Category Archives: Gambling

When a new interview with Nicolas Cage makes its way onto the timeline, it's imperative to pause whatever you're doing at that moment and simply enjoy it in full like a five-star meal.

That'scertainly the case for this new Interview magazine piece, which sees the classics-stacked actor having one fuck of a chat with his longtime friend (and recent ASAP Ferg collaborator) Marilyn Manson.

Attempting to condense the results down into a passable aggregation piece would do a massive disservice to the must-have experience, thusfor the sake of a headlinewe'll just point out that the conversation sees Cage reflecting fondly on a heartwarming tale of gambling gone very right.

Asked by Manson if residing in Las Vegas equates to a frequent habit of the pastime, Cage detailed a moment from approximately three decades in the past which taught him to give up gambling for good.

"The last time I gambled was about 30 years ago," Cage recalled. "I was in the Bahamas, and I walked into a casino and felt like I had my mojo with me, like nothing could go wrong. My game was roulette. I went in with $200, and I didn't miss a number, so much so that even the lady spinning the wheel said, 'Nothing sweeter than a repeater.' In 20 minutes I turned $200 into $20,000, so I went and found an orphanage in the Bahamas, met all the kids and the headmistress, and said, 'This is for you.' I put the 20 grand in her hand, walked away, and never gambled again, because if I did, it would ruin the power of that moment."

As stated above, further aggregation would destroy this deep-dive into 2020 Cage. The full interview also sees the upcoming Joe Exotic portrayer and Manson discussinga tattooed mummy's hand, quarantine habits, the modern classic Color Out of Space, the majesticness of Coppola wine, and much more. Peep it here.

Fellow Cage enthusiasts can also take solace in knowing thatThe Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, a film in which Cage plays a version of himself (!!!), is a real thing that's actually happening.

The rest is here:

Nicolas Cage Tells Marilyn Manson About Flipping $200 Into $20K While Gambling and Giving It to an Orphanage - Complex

While the modernized gambling from Pennsylvanias 2017 legalization of online forms of casinos, sports betting, and lottery play has been going on for more than a year, theres a related aspect just getting underway now.

Researchers at Penn State University, funded by a state grant from the proceeds of iGaming, are starting work on a comprehensive survey of how Pennsylvanians have been impacted by the addition of interactive gaming.

Glenn Sterner, the Penn State University Abington assistant professor of criminal justice who is heading the study, said some 2,500 to 3,000 phone surveys are to be conducted between November and June to assess the level of new online gambling by Pennsylvanians and the extent of any problems it is creating.

The goal is to continue the survey year to year and determine long-term changes in the level of gambling and its impact, he said.

We want to have a good understanding of all of the interactive gaming activity in Pennsylvania, Sterner told Penn Bets. We want to understand trends over time, and if activities in one area affect activities in another area. It gives us a lot of opportunity to help develop meaningful policy and results we can track from year to year.

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Pennsylvanians lost more than $400 million combined playing online/mobile casino games, making sports bets through the sportsbook apps, and playing the iLottery in the 2019-20 fiscal year, and the number will only go higher this year as a result of additional available sites.

Such wagers would not have been possible without the October 2017 law that legalized all such forms of interactive gaming. The expansion has been an asset in offsetting brick-and-mortar gaming revenue decreases from this years COVID-19 outbreak, but lawmakers also recognized the potential for the new gambling to create more gambling-related problems in the state.

Rachel Kostelac, a spokeswoman for Pennsylvanias Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, which oversees gambling-related treatment in the state, said the 2017 law required that a study be conducted of its impact.

The department has provided $461,000 to Sterner and his Penn State colleagues in the schools Social Science Research Institute and Survey Research Center for the first year of research.

This is the first time Pennsylvania has had a probability study focused solely on problem gambling, Kostelac said. This report could show the need for changes to the prevention or treatment systems already in place, expansions of treatment and prevention, and potentially even a need for more funding related to prevention or treatment.

The Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs receives nearly $5 million annually from gaming revenue to oversee programs related to problem gambling education, prevention, and treatment. Generally, about 2% of the population is deemed to have a gambling problem, although most never obtain treatment for it.

While the research grant only covers funding for the initial years study by Penn State, Kostelac said the state expects additional work in future years to show whether participation in interactive gaming has increased.

In selecting Sterner to oversee the study, the state picked an academic researcher whose primary work up to now has been in studying opioid addiction. He is not a big gambler personally and has never gambled online, he said, but he acknowledged being intrigued by the operation of slot machines when in casinos.

While the studys focus is on the new iGaming, it could also explore the extent of more traditional forms of gambling and problems related to them as a point of comparison. Sterner said he did not want to get into the specifics of questions on the survey, however, as they are still being developed.

The potential for excessive gambling by smartphone and computer is even more of a hidden addiction than that in casinos, he noted, in that people never have to leave their homes and be seen doing it. At the same time, various researchers have suggested the speed and 24-hour availability of iGaming opportunities create additional risks.

Our survey will build on previous work asking questions in ways that would help to signal if someone has a gambling problem, Sterner said. We are hoping to understand if there are behaviors that might signal those problems to the people developing policies and procedures [to combat gambling addiction].

No specific study on interactive gaming has been done elsewhere that the Pennsylvania researchers will use as a guide, he said. Its still a relatively new field of addiction, with most research on it done in Europe and Australia, where online gambling was adopted more widely earlier than in the U.S.

Sterner said the hope is to have surveys completed by June and analyzed quickly enough to provide results from the study to state officials next summer.

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PA Survey Will Assess New iGamings Impact And Link To Problem Gambling - Penn Bets

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Pariplay Portuguese Presence Propelled by Partnership with Solverde Group

Providers first-class content extends regulated market reach via agreement with historic casino group

Pariplay Ltd., the No. 1 aggregator and content provider behind innovative products including the Fusion aggregation platform and the Ignite Studio development programme, has today announced it will be further strengthening its position in the Portuguese market by partnering with the highly respected casino and sports betting operator Solverde.pt. The deal will ultimately see Pariplay roll out all new innovative game content to entertain Portuguese players through Solverde.pt.

Solverde.pt is the online brand from the Solverde Group, a land-based business with over 45 years of experience in casinos, tourism and leisure, from north to south of Portugal. Launched in 2017 as CasinoSolverde.pt, the brand recently consolidated as Solverde.pt, to offer a wide selection of casino games in the Portuguese market over 900 and adding sports betting, last September. Collaborating with such a well-seasoned operator in the market, positions Pariplay for even greater long-term success in Portugal.

In line with its 2020 expansion strategy, Pariplay has focused on growing its presence in Portugal, a market that has been showing much promise in the gambling space. In fact, the online gambling sector in Portugal reported a revenue increase of 47.5% to 69.8m during Q1 2020. That represented the countrys highest quarterly rate of growth ever and was the first time that online gaming generated more revenue than its land-based counterpart.

Through the agreement, more than 35 of Pariplays top performing games, which have been certified for Portugal, will go live on Solverde.pt, with many more to follow. This includes popular titles like Wolf Riches, Jack in the Box, Treasure Temple, Dragons of the North and Rumble Rhino, which are all already hits throughout regulated Europe, where Pariplay has a strong, ever-expanding presence. These state-of-the-art games will be an excellent addition to Solverde.pts own offering of high-quality casino games and betting options.

A new virtual partnership between Endorphina and Bitville

The popular slots provider Endorphina has just made its appearance at the last SBC Digital Summit Africa and theyve surely worked their magic at the event. Endorphina is starting their autumn season off strong with a brand new partnership formed during the SBC Digital Summit Africa with Bitville Gaming, a well-established global company specialized in building fixed-odds B2B products within the gambling industry.

Unlike the usual partnerships, this partnership was formed completely virtually and proves itself to be promising for both parties involved. For Endorphina, this is their first virtual partnership that will provide a great opportunity to expand their reach to even more players globally. As for Bitville Gaming, they can soon look forward to adding popular hits such as Lucky streak series, Chance Machine 100 and Red Cap into their portfolio, something their players will absolutely love.

NetEnt enters West Virginia as the first independent content supplier

Following a successful technical integration with DraftKings and approval from West Virginia Lottery Commission, NetEnt launches a selection of games as the first non-proprietary game studio in the newly regulated market.

NetEnt continues to increase its footprint in the US. With its globally esteemed portfolio, including titles such as Starburst, Gonzos Quest and Blackjack, NetEnt has rapidly become the top supplier in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Now NetEnt makes its entry into the newly regulated market of West Virginia with a selection of games being launched with DraftKings.

Red Rake Gaming expands its Malta commercial team with Saulius Bubelis and Joe Clarke

The industrys well-known games development company, Red Rake Gaming, has boosted its Malta-based Commercial Team with two new additions to the group, further strengthening its Malta presence.

These appointments come following significant growth during 2020 for Red Rake Gaming, seeing a series of new partnerships and market entries, including the most recent adoption of the German Toleration Regime, and significantly increasing its footprint across the globe.

Gamzixs new agreement with Emaraplay

Gamzix is happy to announce the signed deal to launch the games with game aggregator Emaraplay.

Gamzix is a relatively young slot games developer, with a small but very vibrant library with a variety of customization options available to their partners. Founded at the end of 2019, the company has already gained popularity in the market thanks to a modern engine that combines high-quality sounds and graphics with numerous analytical and marketing tools.

Emaraplay has developed a completely new concept in the gaming sector that makes it easier for operators and suppliers to achieve a really important goal: maximum user satisfaction. The aggregator uses all available marketing and loyalty tools to help young developers get into igaming market.

Admiral launches GameArt and iSoftBet games through GameHub aggregation

We are extremely proud to announce that we have sealed the deal with one of Croatias largest gaming operators Admiral. In land-based gaming business Admiral holds a great reputation and owns the largest chain of slot machine clubs and betting shops across Croatia.

With integration of BlueOcean Gaming GameHub, Admiral gained access to the full library of Croatian market certified games from two amazing game providers GameArt and iSoftBet. Additionally, Admiral will benefit from additional GameHub tools such as Freeround triggering and Game History API both designed to ease the operator work and grow player retention.

UltraPlay is shortlisted in SBC Awards

UltraPlay has been shortlisted in the Esports Supplier of the Year category of the SBC Awards 2020.

Lyubomira Petrova, CMO at UltraPlay has commented: We are excited to be shortlisted once again for our leadership in eSports betting. Our unbeatable dedication towards this specific gambling vertical can be seen throughout the past 6 years, as well as the multiple times we have been awarded as the Best Esports Betting Supplier on various regions worldwide. During these unprecedented times, we have seen eSports taking its deserving place. So, in that sense, this category is even more powerful for all shortlists and the entire industry in general.

Caleta Gaming strikes MrSlotty GameHub content partnership

Premium casino content provider Caleta Gaming has agreed a major new content distribution deal with aggregation platform MrSlotty GameHub.

Caletas portfolio of more than 60 games including popular titles such as Bingo Seorita Calavera, Dragon Rising Slot, Banana Keno and its latest game releases, Atomico Lotto, Ocean Richies and Betina Bingo will shortly be available via the MrSlotty GameHub platform.

888sport LAUNCHES NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH SPORTRADARS MANAGED TRADING SERVICES (MTS)

Collaboration to deliver risk management solution for 888sports tennis offering

888 Holdings PLC, one of the worlds leading gambling and entertainment solutions providers, has announced a new partnership withSportradar, a global provider of sports betting and sports entertainment products and services. The deal will see888sportutilise Sportradars data and risk management solution, Managed Trading Services (MTS) Return Guarantee for its extensive tennis offering. The solution will be gradually rolled out across 888s international markets, allowing the business to build on its existing global sports betting proposition.

Sportradars MTS is a unique and flexible solution that can be utilised across any sport and tailored to required service levels. It draws on a combination of the worlds top experts together with the latest technology and AI-derived pricing algorithms to both protect and enhance sportsbook operations.

BonusFinder awarded West Virginia iGaming license

Seventh US license for player-centric affiliate in 2020

BonusFinder.comhas extended its West Virginia license to include iGaming its seventh US affiliate approval in less than a year.

The rapidly growing performance marketing business wasgranted a sports betting license to operate in West Virginiain May this year.

Founded in 2019 with a simple goal to allow people to play with more at their favourite casino or sportsbook, BonusFinder.com has made huge in-roads in the rapidly growing US market.

The companys expanded iGaming certification in West Virginia license marks its seventh approval in six US states in less than a year with existing licenses in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Coloradoand most recently soon-to-be regulated Tennessee, with each market showing fast growth since launch.

West Virginia regulated online and mobile sports betting in August 2019 and currently has five brands live with online and mobile betting options. According to the state regulators latest figures, its licensed casinos saw total wagers from sports betting and iGaming grow to a combined $151.9m in September 2020. Total wagers increase to $77m for the five-week period ended 3 October, comprising $17.7m from retail sports betting and $59.2m from online sports betting.

BonusFinder.comis a finalist in the Affiliate of the Year category at this yearsEGR North America Awardsand is shortlisted in three categories at theEGR Operator Awards 2020as well as a finalist in the Casino Affiliate of the year at theSBC Awards 2020.

Relax Gaming launches with Gamesys Group plc in major UK deal

Relax Gaming, theigaming aggregator and supplier of unique content, has gone live with Gamesys Group plc, bolstering its UK presence and market reach.

Relaxs broad portfolio of quality slot games are now available across the operators online casino and bingo brands, including popular sites Jackpotjoy, Starspins, Virgin Games, Monopoly Casino and Heart Bingo.

The suppliers wide-ranging collection of third-party studio and aggregated games has been seamlessly integrated at the highest speed, together with its popular proprietary portfolio, with headline titlesMoney Train 2,Temple TumbleandSnake Arenaamong the line-up.

Relax Gamings UK market penetration has increased significantly in 2020 with the company having signed several landmark agreements with some of the biggest names in igaming.

This latest integration with Gamesys, Relaxs first partner in Gibraltar, increases the suppliers reach in the UK, as well as other key European markets where the operator is active, and cements its position as a go-to aggregation platform for top tier online casinos.

True Lab joins Pronet Gaming stable

Platform Providers casino portfolio to feature exciting new content

Next-generation platform provider Pronet Gaming has agreed to incorporate slots from Malta-based True Lab into its offering.

Titles includingDay and Night,Sunstrike, andVictoria Wildwill soon be available to the growing number of operators who utilise Pronets casino platform.

They join a portfolio of 6,000 games from nearly 70 slots studios that are providing a credible and innovative alternative to gaming brands, particularly in emerging markets.

Playtech extends footprint in Greece with Novibet deal

Playtech launches Live Casino and Casino offering with leading Greek operator Novibet

Playtech,the worlds leading gambling technology company, has announced the launch of its CasinoandLive Casino software with Novibet. This multi-market deal sees Novibet initially adding a dedicated Playtech Casino tab and Live Casino offering in Greece, with the UK and Italy to follow shortly thereafter.

Starting with the Greek market, Novibet will offer Playtech Casino content through a dedicated tab called Premium Slots as well as Playtechs dedicated Live Casino offering localised and branded tables to the requirements of Novibet.

SoftGamings Sportsbook solution certified in Latvia

SoftGamings Sportsbook solution has been certified for use in Latvian regulated market. The first client to use SoftGamings Sportsbook in Latvia is Casino777.lv, that holds a Latvian casino license since 1 January 2005. The SoftGamings Sportsbook is now officially licensed and regulated by the Lotteries and Gambling Supervisory Inspection of Latvia, with several other European regulated market certification/licensing of the product in the pipeline.

SoftGamings Sportsbook product incorporates BetRadar odds and risk services and allows for a deep front-end design customization. SoftGamings Sportsbook offers over 500,000 events every year on 80+ sports. On top of that, SG offers a fully customisable bonus and freebets engine.

SoftGamings Sportsbook can be easily integrated into the clients site, with extensive support for sport tracking, widgets, promo offers and banner ads supported out of the box.

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Gambling Industry Announcement and Partnership Roundup October 20, 2020 - CalvinAyre.com

If you have been watching the CJ Cup on the PGA Tour this weekend, you have witnessed something you have never seen before.

No, not Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas. That ultra-, ultra-, ultra-exclusive golf course has been on television before as the site of The Match between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

What you are seeing for the first time in a PGA Tour event is live betting odds. And not just running on a crawl at the bottom of the screen or quietly tucked along the side of the picture. These are odds that are being promoted and talked about and updated on a live basis.

As the PGA Tour and other sports begin understanding that there might be a revenue source with accepting gambling as part of the sports fans experience, the organizations have started forming partnerships with gambling companies. ESPN and other sports outlets have also begun airing shows devoted entirely to gambling.

But this is the first time that an official PGA Tour event is talking upfront about odds and gambling on air. Yes, The Match in 2018 did have a lot of talk about which player would win this hole or that hole or the match entirely. But that was not an official tour event like the limited-field CJ Cup.

It is appropriate, of course, that the first open talk of gambling on a PGA Tour event is at a tournament in Las Vegas on a course built by casino owner Steve Wynn. You can walk into pretty much any casino in Las Vegas, find the sportsbook and put down a bet on who will win a PGA Tour event that week or even some proposition bets pitting one player against another for the day or the week.

None of this is possible in California, of course, as the state continues to drag its feet badly on legalizing sports gaming in the state. Yes, there are a few ways around that for California residents, but you cant walk into a sportsbook or in a tribal casino and place a sports bet.

The PGA Tour is all in on the sports gambling trend. The tour has deals with Draft Kings, Fan Duel, PointsBet and BetMGM as partners. The tour has said that it may provide an area at tournaments in states where gaming is legal so fans can make a bet on site. And now comes the official talk of odds on the golf course, either to win the tournament outright or to be the low player in a pairing on the day.

It will only be a matter of time before different players on the tour are sponsored by different gambling companies. You can see big billboards springing up the week of a tournament, saying, Hi, bet on me at BetMGM!

Should there be a concern about making betting on the PGA Tour or any sports so open and above board? The sports clearly dont think so. There was a time when sports organizations avoided talk of betting and Las Vegas like the plague. Now the NFL has a team in Las Vegas, as does the WNBA. More and more sports are approving sports gambling in some form seemingly by the month.

And the sports have worked hard to ensure there are protections against the issues that caused them to run away from gambling before, issues like point shaving and crooked players or officials.

You may never place a bet on a sports event in your life, other than perhaps an annual lunch on who is going to win the big college rivalry game. But golfers are a different breed. A golfer can probably think of a dozen better games in any aspect of the sport. If might be fascinating to get four top pros together and have them play a televised game of Wolf. That might drive the books in Las Vegas crazy.

So look at the odds this week and do with them what you will. Ignore them or find a way to put them into action. But dont think this will be the last time the PGA Tour talks about odds on a broadcast. This might just be the beginning.

Larry Bohannan is The Desert Sun golf writer. He can be reached at (760) 778-4633 or larry.bohannan@desertsun.com. Follow him on Facebook or on Twitter at Sun.@Larry_Bohannan. Support local journalism: Subscribe to the Desert Sun.

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Gambling's place in golf is being cemented this week in Vegas in real time - usatoday.com

In an audio message recorded prior to his death, he says there should be a campaign to ban online gambling games.

After losing lakhs after playing online gambling games, a man took his own life in Puducherry on Sunday. Prior to his death, Vijayakumar recorded an audio clip urging people to not become addicted to online gaming. Vijayakumar, who is survived by a wife and child, was running a mobile phone shop in Puducherry. He was reportedly successful in his business when his friends introduced him to an online gaming app. Soon, Vijayakumar became addicted to the game and lost over Rs 25 lakh after playing from three IDs.

In the audio recording, Vijayakumar said, I used three IDs and have lost around Rs 25-30 lakh. I was playing day and night and I have spoiled my health. I was very much addicted to the game and only later I realised that if I win Rs 30,000. I have also lost Rs 2 lakh. Even after knowing the modus operandi behind the gambling game, I had to play since there was no way out of the game. He also tells his wife to circulate his audio so that people will know the impact of gambling online. He also says there should be a campaign to ban these games. Based on a missing complaint from his family members, the Korkadu police launched a search operation. The police later retrieved his body on Sunday.

In July, a college student in Chennai also took his own life after he lost money in a gambling site. The youngster Nitish spent Rs 20,000 in an online gambling game. He had stolen the money from a shop he was working in. He died by suicide after losing the amoount in the gambling game. Tamil Nadu has recorded similar deaths of people due to online gambling addiction. Taking a note of this, the Madras High Court called for regulating online games on July 24. The court also told the Tamil Nadu government to pass a legislation regulating online gambling and issue licenses to control the menace.

If you are aware of anyone facing mental health issues or feeling suicidal, please provide help. Here are some helpline numbers of suicide-prevention organisations that can offer emotional support to individuals and families.

Tamil Nadu

State health department's suicide helpline: 104

Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre - 044-24640050 (listed as the sole suicide prevention helpline in Tamil Nadu)

Andhra Pradesh

Life Suicide Prevention: 78930 78930

Roshni: 9166202000, 9127848584

Karnataka

Sahai (24-hour): 080 65000111, 080 65000222

Kerala

Maithri: 0484 2540530

Chaithram: 0484 2361161

Both are 24-hour helpline numbers

Telangana

State government's suicide prevention (tollfree): 104

Roshni: 040 66202000, 6620200

SEVA: 09441778290, 040 27504682 (between 9 am and 7 pm)

Aasara offers support to individuals and families during an emotional crisis, for those dealing with mental health issues and suicidal ideation, and to those undergoing trauma after the suicide of a loved one.

24x7 Helpline: 9820466726

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Puducherry man takes own life after gambling loss, warns of addiction in final message - The News Minute

Barney O'Hare, whose Bar One Racing bookmaking firm will see 52 shops close while Level 5 restrictions are in place in Ireland

CAROLINE NORRIS

Bar One Bookmakers' boss Barney O'Hare's shops could still be shut when Fairyhouse hosts the showpiece winter festival that he sponsors next month but the leading layer has vowed to protect his staff while his 52 retail outlets remain closed over the next six weeks.

O'Hare had been gearing up for the Hatton's Grace Hurdle fixture on November 28-29, which features three Bar One-sponsored Grade 1s and will likely proceed as planned after it was confirmed on Monday night that racing would continue behind closed doors once Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions are implemented from Thursday.

While that fact was on Tuesday welcomed by Horse Racing Ireland chief executive Brian Kavanagh, who has also warned of the implications of betting-shop closures on media rights revenue, a dejected O'Hare, whose independent firm employs 350 staff, was putting on a brave face in the wake of a hammer blow that will see so many non-essential retail businesses forced to close for a six-week period, albeit the government policy may be reviewed in the interim.

"It's desperate but there are people who are much worse off," O'Hare told the Racing Post. "We just have to try and get through it and thank God we have the staff on board. The staff will be fully paid for the next six weeks and hopefully we'll have customers back in time for Christmas."

Bar One Racing, whose sponsorship portfolio includes the three Grade 1s at Fairyhouse next month

Alain Barr

O'Hare added: "That's all we can aim for. We had been looking forward to getting back on a racecourse for the Hatton's Grace meeting at Fairyhouse but obviously we're not going to now."

Kavanagh did not play down the implications shop closures may have on the racing industry over the next six weeks.

With an increasing number of betting shops in England now closing as well, on top of those already closed in Wales, the shutters coming down on the 800-plus Irish estate inevitably puts a strain on the associated media rights revenue.

"The primary consideration has to be public safety. We have been racing for four and a half months now and it's great that we can continue," Kavanagh said. "Obviously the betting-shop closures in Ireland and in the UK will have implications on racecourses from their income point of view. There will also be huge implications on bookmakers and their staff."

He added: "I wouldn't underestimate the challenges ahead. We will engage with people and we are in the middle of doing budgets for next year. We will take stock of where we stand for this year first. I have said all along that the racecourse sector and businesses that rely on the racecourse sector are the ones who've been hit particularly hard.

"The sales have also been affected and that's another area we will need to focus on. When we are doing our budget for next year, we will take into account the impact that this is having on all of the various sectors within the industry and try and make the right decisions as we go forward."

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'Anti-gambling industry' - Dugher calls for intervention on new restrictions - Racing Post

Delaware Gov. John Carney speaks in front of a tote board, Tuesday, June 5, 2018, as he introduces sports gaming inside the Race and Sports Book at Dover Downs Hotel and Casino in Dover, Del. The market for legal sports gambling in the United States widened significantly on Tuesday with the expansion of single-game sports bets in Delaware, less than a month after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for states to accept the bets. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)(Photo: The Associated Press)

If you have been watching the CJ Cup on the PGA Tour this weekend, you have witnessed something you have never seen before.

No, not Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas. That ultra-, ultra-, ultra-exclusive golf course has been on television before as the site of The Match between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

What you are seeing for the first time in a PGA Tour event is live betting odds. And not just running on a crawl at the bottom of the screen or quietly tucked along the side of the picture. These are odds that are being promoted and talked about and updated on a live basis.

As the PGA Tour and other sports begin understanding that there might be a revenue source with accepting gambling as part of the sports fans experience, the organizations have started forming partnerships with gambling companies. ESPN and other sports outlets have also begun airing shows devoted entirely to gambling.

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More: Sports gambling in California at least three years away as latest bill dies

More: Legal sports betting pitched as California budget salve

But this is the first time that an official PGA Tour event is talking upfront about odds and gambling on air. Yes, The Match in 2018 did have a lot of talk about which player would win this hole or that hole or the match entirely. But that was not an official tour event like the limited-field CJ Cup.

It is appropriate, of course, that the first open talk of gambling on a PGA Tour event is at a tournament in Las Vegas on a course built by casino owner Steve Wynn. You can walk into pretty much any casino in Las Vegas, find the sports book and put down a bet on who will win a PGA Tour event that week or even some proposition bets pitting one player against another for the day or the week.

None of this is possible in California, of course, as the state continues to drag its feet badly on legalizing sports gaming in the state. Yes, there are a few ways around that for California residents, but you cant walk into a sports bookorin a tribal casino and place a sports bet.

The PGA Tour is all in on the sports gambling trend. The tour has deals with Draft Kings, Fan Duel, PointsBet and BetMGM as partners. The tour has said that it may provide an area at tournaments in states where gaming is legal so fans can make a bet on site. And now comes the official talk of odds on the golf course, either to win the tournament outright or to be the low playerin a pairing on the day.

It will only be a matter of timebefore different players on the tour are sponsored by different gambling companies. You can see big billboards springing up the week of a tournament, saying, Hi, bet on me at BetMGM!

Should there be a concernabout making betting on the PGA Tour or any sports so open and above board? The sports clearly dont think so. There was a time when sports organizations avoided talk of betting and Las Vegas like the plague. Now the NFL has a team in Las Vegas, as does the WNBA. More and more sports are approving sports gambling in some form seemingly by the month.

And the sports have worked hard to ensure there are protections against the issues that caused them to run away from gambling before, issues like point shaving and crooked players or officials.

You may never place a bet on a sports event in your life, other than perhaps an annual lunch on who is going to win the big college rivalry game. But golfers are a different breed. A golfer can probably think of a dozen better games in any aspect of the sport. If might be fascinating to get four top pros together and have them play a televised game of Wolf. That might drive the books in Las Vegas crazy.

So look at the odds this week and do with them what you will. Ignore them or find a way to put them into action. But dont think this will be the last time the PGA Tour talks about odds on a broadcast. This might just be the beginning.

Larry Bohannan is The Desert Sun golf writer. He can be reached at (760) 778-4633 or larry.bohannan@desertsun.com. Follow himon Facebook or on Twitter at Sun.@Larry_Bohannan. Support local journalism: Subscribe to the DesertSun.

Larry Bohannan(Photo: The Desert Sun)

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The era of open talk about gambling on the PGA Tour has arrived - Desert Sun

Is a leading sportsbook in the U.S., a dominant player in the Nevada market, creating an unfair advantage against some customers? Some gamblers say the book is cheating, while others say the problem might not reach that threshold. Its a complex situation that impacts the sports betting industry broadly.

William Hill US has been accused by at least two prominent sports bettors of intentionally delaying the acceptance of in-game wagers in the Silver State, depending on if the wager is good or bad for the book. In other words, theyre saying its allegedly not a technology shortcoming, but a deliberate attempt by the book to boost its winning percentage against gamblers.

But some in the industry say the problem is the result of an unintentional bias in a less than ideal product, with it possibly impacting bettors evenly. Most people do agree there is an issue.

In a statement to Sports Handle, William Hill flatly denied the claims, and indicated it may seek legal action against one of the accusers.

Prominent sports bettors Bill Krackomberger and Rufus Peabody, who both host popular sports gambling podcasts, brought up the William Hill issue earlier this month, in Week 5 of the NFL season, and it received a fair amount of attention on social media. Both gamblers have 28,000 or more followers on Twitter, which resulted in a significant amount of feedback on the claims. Its unclear what the catalyst was that reignited the debate on social media on Oct. 11.

This wasnt the first time William Hill has been accused of cheating on social media by declining a wager before changing the line. One gambler reported an instance of that in late 2019.

I have not experienced it personally (they wont let me bet), but I have experienced a lot of other shenanigans over the years when they did, and I do know many people who have experienced it directly, Peabody, who makes his living through sports betting, told Sports Handle.

Krackomberger said William Hill is the only offender in Las Vegas with regards to in-game betting.

William Hill is the only book in Las Vegas that uses the spin/hold in queue delay process, Krackomberger told Sports Handle. What that does is it gives them a chance to look at your bet then check to see if they are in line with the market. Whereas other sportsbooks have to remain on top of their game by constantly changing lines, William Hill doesnt have to do this. Basically, the customers can play bookmaker for them since they dont have instant approval software.

He added that William Hill can and will sometimes delay the customer and not accept a bet after watching the next play if its in the players favor. Conversely, if the next play works against the player they will accept it.

Furthermore, William Hill already has a 7-10-second TV [broadcasting] delay working in their favor, he said. This spin delay is on top of that.

Krackomberger said he doesnt have any confidence that the Nevada Gaming Control Board would step in to address this situation. Gaming wouldnt even understand the situation, he said.

William Hill responded to Krackomberger specifically in its statement to Sports Handle.

Its an absolutely outrageous allegation, a William Hill spokesperson said. Mr. Krackomberger long has been a critic of William Hill. To criticize us is fine, but to accuse us of cheating is not. We believe this constitutes defamation and are consulting with counsel regarding next steps.

Ed Miller, co-author of the 2019 book The Logic of Sports Betting and a longtime industry observer, chalked up the issue to the bet delay and rejection mechanic.

Operators often place bets in a queue and intentionally sit on them for a specified period of time, Miller told Sports Handle. I noticed that period on William Hills old in-play product was sometimes up to eight seconds. Then any time the operators traders (or the traders at the third party line providers in many cases) make a line change, all the bets sitting in the queue (on any side or proposition) get rejected. The problem is that traders tend to move lines when they are offering their customers better bets.

According to Miller, William Hill isnt necessarily up to anything scandalous.

There may not be bad intent, but the result of the delay/reject policy is that it tends to be biased toward canceling the better bets that customers make, he explained. The longer the delay period, the stronger this bias is. I think its fair to think of this mechanic as offering the operator a button they can press at any time at their sole discretion that amounts to oops we made a mistake, undo the last X seconds. I noticed that this season William Hill both seems to have shortened their delay period substantially in football, and they make fewer small line changes during breaks in play (i.e. they are also choosing to press the button less frequently).

William Hill is improving, according to Miller, who is also co-founder of Deck Prism Sports, an in-game betting odds technology that he hopes will improve the vertical for the nascent U.S. sports gambling industry. William Hills in-play betting is becoming a fairer product for the customer, according to Miller.

However, I believe a truly fair product would have zero delay at all, zero bet rejections, and William Hills product hasnt gotten there yet, Miller said. In some sports (perhaps basketball for instance), this goal is tricky and may take time to attain. But I think in football because the ball is dead during 90% of the time elapsed that this zero delay goal is more than achievable, and I believe sports bettors should be demanding it of their books.

Another prominent professional sports bettor who wished to remain anonymous offered this explanation:

I also dont think its cheatingthey have an inefficient process for approving live bets, he told Sports Handle. I think it affects all patrons evenly. When I live bet at William Hill, I bet $100 segments because I know they wont be manually reviewed and will go through quicker.

Typically, a sportsbook holds between 5-7% of its entire handle in the form of revenue. Its unclear what hold percentage sportsbooks have for in-game wagering specifically, but the vig is often a bit higher than on pregame selections. In the U.S., total betting volume from pre-game wagering still trumps in-game betting, in terms of handle. But that is expected to change in the years ahead as sports wagering evolves, and so books are looking to beef up their in-app sports streaming capabilities.

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Pro Gamblers Accuse NV Bookmaker Of Cheating On In-Game Bets - Sports Handle

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A few weeks ago, we discussed whether it was OK for someone in the media to accept work from a bookmaker. We talked about the increasing gamblification of football and asked whose responsibility it is to regulate the industry and help people who have become addicted.

Lots of you got in touch including someone whos overcome a serious addiction and is still dealing with the consequences of it but is helping others who have found themselves in the same situation.

On this pod we speak to him, the Guardians gambling expert, and the chair of the Betting and Gaming Council to find out what each of them think is right, and wrong, with the industry.

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this episode, the following resources are available:

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Football and its relationship with gambling Football Weekly special - The Guardian

Gambling with the Good Life hosted a press conference at the state capitol with Tom Osborne, Governor Pete Ricketts, Governor Kay Orr, state senators, Nebraska Family Alliance, and other community leaders opposed to gambling initiatives 429, 430, and 431.

These initiatives seek to change Nebraskas constitution to allow all forms of gambling at horse tracks and would also allow Native American tribes to have their own casinos. A licensed racetrack could race horses one day a year and offer casino gambling 24/7/365.

Tom Osborne, who serves as Honorary Chairman for Gambling with the Good Life, said These initiatives will certainly damage the quality of living in Nebraska. The people that bear the greatest burden of this problem will be families, spouses, and the children of those who have a gambling problem. They pay the greatest price. Osborne also spoke of his time and experiences in Congress, saying I asked several of my colleagues in Congress who had been living in states where they had expanded gambling, was this a good thing or a bad thing? 100% of those individuals said this is the worst mistake we ever made, we never should have started it. Once you start it, youre never going to undo it.

Governor Pete Ricketts said, Nebraskans are hardworking, they value prudence, fiscal responsibility, taking care of their families, and are involved in their communities, schools, and churches. And casino gambling is opposed to all those values. Gambling addiction and gambling is bad for our state. The Governor concluded his remarks by stating We already fight gambling addiction here in our state. This will make it so much worse. It will put it in our communities, it will put it all across our state. Thats why Im against expanding gambling in the state of Nebraska.

Governor Kay Orr said, Theres a false narrative out there from the other side that wants to expand gambling, and were grateful for any help we can get to educate the people so we dont take that step. By text or phone call I did get the support ofGovernor Heineman, Senator Bob Kerrey, and Senator Johanns. They join me and others in support of our effort to educate the people of the state of Nebraska.

Nate Grasz, Policy Director for Nebraska Family Alliance, said, Without question, the gambling initiatives on the ballot are bad for families, bad for business, and bad for Nebraska. Casino gambling creates social costs that ruin lives, families, businesses, and communities. But gambling operators dont pay for these harms. Taxpayers do. We cannot lower taxes by draining more money from local economies, driving people deeper into poverty, and increasing addiction, social costs, and destroyed families. When it comes to casino gambling, the house always wins. So in order for the gambling interests to win, its our own citizens who must lose.

Dan Hazuka, GWTGL board member and a victim of a family members gambling addiction, said, My father was an alcoholic and he gambled everything away, so I really can understand it. We lost everything. If you think for one minute we are going to lower our taxes becauseof this, youre wrong. They keep saying keep the money in Nebraska, well its not going to stay here. It is going to cost for every dollar that you bring in three or four dollars in social costs. I am positive of that.

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ICYMI: Ricketts, Osborne Among Those Opposed To Expanded Gambling - KLIN