A recent New York Times article documented that Internet gambling site Betfair.com has been at the forefront of policing match fixing in numerous sports. According to the Times, BetFair shared red-flag betting patterns with governing bodies in various sports “leading to investigations in horse racing, soccer and now tennis”
As gambling rights advocates have been preaching for years, professional sports leagues and the NCAA would be wise to partner with sportsbooks if, and I emphasize if, they truly want to prevent their games from being fixed.
One cannot help but wonder if the American sports leagues’ gambling policy is similar to the steroid scandal: hear no evil, see no evil.
It is due time that governing bodies in the United States sports and legislative branches decriminalize and embrace the legitimate activity of sports betting.
I know this will come as a surprise that our elected officials are instead moving backwards, but as shocking as it may seem, counterproductivity is their modus operandi.
First, the House passed legislation that is designed to prevent you from using your credit to place a bet and may even block out websites that have the audacity to take that wager. Didn’t our own government lambaste China for doing the same thing?
A few years ago, by a 6-3 margin, the Supreme Court said it’s okay to have “virtual” child pornography because it was simulated. Simulating one of the most atrocious and vile crimes known to humankind is legally protected. Reproducing the experience of a Vegas casino on your home computer is not.
Predators have privacy rights that bettors do not. Ah, but at least our children are shielded from poker players.
Republicans out of the right side of their mouth preach personal responsibility. They also sing the virtues of implementing new ways to create tax revenue instead of simply raising taxes. Then out of the other right side of their mouth, they demand a crackdown on online gambling because you are too stupid to know gambling is the axis of all evil.
Democrats sermonize about privacy. You should be able to do whatever you want in the privacy of your own bedroom as long as you don’t double down on 11. Out of the other left side of their mouth, many support the Prohibition of the new century: betting.
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