It was another news-filled week in the world of gambling.
In this installment of the weekly roundup from US Bets, we’re giving you a rundown of some of the more interesting new nuggets from the world of sports betting and beyond.
Also be sure to check out Sports Handle for its weekly news recap, “Get a Grip.”
Plug pulled on Knights deal with tout service
An unusual partnership between the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights and a Mexico-based tout service was killed this past weekend just days after it was announced. A tout service sells sports betting picks, a business model that is largely frowned upon by industry insiders. The chances of making an income from sports betting are low, and are virtually non-existent through a tout service, though it advertises that the picks are winners. It’s an ethically questionable business, so not many were surprised when the deal was quickly nixed after a backlash on social media.
The folks at UpickTrade told me that in the 24 hours after their @GoldenKnights deal was announced, they'd received calls from pro teams "across all the major league sports"
Now the @NFL, @NBA and @MLB tell @HowieLongShort that tout deals are prohibited https://t.co/veEnwwWzgO
— Eben Novy-Williams (@novy_williams) March 1, 2021
FanDuel sued over in-game betting claim
In a case that will likely not go anywhere, FanDuel was accused by a gambler of showing bettors more time than is actually left in games to secure more live bets on unlikely outcomes. However, some have pointed out that FanDuel doesn’t have the capability of doing this intentionally. In-game wagering is still a fledgling product, with timing issues seen across the industry.
FanDuel is accused in a federal lawsuit of delaying real-time in-app scores to entice losing betshttps://t.co/eFuQAgI3tt
— Rob Tricchinelli (@RobTricchinelli) March 2, 2021
Jordan high-stakes gambling on marathon spades game
This could be the biggest spades game in history in terms of the money at stake. According to a story retold this week by Antoine Walker, NBA G.O.A.T. Michael Jordan once played a 36-hour marathon spades game with nearly $1 million in losses, before making a comeback.
Antoine Walker says he and Michael Jordan were down $900K in 36-hour game of spades and nearly won it backhttps://t.co/eQECeuBIKc
— 97.1 The Ticket: (@971theticketxyt) March 4, 2021
Bally’s looking to make play for U.S. online poker market
Could the likes of PokerStars and the WSOP have another rival in the fledgling U.S. online poker market? It seems like Bally’s is interested in making a play for a piece of the pie through a deal to acquire the still popular World Poker Tour brand, which exists as a membership-based online poker site. More states are looking at legalizing the popular online gambling vertical.
Nasdaq-listed esports entertainment company @AlliedEsports received a $100M acquisition proposal from Bally's Corporation. The proposal competes with an agreement between Allied and Element Partners to sell its poker business for $78.25M.
https://t.co/eFdbXYMPE2 pic.twitter.com/8ychIKPLoq
— The Esports Observer (@esportsobserved) March 5, 2021
Intralot drawing widespread scorn for testimony in Ohio
Ohio is a high-stakes battleground right now for sports betting. There was some controversial testimony this week by lottery operator Intralot, which claimed that New Jersey hasn’t been a successful sports betting market. New Jersey is the top market in the nation.
Intralot rep:
“The state understands it is no longer about curing illegal play, because no one is changing their offshore accounts to do business with state-run sportsbooks anyways."
Everyone else:
"Yes, particularly in D.C. and MT run by Intralot"https://t.co/XZq991Yjdj
— Seth Young (@sethyoung) March 4, 2021
Low expectations for former Sands casinos in Las Vegas
Las Vegas Sands is out of Las Vegas after agreeing to a more than $6 billion deal to sell its properties to Apollo Global Management. It’s a massive transaction. Some experienced casino goers aren’t looking forward to how the properties will hold up under the new owner.
Those of us that lived through the Apollo “Management” of Caesars know you should try to visit Venetian/Palazzo now.
They’re about to become a shabby shadow of themselves ever in need of a paint touch up or repair.
— Captain Jack Andrews (@capjack2000) March 3, 2021
Toronto newspaper to launch an online casino business
Rather than go the route of making money from the advertising side of the online gambling world, a top newspaper in Canada is looking to directly offer online gambling. It’s an unusual move that hasn’t happened in the U.S. It’s unclear if any U.S. regulator would allow it.
Torstar looks to launch Ontario-based online casino business https://t.co/xCnlNlaR5m pic.twitter.com/CoyM6CFv75
— Financial Post (@financialpost) March 1, 2021
Heavy wagering on Cuomo leaving office in 2021
Every day seems to bring more bad news for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. While he said he won’t resign, gamblers on the prediction market portal PredictIt are still betting heavily on every new headline or breaking news piece that suggests he will sometime this year.
Spike for Cuomo making it through the year as NY Governor following his announcement that he won't resign — now at 63¢
Other potential methods for Cuomo leaving office could be a recall or impeachment.https://t.co/v4teyv8Ara https://t.co/M5uPlso0c5 pic.twitter.com/5Tc9Tfavea— PI (@PredictIt) March 3, 2021
