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.”
Pete Rose says he still gambles on baseball
Ohio is still in the process of legalizing the regulation of sportsbooks. In the meantime, former Cincinnati Reds star Pete Rose, who has no confidence he will enter the baseball Hall of Fame while he’s alive, has no qualms about talking about how he still bets on baseball, though he stressed legally. Could he be making a pitch to the Hard Rock Casino in Cincinnati to bring him in for a ceremonial first bet?
Pete Rose says he still bets on baseball, only this time it’s legal. He still isn’t getting in the Hall of Fame though. https://t.co/A03QwLX1WU
— 93.7 The Fan (@937theFan) November 18, 2020
Wrong time to bet on the Warriors
The Warriors NBA dynasty ended a year or two ago, but the team was still a contender up until Klay Thompson went down with a season-ending injury on Thursday. The news was a terrible beat for one sports bettor, who bet $6,000 on the team when they were 10/1 to win the next championship. Their odds moved to 100/1 after Thompson went down. Now that’s a bad beat.
My mistake: Westgate took a $6,000 bet (not $60K) on the Golden State Warriors to win the 2021 NBA title at 10-1 odds.
Warriors are now 100-1 after news that Klay Thompson is lost for the season.
— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) November 19, 2020
Another indictment in Ohio linked to sports betting
No one involved with the actual legislative process of bringing legal sports betting to Ohio has been accused of wrongdoing, but an indictment this week against a mayoral candidate in Cincinnati makes two criminal cases related to bringing sports betting to a former mall in the Queen City.
Sittenfeld and Pastor both are accused of seeking bribes for same development project, but feds say no evidence they knew the other was involved: ‘They were drinking from the same cup.’ https://t.co/H22PKqVKlC via @Enquirer @SharonCoolidge
— Dan Horn (@danhornnews) November 19, 2020
Famed bettor seeks investigation into handling of case
Billy Walters doesn’t exactly have the best reputation due to being sent to prison for insider trading. However, the legendary Las Vegas sports bettor is trying to repair his image to some extent by suing those involved with prosecuting him, notably the prosecutor behind online poker’s Black Friday in 2011.
Billy Walters is requesting an investigation into alleged “intentional leaking of confidential investigative and secret grand jury information by federal law enforcement officers” that in part led to his conviction on insider-trading charges.
— David Payne Purdum (@DavidPurdum) November 18, 2020
PA inches closer to overtaking NV as No. 2 market
Nevada’s reign as the nation’s top sports betting market is in the rearview mirror, as New Jersey recently reported more than $800 million in sports betting handle from October. Pennsylvania is now nipping at the Silver State’s heels as the sportsbooks in the Keystone State cleared the $500-million mark last month. The PA total was only a few million less than what Nevada saw in October 2019. That said, Nevada’s market is still growing as well, with the books reporting about $575 million in September. Pennsylvania isn’t quite at Nevada’s level yet, but that will undoubtedly come soon.
Pennsylvania October sports betting handle: a record $525.8M, up from $462.8M in September. Barstool tracked about the same as in September, doing $61M in a full month in October compared to $29.9M in a half-month. Full report from @GaryRotstein on @PennBets coming shortly.
— Eric Raskin + (@EricRaskin) November 17, 2020
Gambler retrieves money seized without probable cause
An old fashioned shakedown by the DEA against a gambler had a better resolution that most similar cases of civil asset forfeiture. Returning to Florida from a gambling trip in North Carolina, a woman saw the feds seize $43,000 from her by claiming it was from drug activity, despite absolutely zero evidence. #Murica
Happy ending for gambler who had money seized by the DEA https://t.co/R5Yj6UyIE5
— bill beatty (@mistabill) November 20, 2020
One of the sickest betting pools you’ll ever hear about
Gambling culture runs deep in America, but there are some things that you just don’t bet on. It’s been alleged that some managers at Tyson Foods thought it was a good idea to wager on whether their employees would die from COVID-19. There’s rightfully a public outcry.
Tyson Foods Inc. has suspended managers at an Iowa pork plant who were accused of participating in a betting pool on how many employees would become ill with COVID-19.https://t.co/ZYFkM6JWR2
— NPR (@NPR) November 20, 2020
Betfair continues to withhold gamblers’ election money
It’s getting a bit ridiculous. They election has long been over, but inexplicably Betfair Exchange won’t pay out its customers. The gambling operator, whose parent company is Flutter Entertainment, is trying to claim that paying out now would be akin to books prematurely paying out on Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Betfair, the world’s largest online betting exchange, has not paid out any bets on the winner of the presidential election.
Over $300 million was wagered on the presidential election at Betfair, with the largest bet coming on Joe Biden at $1.3 million. https://t.co/HKIrjcpVBg
— MarketWatch (@MarketWatch) November 20, 2020
