Make Sports Betting 100 Percent Legal Now

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.

What kind of country do we live in when there is a greater outcry for the alleged privacy rights of suspected terrorists who are not even citizens of the United States, yet minimal indignation when your basic civil right to put your money where you mouth is becomes under attack from our own elected bureaucracy?

The stuffed suits use the hackneyed “slippery slope” riposte, stooping to fear mongering in lieu of actual facts. They talk about uncertainties of fully legalized gambling leading to a progression of addiction.  There goes that kooky expectation of individual accountability.

However, we know our civil servants would never be hypocritical, so surely we can outlaw other addictive vices such as alcohol (again), credit cards, video games (not because they are addicting, just because too many are idiotic), and cheesesteaks.  Oh, and what is more addictive than Laura Dhue, the blonde who puts the “fox” in Fox News? What in the name of Bill Frist are we waiting for?  Outlaw Laurie Dhue now before I max out my credit cards buying any more HDTVs and VCRs so I can have all Laurie, all the time.  

The US will never catch Osama Bin Laden, but they got their big fish: David Carruthers, CEO of previously unknown terrorist group BetOnSports. Reports say they are linked to an insurgency organization known as Millennium Sports.

Curruthers was arrested on a 22-count indictment of racketeering, conspiracy and fraud.  We can only assume the fraud charge was a result of again making Peyton Manning a favorite in a playoff game. We are still researching the reasons for the other charges.  I sent an email to Judge Wapner.

I will let others debate which laws are constitutional or can be enforced.  We spend too much time dilly-dallying about whether the government can stop you from placing a bet, rather than the real issue of why they wish to have such a police state to begin with.

Will one of our elected officials take time away from accepting bribes and explain to me why we have laws to deter us from choosing to place a bet or not to place a bet?

Once online sports betting were decriminalized, the United Stateswould be the biggest beneficiary of rightful international ecommerce. Major sportsbooks would flock to the US. Both CNBC and the Wall Street Journal conducted surveys that showed an overwhelming 9-of-10 Americans favor fully legalizing online gambling.

What if the US government did something really extraordinary and listened to the will of the people? Tax revenue from online casinos could be used to fund Social Security or education.  Crazy ideas, I know. 

Even supporters of your right to choose to bet will point out that online sportsbooks and online casinos could still set up shop outside the US and circumvent taxation.

There are at least two major forces that would make that unlikely: market forces and government protection.

BetOnSports, the most high profile target de jour of the Department of (in)Justice’s crackdown on civil liberties, reports about 80 percent of their sportsbook business came from the United States before the “Tobetaman Square Massacre”.

American pointspread bettors would feel much more secure placing their online sports bets with a company that was regulated inside of their borders. “Even those of us who do not have a great deal of faith in our government, generally have a favorable view of the current land based casino control commissions” said sports handicapper Stevie Vincent. Cy McCormick of the online handicapping syndicate MasterLockLine.com added, “Regulation means credibility”.

What do we mean by “government protection”?  In this fantasy of Big Brother giving you the right to choose to gamble online, certainly the “no taxation without representation” applies.

Several years ago, online sportsbooks faced DoS (Denial of Service) attacks from Russian mafia hackers.  The hackers demanded “security protection” from the online casinos and for the most part got their ransom.

Eventually, the extortionists were caught, but with no help from the FBI. The hackers knew offshore books would get no relief from United States law enforcement. Once the US government legitimized online gambling, American based companies would have the same law enforcement protection as Ebay or Amazon.

Finally, American land based casino giants would aggressively pursue the online avenue once our government decriminalizes this legitimate activity. All but guaranteed to be major players when it came to online betting, their motivation to circumvent taxation would be minimal.

But who wants to fund social security anyway?

Finally the college and professional sports leagues could have the most powerful ally yet in protecting themselves against another Black Sox Scandal. Online sportsbooks and the professional leagues should be equally horrified at the thought of point shaving or match fixing.

Many rightfully believe the NBA wishes the indignity of the referee Tim Donaghy betting fiasco was never unearthed. Generally abhorrent of conspiracy theories, I cannot help but hypothesize that there are ulterior motives for projecting legitimate bettors as the enemy of sports purity.

Perhaps the powers that be in American sports fear adding legal bookmakers as first responders in eliminating the underworld from affecting the outcome of their game will instead uncover innumerable skeletons in their collective closet.  

The author is sports betting expert Joe Duffy, CEO of sports handicapping website OffshoreInsiders.com