Sports Gambling News: Recent reports are positive for sports bettors
- By Giuseppe Partucci
- Published May 27, 2009
- Sports Betting
If you’re someone who enjoys sports betting and would like to see it legalized everywhere, there’s been some positive news to support this effort, and more may be soon on the way. There are many factors that have contributed to several states taking a look at legalizing sports betting, and there are also significant efforts being made to legalize online sports betting as well.
The main motivation for the push to legalize sports betting stems from the need of several states to generate more sources of income, and the potential taxation of sports betting would do just that.Research has suggested that states could stand to benefit more than $100 million annually in taxes from sports betting, a major consideration during difficult financial times in which debts are large and revenue sources are few. Studies have shown that well over 50 percent of the general population would support legal sports betting, while the number is more than 67 percent for sports fans.
Proponents suggest that the popularity of betting in sports has become a mainstream activity and they see no harm in legalizing and regulating responsible gaming. If Americans are going to wager more than $300 billion annually, regardless of the legality, supporters argue that the revenue might as well go out of the hand of illegal bookies and be put to good use for state needs. Legislators have tended to be more open to this idea than they once were, helped by the change in perception of sports betting from something that was once part of a rogue culture to a pastime that has become so mainstream that it is constantly referenced in popular culture and mainstream media.
For instance, many national sports outlets talk about the odds or point spread for a game on national TV, while many mainstream sports web sites include either a link to odds and handicapping section, or have a similar sports betting forum of their own. Although Nevada is currently the only state with legalized sports betting, others may soon follow suit. The most likely to join Nevada in the near future appears to be Delaware, which has been pushing legislation to legalize sports betting and, if passed, it would have sports books ready for the 2009-10 NFL season.
Nevada, Delaware, Montana and Oregon were all exempt from the 1992 Amateur Sports Protection act, which makes it illegal to operate a “betting, gambling or wagering scheme” in all states with the noted four exceptions. Although Nevada is known for its full-scale legal sports betting, the other three exceptions have all made various efforts to provide sports betting in one form or another.
A few years ago, Oregon ran what it deemed a successful sports “lottery” in which participants made sports betting-pool type wagers on games, and the proceeds funded state programs. Montana currently has a similar system, and Delaware is attempting to match Nevada’s comprehensive operations.
The NFL has threatened legal action against Delaware, though such litigation historically has had little success. The NCAA has threatened to ban all postseason games from the state, but history suggests college sports and gambling can co-exist quite well.
Nevada’s operations are a shining example of how it works. For years, legal sports books were prohibited from accepting bets on teams from the University of Las Vegas and the University of Nevada, Reno, for the fear of gamblers corrupting the outcome of games.
Sports betting proponents argued that such scams would be more easy to detect if wagers were allowed, because an unusual amount of activity at the sports book one particular team is a red flag that a fix might be in the works.
The ban on betting Nevada’s college teams was lifted earlier in the decade, and there has never been a report of suspicious activity regarding its teams. There also has been a strong effort to legalize online gambling, which has been declared illegal under a loophole in a decades-old law that was designed to stop illegal bookies. The Wire act prohibits the use of betting through any phone line, and was passed in 1961 to help curb the business of street bookies.
When the legality of online betting came into question a few years back, politicians called on the Wire Act to declare online gambling illegal. Since use of the internet requires a phone line, they argued that online betting fell under the umbrella of the Wire Act. However, there has been strong support to develop new legislation that directly addresses online gambling that, similar to other measures, would allow the practice to become legalized and taxed.
The main motivation for the push to legalize sports betting stems from the need of several states to generate more sources of income, and the potential taxation of sports betting would do just that.Research has suggested that states could stand to benefit more than $100 million annually in taxes from sports betting, a major consideration during difficult financial times in which debts are large and revenue sources are few. Studies have shown that well over 50 percent of the general population would support legal sports betting, while the number is more than 67 percent for sports fans.
Proponents suggest that the popularity of betting in sports has become a mainstream activity and they see no harm in legalizing and regulating responsible gaming. If Americans are going to wager more than $300 billion annually, regardless of the legality, supporters argue that the revenue might as well go out of the hand of illegal bookies and be put to good use for state needs. Legislators have tended to be more open to this idea than they once were, helped by the change in perception of sports betting from something that was once part of a rogue culture to a pastime that has become so mainstream that it is constantly referenced in popular culture and mainstream media.
For instance, many national sports outlets talk about the odds or point spread for a game on national TV, while many mainstream sports web sites include either a link to odds and handicapping section, or have a similar sports betting forum of their own. Although Nevada is currently the only state with legalized sports betting, others may soon follow suit. The most likely to join Nevada in the near future appears to be Delaware, which has been pushing legislation to legalize sports betting and, if passed, it would have sports books ready for the 2009-10 NFL season.
Nevada, Delaware, Montana and Oregon were all exempt from the 1992 Amateur Sports Protection act, which makes it illegal to operate a “betting, gambling or wagering scheme” in all states with the noted four exceptions. Although Nevada is known for its full-scale legal sports betting, the other three exceptions have all made various efforts to provide sports betting in one form or another.
A few years ago, Oregon ran what it deemed a successful sports “lottery” in which participants made sports betting-pool type wagers on games, and the proceeds funded state programs. Montana currently has a similar system, and Delaware is attempting to match Nevada’s comprehensive operations.
The NFL has threatened legal action against Delaware, though such litigation historically has had little success. The NCAA has threatened to ban all postseason games from the state, but history suggests college sports and gambling can co-exist quite well.
Nevada’s operations are a shining example of how it works. For years, legal sports books were prohibited from accepting bets on teams from the University of Las Vegas and the University of Nevada, Reno, for the fear of gamblers corrupting the outcome of games.
Sports betting proponents argued that such scams would be more easy to detect if wagers were allowed, because an unusual amount of activity at the sports book one particular team is a red flag that a fix might be in the works.
The ban on betting Nevada’s college teams was lifted earlier in the decade, and there has never been a report of suspicious activity regarding its teams. There also has been a strong effort to legalize online gambling, which has been declared illegal under a loophole in a decades-old law that was designed to stop illegal bookies. The Wire act prohibits the use of betting through any phone line, and was passed in 1961 to help curb the business of street bookies.
When the legality of online betting came into question a few years back, politicians called on the Wire Act to declare online gambling illegal. Since use of the internet requires a phone line, they argued that online betting fell under the umbrella of the Wire Act. However, there has been strong support to develop new legislation that directly addresses online gambling that, similar to other measures, would allow the practice to become legalized and taxed.