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
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