las Vegas, and even less than a brief about a car accident that cracked a stores plate-glass window and smashed the tool box on one of the vehicles running boards. The bills signing was only slightly bigger news than the fact that Miss Marjorie Goodwin of Las Vegas was one of 42 honor students at Long Beach Junior College and that she was planning to come home for a visit about April 4.

Finally, on March 21, we reported that gaming would be in full swing later that night at several Las Vegas resorts. The days banner headline, though, concerned the investigation into a fire that had been set in a local storefront, damaging its stock.

Each weekday, Starting Point, the Review-Journals recently revamped free morning newsletter, takes a look back at a front page from that day in history. To subscribe, visit reviewjournal.com/email-alerts.

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Legal gambling not even the top story of the day back in 1931 - Las Vegas Review-Journal

(The Center) Members of the New York State Legislature Budget Conference Committee met Wednesday for the first time to hash out the differences in their budget plans.

One such difference involves gambling, as the Senates budget plan involves issuing as many as three licenses for casino resorts in the downstate region. The Houses version does not. The Cuomo administration hasnt really spoken on the issue recently, but during his state of the state address in January, Gov. Andrew Cuomo mentioned seeking requests for information from gaming companies interested in operating a casino in or around New York City.

A recently released study from Spectrum Gaming Group estimates three casino resorts could generate $842 million in new tax revenues by 2025.

Speaking with The Center Square on Tuesday, state Sen. Joseph Addabbo, D-Queens, said hes not worried about the plans not seeing eye-to-eye right now.

That's where conversations and negotiations will start, said Addabbo, who chairs the Senate Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering. You know, you can imagine a very complex budget of the state. There are many differences on many issues. So, that's okay to be in that position.

Currently, state gaming law prevents the downstate licenses from being awarded until 2023. That was done to give the four upstate resorts an opportunity to mature. However, that was well before the COVID-19 pandemic cratered New York Citys and the states economy.

Addabbo isnt the only one who has talked about New York City casinos. New York Yankees President Randy Levine, who previously served as the citys deputy mayor for economic development, has supported casinos as an economic booster. Mayoral candidate Andrew Yang has called for building one on Governors Island.

Immediately these three licenses one, two or three would mean thousands of jobs, construction jobs, union jobs, long-term full-time jobs, Addabbo said. You know, that's what you look for when youre looking to come out of a pandemic. So, it's not only about revenue, it's about the job growth.

The downstate casino topic wont be the only gaming issue the parties will discuss. Both the Assembly and Senate budgets include mobile sports betting. Their plans look identical, with each casino, including tribal ones, having the chance to partner with two mobile operators. The fee for each mobile license is $12 million, with mobile revenues taxed at 12 percent.

Cuomo, who had long opposed expanding beyond offering sportsbooks at casinos, has warmed to the idea in recent months as the state has sought new revenue streams. However, his proposal has been for the state to control mobile sports betting in a fashion akin to the lottery.

The administration believes that model can generate hundreds of millions in revenue for the state. However, Addabbo said smaller states and the District of Columbia have tried that approach with less than stellar results.

The proposal from lawmakers is modeled after such states as New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Addabbo said its up to the lawmakers to impress upon the administration that that model is better for the state.

With legal options across the river as well as bookies and unregulated offshore books serving as competition, New York needs a mobile sports betting product that will keep those gamblers from utilizing the other options.

A poll released by the Siena College Research Institutethis week shows 51 percent of registered voters back expanding sports betting to allow for online apps. Only 30 percent oppose it, while 18 percent have no opinion.

The budget talks start with a cloud hanging over the Cuomo administration, thanks to scandals involving nursing home policy and alleged sexual harassment. Many lawmakers including Democrats have called on the governor to step down, as they question how effective he can be in managing budget negotiations and the pandemic while being investigated.

Addabbo, though, is not among them. He said the governor may very well be distracted, but he has staff, like Budget Director Rob Mujica, who have jobs and responsibilities tied to budget negotiations.

He also wants to see how the independent investigation overseen by Attorney General Letitia James plays out.

Allegations need to be turned into factually sworn in statements, and then we'll have a basis for our options, which include legislative options, impeachment options and calling for resignation, Addabbo said.

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New York lawmakers still mulling over whether to expand gambling options - The Center Square

Three men pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal charge of taking part in illegal gambling operations, including two Burke County men who agreed to forfeit a total of more than $300,000.

Grady BrandonMobley and Daniel Cates of Burke County and Joel Rees Jones of Greenwood, S.C., entered their pleas in U.S. District Court in Augusta to violation of the prohibition of illegal gambling. Mobley also pleaded guilty to a second charge, false or fraud statements for filing a fraudulent income tax return for 2017.

As part of the plea agreement, Mobley turned over a check for $207,716 in forfeiture funds and a $2,000 fine. Cates agreed to pay a $100,000 forfeiture before his sentencing.

IRS and FBI agents uncovered the gambling operating. They foundevidence that Mobley operated as a bookie for at least 10 years in Burke County, taking bets and paying out winnings, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara Lyons told Chief Judge J. Randal Hall.

Mobley eventually moved the business online to a sports betting website operated out of Costa Rica. In September 2015, Mobley joined with Jones who operated a small gambling business. The two men split proceeds, Lyons said.

The federal agents were able to trace most of the money, but they couldn't find any evidence in bank records against Jones, Lyons said. He later told agents that he always kept the gambling money in cash.

Mobley used his parents'legal check-cashingbusiness for a time, then moved to Cates' tire store to try to eliminate any trace of illegal funds, Lyons said. Between 2014 and 2017 there was $250,000that federal agents tracedthrough Cates' business, Lyons said.

All three men remain free on bonds set Thursday. Sentencing will take place after pre-sentencing reports are prepared by the federal probation office.

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Three plead guilty to gambling operations in Georgia and South Carolina - The Augusta Chronicle

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont announced yesterday, March 18, that the state of Connecticut has reached an agreement with both the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes that will basically legalize sports betting and online casino wagering games here in the state.

According to the press release, the state hopes that the agreement will bring in tens of millions of dollars in new revenue and it will also bring the Connecticut Lottery into the sports betting spotlight with two new CT lotto sports betting venues in Bridgeport and Hartford and up to 15 new sports betting locations around the state.

There are also a couple of key components that have been announced from the agreement, one being that both Mohegan and Foxwoods will no longer pursue the development of a long-planned additional casino that was going to be located in East Windsor, at least as long as this agreement between the tribes and the state last.

Also, you knew that there was going to be state taxes, it is Connecticut, the land of incredible tax, so for the first 5 years, there's going to be an 18% tax on new online commercial casino gaming. That will go up after the first 5 years to 20%. There will also be an announced 13.75 percent tax on sports wagering.

So, your $100 wager in the future online Mohegan Sun Casino will earn Connecticut $18 with the 18% tax. Your $100 sports wager will be taxed at 13.75%, so it will give the state $13.75 for every $100 you bet. I don't think that the street bookies have anything to worry about yet. It will be interesting to see how the CT Lottery sports betting venues in Bridgeport and Hartford are built out and the other 15 locations that will be built around the state. Interesting times.

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Connecticut Gives the OK For Sports Wagering and Online Gambling - i95rock.com

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) Despite a highly anticipated Super Bowl, New Jerseys casinos and racetracks took in over $200 million less in sports bets in February than they did a month earlier, state gambling regulators said Tuesday.

Figures released by the state Division of Gaming Enforcement show the gambling outlets handled nearly $743 million worth of sports bets in February, down from the more than $996 million they handled in January.

But Februarys sports betting numbers were still about $200 million higher than they were in February 2020. That, combined with continued strong performance from internet gambling, which was up over 80% from a year ago, helped the casinos and tracks barely exceed the total amount they took in last February.

The $288.2 million they won this February was up 0.3% from a year ago.

Business done in person at casinos was down over 32% in February compared with a year ago, when casino closures had not yet happened.

The numbers were released on the anniversary of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy shutting down the casinos due to the coronavirus pandemic. They remained closed until early July 2020, and still operate under capacity restrictions.

Casino win could not compare to the pre-pandemic results of last year, before restrictions on capacity, amenities, and entertainment were implemented, said James Plousis, chair of the state Casino Control Commission. Governor Murphys order that increases indoor casino occupancy to 50% later this week will help speed the casinos recovery. Atlantic City has been successful minimizing risk to visitors during the pandemic, and it is ready to move forward safely.

The casinos and tracks kept over $46 million of the sports bets they handled in February, up from just $17 million a year ago.

Among total revenue from individual casinos, Hard Rock was up 8.6% to $29.2 million; Ocean was up 2.4% to $21.8 million; and Borgata was up 1.8% to $67.6 million.

Harrahs was down over 43% to $15 million; Resorts was down almost 37% to $9.1 million; Caesars was down 35% to $13.5 million; and Tropicana was down almost 27% to $22 million.

Two other casinos recently changed their financial reporting due to a sale (Ballys) or the splitting off of an internet gambling arm (Golden Nugget).

A report released Tuesday by the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute for Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism at Stockton University quantified some of the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on Atlantic Citys gambling industry.

It found that casino revenue from slots, table games, poker and in-person sports books declined by over 48% from last February through this one, but online gambling and sports betting revenue soared by nearly 92% over that same period as many customers were quarantining or avoiding casinos even after they reopened in the summer.

Before the pandemic, online betting accounted for roughly 20% of gaming revenues, but has since grown to nearly 47%.

The Stockton report also attempted to assess visitation levels to Atlantic City during the pandemic, finding that the number of cars entering the city on the Atlantic City Expressway declined by 33% from January 2020 through January 2021. During that same period, passenger counts at Atlantic City International Airport were down almost 60%.

And nearly 600,000 fewer people attended meetings and conventions in Atlantic City from March 2020 through February 2021 than in the prior 12-month period. This resulted in almost $260 million less in attendee spending, a 90% reduction year-over-year.

___

Follow Wayne Parry at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC

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N.J. gambling revenue flat in February, even with Super Bowl - NJ.com

The pandemic has ushered in a new generation of retail stock market speculators. FOMO traders and gamblers have flooded into the market in an effort to get rich quick, and coordinated buying efforts by Reddit's WallStreetBets community and other social media groups have sent the stock prices of some questionable stocks soaring in recent months.

Despite a global pandemic, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: SPY) is up nearly 80% from its March 2020 lows.

During cycles of stock market euphoria in which gamblers and speculators are seemingly grabbing all the headlines and attention, its easy for investors to lose sight of what responsible long-term investing looks like.

Tilsons Take: Former hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson recently outlined two simple things every investor should do during times like these to avoid making bad investments due to FOMO.

First, Tilson said investors should remember the market has been through periods of irrational exuberance many times before, and what's happening in 2020 is nothing new. Most recently, the mortgage market experienced this type of euphoria back in 2007. Before that, there were buying frenzies in tech stocks during the dot-com bubble in the late 1990s.

The second thing Tilson said investors need to remember is that investors shouldnt feel pressured to invest in anything they dont understand or dont believe in. He said Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is a perfect example.

I'm not interested in investing in any cryptocurrency for the same reason I'm not interested in buying a Rembrandt: because I can't value it, he said.

Tilson also said he's not shorting cryptocurrencies because human emotion is extremely difficult to predict.

If the price of something isn't connected to any sort of reality (such as future cash flows), then it could literally trade anywhere, Tilson said.

See Also: Beginning Investor? Here's How To Protect Your Portfolio In 2021

Dividends, Value And Commodities: Michael Wilkerson, executive vice chairman of Helios Fairfax Partners, recently wrote a story for Barrons in which he discussed what investors can do to protect themselves during the current speculative bubble.

Story continues

Like Tilson, Wilkerson said investors first goal should be to resist the FOMO temptation.

If one has to stay invested, avoid the temptation of high-flying tech and growth equities, which are the most overvalued, in favor of diversifying among recently abandoned dividend-paying value stocks and emerging markets, Wilkerson said.

He also said inflation-sensitive commodity producers, such as companies that produce food metals and energy, should also perform relatively well.

Wilkerson also agrees that bitcoin is particularly risky at this point.

Cryptocurrencies have no intrinsic value, and, like fiat currencies, are worth whatever the market happens to believe. When the euphoria wears off, they may be hit hard, he said.

Benzingas Take: Just because you recognize that a stock market is in bubble territory doesnt mean you cant make a lot of money owning stocks as the bubble inflates further. The critical part of trading during a bubble is maintaining discipline, not getting caught up in the FOMO and cashing out somewhere near the top.

See more from Benzinga

2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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How To Invest In The Market Responsibly When Everyone Else Is Gambling - Yahoo Finance