Casino sports oddsmaker: Today’s technology means total transparency
The calls to repeal the antiquated ban on sports betting in the U.S. were renewed last week from several sources, including major sports figures as well as the American Gaming Association.
The AGA has long advocated that the U.S. Congress repeal the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA), which made sports betting illegal in all but four grandfathered states. Last week, the commissioner of the National Basketball Association and the owner of the New England Patriots commented in press articles that sports betting should be legalized and regulated.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who was the first major sports commissioner to advocate new sports betting laws, put his position succinctly in the AP article with respect to sports wagering: “It should be legal, it should be regulated, it should be transparent.”
Patriots owner Robert Kraft chimed in with a comment to USA Today, “We’re just living in a different world, technology-wise. The risks in Vegas are no longer exclusive to Vegas.”
The most powerful obstacle to legalized sports betting in the U.S. has been opposition from sports leagues, headed by National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell, who only recently was blasted by the AGA for suggesting sports betting would affect the integrity of the game. The AP article quoted well-known Las Vegas oddsmaker Jimmy Vaccaro, who noted that Goodell’s concerns are rooted in an archaic view of how sports betting works.
Game fixing was a danger when athletes weren’t paid well, and when controls to prevent such fixing did not exist. Vaccaro noted that odds rarely budge after they are initially set, and if they did—other than because of an unexpected injury, suspension or other event—it would be flagged in the system immediately.
“You can’t get any more transparent than we are,” Vaccaro said. “There’s nothing we can hide, nothing we can’t find. It’s all above the board.”
The increases support for legal sports betting comes as both the NFL and NHL ponder possible teams in their leagues headquartered in the gambling capital of Las Vegas. The Oakland Raiders are likely to move to Las Vegas pending league approval, and the city is likely to be the first targeted for a new franchise when the National Hockey League initiates an expected expansion within the next year or two.
In support of those potential moves, the AGA last week released a study that it says debunks the myth that professional athletes and casinos cannot co-exist in the same city. The AGA analysis shows that half of all professional U.S. teams’ stadiums are within a one-hour drive of a casino.
“Further, six teams—the Los Angeles Rams, Pittsburgh Steelers, New Orleans Saints, Baltimore Ravens, Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns—play their home games within one mile of the nearest casino,” the AGA said in a press release. “When the radius is expanded to five miles, an additional four teams—the Cincinnati Bengals, Green Bay Packers, San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots—join that group, meaning that a total of 10 teams play home games within five miles of a casino.”
“Casino gaming has become a mainstream industry that is welcomed by communities in 40 states, including in many markets with NFL and other professional sports franchises,” said Sara Rayme, AGA’s senior vice president of public affairs. “The facts show that concerns about athletes playing games in Las Vegas are dramatically misinformed. It’s time for a fresh look at the sports betting prohibition that is pushing widely popular sports betting activity to an illegal market that threatens the integrity of the sports we love.”
Key findings of the analysis:
• Six teams are located within one mile of the nearest casino.
• 10 teams are located within five miles of the nearest casino.
• Half of all NFL teams are located within 11 miles of the nearest casino.
• 22 teams (69 percent) are located within 30 miles of a casino.
• 25 teams (79 percent) are located with 35 miles of a casino.
• 26 NFL teams (81 percent) are located within an hour’s drive from a casino.
• 100 percent of NFL players are within reach of illegal online sports betting sites.
The analysis doesn’t include games played in London, where legal, regulated sports betting is ubiquitous.
