More Than One Way To Cook An Egg
States are exploring every option as they try to deal with the fallout and what they see as broken promises following the legalization of sports betting.
The Bulletin Board
NEWS: The North Carolina legislature is unlikely to enact a college prop betting ban, but other options are on the table.
LOOSE ENDS: Bally’s seeks to extend more credit to casino VIPs; The end of the line for The Mirage.
NEWS: Another thread to pick at in the Shohei Ohtani betting story as MLB investigates former teammate and friend David Fletcher.
QUICK HITTER: Massachusetts Senator wants to raise the tax on sports betting to 51%.
AROUND the WATERCOOLER: Sports betting industry gets called out for its audacity in Massachusetts.
STRAY THOUGHTS: As useless as a wristlock.
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NC Legislature Unlikely To Act on College Player Prop Bets
A ban on college player prop bets is unlikely to happen through legislative channels in North Carolina.
According to State Rep. Marcia Morey, the sponsor of HB 967, the college player prop bet ban bill, “If you put a bet on where my bill’s going, bet nowhere.” Morey told Gambling.com’s Larry Henry that she doesn’t even believe it will get a hearing, “citing a reluctance by the majority Republican Party to move the bill forward.”
However, Morey said other options are on the table, including a regulatory ban (bypassing the legislature), which has been the route in most other states that have followed the NCAA’s wishes.
Another option is to increase the penalties for anyone who harasses a student-athlete. “If we’re not going to ban it, we at least need to have consequences,” state Sen. Julie Mayfield, who sponsored a similar bill in the Senate, SB 788, told Henry. Mayfield said she may try to amend a different bill to increase penalties.
The current list of states that have prohibited prop bets on college athletes stands at 13, with four states banning the wagers at the NCAA’s request: Ohio, Maryland, Vermont, and Louisiana (goes into effect on Agust 1, 2024). Wyoming is the only state that has bucked the trend. New Jersey lawmakers have also filed legislation to prohibit these wagers.
In a recent press release, the NCAA reiterated its opposition to college player prop bets (adding the easily manipulated nature of these bets to its harassment concerns) and touted its successes on this front:
“The NCAA believes bets placed on individual college athletes' performances, known as prop bets, should be eliminated. These types of bets target the individual for harassment and are more easily manipulated, threatening competition integrity. That's why the NCAA is advocating for elimination of player-specific prop bets in collegiate competitions. The NCAA's efforts are paying off.”
Loose Ends: Bally’s Seeks to Extend More Credit to Casino VIPs; The End of the Mirage
It’s always about VIPs: Rhode Island Senate President Dominick Ruggerio has introduced a bill that would double the amount of credit a casino could extend to a patron (from $50,000 to $100,000) to keep pace with Massachusetts casinos. The bill was introduced at the request of Bally’s, the state’s only casino operator with two properties in Rhode Island (Lincoln and Tiverton). The bill would also give the “Department of Business Regulation the power to change the terms in the latest version of the state’s current operating agreement with Bally’s without having to ask for legislative approval,” according to the Providence Journal.
Adieu to another storied casino: The Mirage will officially close on July 17 to make way for the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Steve Wynn’s brainchild, the Mirage, ushered in the modern era of Las Vegas, focusing on grandeur and amenities, making it one of the most important casino properties of all time. I’ve been to many casinos, and The Mirage is one of the very few from which I have a casino chip.
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MLB Investigating Former Ohtani Teammate and Friend David Fletcher
There is a new thread to tug on in the Shohei Ohtani-Ippei Mazuhara betting scandal. As ESPN reports, MLB is investigating former Los Angeles Angels infielder David Fletcher, who allegedly gambled with Matthew Bowyer, the illegal bookie at the center of the scandal.
Fletcher doesn’t appear to have bet on baseball, with ESPN reporting, “MLB sources have said that if a player bet illegally but not on baseball, it’s likely he would receive a fine rather than a suspension.”
Where things get interesting is the relationship between Ohtani and Fletcher.
Ohtani and Fletcher became friends during their time with the Angels.
“Before signing a record $700 million deal with the Dodgers, Ohtani spent his first six MLB seasons with the Angels. There, he befriended Fletcher, whom the Angeles selected in the sixth round of the 2015 MLB Draft. Four years later, Ohtani and Fletcher attended an Anaheim Ducks’ game together on Angels Night at the arena.”
Quick Hitter: Massachusetts Bill Would Raise the Sports Betting Tax Rate to 51%
The rumors are true: Massachusetts is considering raising its sports betting tax rate, and the increase is not trivial.
Per Mike Mazzeo, the rate would more than double, from 20% to 51%.
Massachusetts is the third state to consider a sports betting tax increase this year, joining Illinois (15% to 35%) and New Jersey (15ish % to 30%). Ohio started the movement last year, increasing its tax rate from 10% to 20%.
Of course, passing such a measure will be a heavy lift.
Around the Watercooler
Social media conversations, rumors, and gossip.
Richard Schuetz went in on sportsbooks in a column published before they decided to no-show the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Tuesday. After the licensed sportsbooks skipped the roundtable discussion on limiting sports bettors organized by the MGC, Schuetz brought out the big guns.
As Joe Brennan Jr. put it (and yes, I had to Google eminence grise, which is the perfect term to describe Mr. Schuetz):
In his after-column, Schuetz wrote he was “absolutely shocked” the operators (sans Bally’s) sent written statements instead of appearing in person:
“Two characteristics that I find very unpleasant when combined are arrogance and ignorance, and the way that the ten firms stiffed the MGC was the absolute ultimate statement of arrogance and ignorance. This could only have taken place in an environment where industry leadership egos were running wild and unchecked. More importantly, it was terribly disrespectful to the chairman and the commissioners in Massachusetts. Terribly disrespectful.”
Schuetz finished his column with some advice for Massachusetts: “You took a friendly approach, and you got burned by it… You have tried nice, and that didn’t work, and if they fool you twice … well, then you are the problem.”
Stay tuned for my thoughts on what this means going forward in tomorrow’s feature column.
Stray Thoughts
There’s a thing that happens to martial artists over time. They start to feel like nobody has anything to teach them. It’s not that they know everything; instead, they feel what they don’t know isn’t worth learning.
Of course, they are wrong, and while they won’t admit it, they stop learning because they are lazy and/or don’t want any of their beliefs challenged.
I was recently saying to someone that I don’t teach wristlocks. #1) most of my students are kids, and there is no way I’m letting kids mess around with wrist locks. #2) they don’t work, at least not in a standup situation. The only time I’ve ever pulled off a wristlock is when I’m rolling in BJJ and have someone in a Kimura or other lock and can’t get them to tap. Wristlocks are rarely created; they simply appear.
The person is a believer in wristlocks and was a bit perplexed. So, I extended my hand and said, wristlock me. They grabbed my wrist, and without doing anything other than moving my arm, they couldn’t. Obviously, there are people out there who could pull it off and wristlock me in that scenario, but they are few and far between and have likely spent 10+ years working on them, and in reality, they would have to get a hold of my wrist somehow first.
For me, they are a waste of time, but they are fun to mess around with if your partner will stand still and let you do whatever. I’d rather drill throwing a jab-cross, a double leg, or 100 other more valuable things over and over than a wristlock.
What does this have to do with anything? People in the gambling industry need to realize that what they think are best practices might not work at all. I can think of many things taken as gospel that are about as useful as a wristlock.