Monthly Archives: August 2021

I was 9 the first time I completely choked during a competition. The gag was epic and unforgettable, and Ill let you know if I ever live it down.

It was the fourth-grade classroom spelling bee, and I was certain Id be one of the last students standing. Id declared as much, too, to friends and foes alike.

My first-round word was chief. Just a warm-up word. A total softball. A waste of time, really. But all eyes were on me, and I suddenly remembered that I comes before E except after C, and Id be damned if chief didnt start with a C.

Uh-oh.

C-H ... E-I-F?

I held it together until I got home. Then I cried. Wait. Creid?

I think about that every time I see children in competitions when the whole world is watching. The Olympics, with its baby gymnasts, divers and so on, is one of those occasions. The Little League World Series unfolding for the next week-plus on ESPN and ABC is another.

How do these 11- and 12-year-old ballplayers do it? How do they find the strike zone from the mound, turn two in the infield, stay composed at the plate in an 0-2 count?

Which brings me to my email inbox.

The Little League World Series is cant-miss TV, came a missive heading into the first-round games Thursday in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and now people can bet on the action.

No. It cant be.

SportsBetting.ag has set odds for Game 1 of each series, as well as which team will advance from the Hank Aaron and Tom Seaver brackets to play in the LLWS Championship on Sunday, Aug. 29. Additionally, there are overall odds to take home the title. Hawaii is the favorite, followed closely by Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

Of course it can be. There are odds on everything nowadays. When Japans Momiji Nishiya, 13, beat Brazils Rayssa Leal, also 13, for skateboarding gold in Tokyo, bettors won and bettors lost. When New Orleans eighth-grader Zaila Avant-garde won the Scripps Howard national spelling bee on ESPN in July, bettors who couldnt spell the winning word murraya if their lives depended on it got ready to make it rain. Perhaps others cursed the girl.

Murraya, by the way, is defined as a genus of tropical Asiatic and Australian trees having pinnate leaves and flowers with imbricated petals. But you probably knew that already.

There were four LLWS games Thursday, and two of them ended in victory for the biggest long shots in the field. Nebraska at +1400 in the Aaron bracket beat New Jersey 5-2. Ohio at +1400 in the Seaver bracket beat Tennessee 1-0. Why do I suspect Aaron and Seaver, both gone in the past year, are turning over in their graves?

I think of Nebraskas 4-10, 85-pound outfielder Braeden Dyer and Ohios 4-11, 80-pound infielder Cooper Clay and want to throw my old arm around their puny shoulders in encouragement. Maybe buy them ice-cream cones. The idea of having money riding on those shoulders is twisted and unfathomable.

Am I a prude? No. Ive done a lot of betting in my day most of it illegal, the way it was meant to be. Through bookies at bars, the frightening sort. And with parlay cards, strip cards and heavy cash pools, all unsanctioned. But I was young and stupid. And then I was not that young but still stupid. I still love a poker game.

Betting is everywhere. PointsBet ads are ubiquitous on NBC Sports Chicago, the home of the Blackhawks, Bulls and White Sox. DraftKings is so in bed with the Cubs that a giant sports book is planned to go up adjacent to Wrigley Field.

Sports journalists some of the air-quotes variety talk out loud in ways they never used to about betting on games, teams and leagues they cover. It at least used to be hush-hush. There was the risk of perceived conflicts of interest, after all. Show me a writer who bets on the team he covers, and Ill show you a writer whose opinions and work are informed at least somewhat by the results of those bets.

Now? Journalists tweet about their bets. I cant stand it. But its a different time.

PointsBet, to name one outfit, didnt get into the LLWS action. In a text exchange with SportsBetting.ag spokesman Josh Barton, I got the other side of that coin.

We offer these odds for a reason, he wrote. The games are on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. When fans watch sports on TV, they are often inclined to wager on them in order to make the games even more entertaining.

At the end of the day, people gamble on sporting events kids participate in regularly. College sports have teenagers competing in them every day. You could bet on a 12-year-old playing Ping-Pong or a 13-year-old skateboarding at the Olympics this year. There are professional soccer players around the globe who are barely legal to drive.

All right, then. Grab a bat, Cooper Clay. Youre up. And try not to let anybody down, Chief.

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Little League World Series: So, were really gambling on this now? You can bet on it - Chicago Sun-Times

Wining some real money via any kind of gambling including table games, lottery, or sports betting is not restricted to just regular working-class people. Many celebrities regularly visit online casinos in search of excitement, adrenaline rush, or a little bit of luck on a poker table. We read every week about Floyd Mayweathers betting adventures or 50 Cent winning one hundred thousand dollars on a game of roulette. These guys can afford such exploits and while it is not uncommon for celebrities to enjoy gambling, but one state is full of famous people who just love wagering. We are talking about Maryland, one of the smallest but richest states whose celebrities love to flash their cash.

Many actors or actresses dont like flaunting their earnings but they sure like to spend them on a lavish lifestyle and occasional wagering. Maryland can proudly claim some of the most famous Hollywood icons who just happen like gambling in their spare time. Among them is Edward Norton as well as Scary Movie star Anna Farris who both professed their love for placing the occasional bet. Since gambling laws in Maryland are very strict, plus slots winnings are taxed up to 60%, these celebrities might prefer Atlantic City or the Las Vegas strip. There are several casinos in Maryland that Hollywoods elite including another Baltimore native Jada Pinkett Smith can visit if they choose to.

With a proliferation of online casino sites since the 90s, many states have regulated this issue in a restrictive fashion by banning domestic online casinos in the United States, including Maryland. This doesnt mean that you cannot enjoy available online gaming sites as long as you are 21 years old. Gamblers from Maryland prefer playing at an online casino without wagering requirements probably because their rewards or earnings would normally be heavily taxed. Those who get lucky at table games will have to pay 20% tax, but slots or sports bets have one of the highest tax rates in all of the USA. Others who do not like spending real money at gaming sites can enjoy community sites that feature exhibition roulette, blackjack, or poker games with no real cash involved.

There are so many talented musicians coming from Baltimore or surrounding areas including rapper Ginuwine, R&B diva Toni Braxton, or the Good Charlotte rock duo Joel and Benji Madden. Ginuwine is known for his love of poker and is frequently seen playing in Las Vegas, while Benji Madden stated numerous times that he cannot resist visiting an online casino at least once a day. Even the cute Christina Milian loves playing roulette occasionally but her online earnings do not surpass her platinum records profits. Perhaps all these Maryland natives cannot compare with Floyd Mayweather who won almost six million dollars on NBA betting but they all reported winning smaller sums once in a while. With all the money they have in their pockets, they do not really need any extra cash but they wont refuse it either if they get lucky.

Just as the best Olympians must be in superior shape for winning a medal, poker players or sports bettors must sharpen their skills as well to make some earnings. Interestingly, Maryland made sports betting legal just recently so sports celebrities had to prove themselves by playing poker instead. While we should stick to someinstant withdrawal casinos, sports legends like Michael Phelps, Jeff Green, or Sugar Ray Leonard prefer being high rollers. They brought their winning mentality to a poker table with Phelps even declaring that he dreams about becoming a pro player. He regularly plays $10,000 buy-in games at Atlantic City where you can see him wearing a cap with dark glasses and truly enjoying his game.

Despite strict gambling laws, gambling in Maryland is on the rise. This branch of the entertainment industry does wonders for a local economy, bringing in millions in tax money while creating new job opportunities. Perhaps, other states should look up to Maryland with their gambling laws as an example of a nicely regulated gaming industry. Acknowledging the fact that this state has the biggest percentage of millionaires per capita, maybe they should reconsider the full legalization of online casinos as it could prove very lucrative. Until they decide to do so, Maryland celebrities will have to travel a little bit north to Atlantic City so they can enjoy a full-blown gambling extravaganza without any restriction.

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Famous Marylanders Who Made It Big With Gambling | Eye On Annapolis - Eye On Annapolis

Have you ever wondered why so many people play casino games on the internet? In recent years, this gambling community has seen explosive growth. Experts distinguish six main drivers behind the trend. Discover them below.

In comparison with land-based establishments, profits in UK online casinos are very decent. You can win thousands of dollars or even more. Some of the biggest payouts, such as the Mega jackpot, are seven-digit figures. In addition, you can use cryptocurrencies to make bets. The volatility of their value means that you can benefit on both fronts.

This industry is fiercely competitive, so every website is trying to stand out from the crowd with generous conditions. The RTP, or return to player, has risen in recent years. Now, you should not accept anything less than 95%. This is much better than what you would get in a physical casino, where the space is limited, so the house edge is higher.

More and more gamblers in the UK have flocked to websites. The coronavirus pandemic has caused a surge in their popularity, as land-based establishments were forced to close. Since online casinos do not have physical buildings, they are immune to such disruptions, and their costs are also lower. There are no furnishings, dealers, and other attributes to pay for.

To gamble, you do not have to leave your home. Play on the go if you want to mobile optimization means hundreds of games now fit in your pocket. Transactions on a reputable site are quick, and your personal data is protected.

However, some users are still worried about sharing their details online. The industry has found a way to quell these concerns. While strong encryption protects your data from prying eyes, you can use the latest methods to give yourself complete peace of mind.

Payments in cryptocurrencies add another layer of security. Neither the website nor authorities can see the names of the wallet owners. Blockchain is a decentralized system where your identity is protected. In addition, withdrawals and deposits are almost instant. Casinos also have low processing fees because there is no intermediary. This is a win-win scenario.

The strong competition also forces operators to offer generous bonuses sometimes, just for creating an account. There is a wide variety of these rewards and incentives. New players can explore and compare platforms for free using no deposit bonuses. This is a great opportunity to see which website suits your needs.

Compare this with any physical establishment, where rewards for buying chips are rare. Fortunately, you are almost certain to receive a match bonus from an e-casino. For example, you may get up to $1,000 from the house as 5 match bonuses for your deposits.

Naturally, no deposit bonuses are relatively modest, but they are still insanely popular. Free cash or free spins can be used to explore the collection at your own pace, free of charge. This is a risk-free way to compare online gambling offerings.

Physical casinos usually impose stringent limits on wagering and the size of stakes. This is because their overheads are relatively high. Websites have lower costs, so they can provide more variety in terms of betting options.

Digital casinos welcome players with all budgets. You can start small, or become a high roller. There is an option for everyone.

Even the biggest brick-and-mortar casinos cannot compare with a digital collection. One website may feature hundreds of games from different famous studios, such as Microgaming, Evolution Gaming, NetEnt, etc. Many of them do not even have a physical equivalent. The sheer size of the collections is spectacular there are more games than one could play in a lifetime.

Modern digital casinos offer plenty of advantages to novices and seasoned gamblers. They welcome all budgets, offer a spectacular variety of games, lavish bonuses, loyalty systems, and more. Obviously, the surge in their popularity is not connected to coronavirus alone. This is a convenient way to play the most thrilling games, on any screen and from any location.

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Why Bet on Online Gambling Websites? The Katy News - thekatynews.com

Where to start? I guess apologies to Pete Rose is as good a place as any. To old Cub manager Leo Durocher, as well. Willie Mays. Mickey Mantle. Maybe Michael Jordan, too, though MJ's gambling always seemed more careless than cruel.

Shoeless Joe Jackson's lapse was not gambling. Jackson used the gamblers in 1919 and took their money. He got no credit for that. Got a lifetime ban from baseball instead. We must say it's so, Joe.

Gambling and sports have been dating forever, though only recently have they been given permission to share the same building.

Baseball's position on gambling had been the same as Capt. Renault's in "Casablanca." Shocked to find gambling taking place. Shocked. Until now. When there is money to be made.

Durocher was suspended a year from baseball for "consorting" with gamblers, which is like having drinks at the same end of the bar. Mantle and Mays, careers over, were greeters in Atlantic City, where gambling was known to take place.

Mantle said he was banned from baseball 14 years after he left baseball. It wasn't that he or Mays gambled -- maybe they did -- but they played golf with gamblers. That was enough for Bowie Kuhn, then commissioner, the man who oversaw the designated hitter, World Series night games and polyester uniforms, any one of which could be considered an indictable offense.

Right now, the NFL is in public and unregretful partnership with several sports betting services. So, apologies to Paul Hornung and Alex Karras, too, both once suspended for gambling.

Times change, and maybe never more quickly than lately and much more quickly than is wise. Baseball used to hate gambling and now it wants to build its own shop, at Addison and Sheffield to give it a local address.

Peter Ueberroth lifted the lifetime ban on Mays and Mantle two years after Kuhn imposed it. But he vowed that baseball would remain "free from any connection between it and gambling."

I can envision a walkway from the Cubs sportsbook above the statue of Ernie Banks to Wrigley Field.

With the Cubs and with the Nationals and more teams to come, sportsbooks will be partners with the teams they make odds on. This is not that much different from insider trading, which has its own Hall of Fame, just to bring Rose back into this tale.

Inside knowledge is sort of what shamed Rose. That and lying about it. Rose knew too much to be trusted and he made out the lineup. So, goodbye Pete. Join Shoeless Joe in the corner over there.

Maybe Rose's failing was no more than a bad habit. Certainly, compared to the subsequent steroid era it was harmless fluff. But 225 pages of investigation, with appendices and exhibits, determined Rose was not good for baseball, a violation of Rule 21d. No saving Rose, merely the greatest hitter ever in baseball. Not one of his 4,256 hits has been taken away, as has his eligibility for the Hall of Fame. Rose bet on baseball, confessed as much in his own book after lying about it.

It should not matter if that little brick museum in Cooperstown has a place for the man who is the personification of its existence, but it does. It matters not just to Rose but to justice. I suggest that every one of the new baseball sponsored sportsbooks have a statue of Rose at the entrance. Come on in. Pete's happy to see you.

I don't know how to bet on baseball, don't understand the jargon. Point spreads are easy. March Madness brackets are a sacred spring rite. I wonder if baseball bettors don't just humor the form until football season starts.

But baseball is betting there is money to be made from what used to be Sin No. 1 and those who can make it happen are making it happen.

As Rick tells Capt. Renault at the end of "Casablanca," slightly altered for my purposes here, "Louie, I think this is the beginning of a shameful friendship."

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Welcome to baseball and gambling ... with apologies to Charlie Hustle - Daily Herald

The Euros caused a spike in gambling problems, a charity has said.

Calls to the National Gambling Helpline went up by 28% during the tournament, compared to the same time period last year.

Gamcare, the charity that runs the service, says the return of live sports this summer is leading to a rise in dangerous gambling behaviour.

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The charity's chief executive, Anna Hemmings, said: "Certainly people who've had gambling issues in the past tell us that it really impacts on their ability to watch sport. Partly because it's triggering and partly because of (gambling companies') sponsorship and advertising."

Over half of the helpline's advisers say they've spoken to a recovered gambler who relapsed during the Euros, with some saying people reported going to extreme lengths to gamble again.

Some callers said they had been to place a bet on the football in disguise because they had previously asked bookmakers to ban them.

Other callers spoke about using their children's phones to avoid gambling blocks they have placed on their own devices.

"If you've got a consistent run of matches and different sporting activities going on, that's a risky time in terms of gambling escalation. It's easy for gambling to get more frequent and for longer sessions," added Ms Hemmings.

Matt Burgiss is a recovered gambling addict. He tried to kill himself after spending all his savings and getting into debt.

He said: "There was a lot of guilt and shame. Ultimately, I believe that's why I then attempted. I felt the only way to get out of it was to kind of stop myself."

Mr Burgiss managed to get the help he needed to stop gambling through therapy but said he worries about relapsing when football games are on TV.

"There might be the odd time I avoid watching a match because I know that day particularly it might just trigger me. It might put me in a place where I want to gamble again," he added.

Ms Hemmings said lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic have accelerated an online gambling crisis and she worries that the return of the Premier League season and a summer of live sports will be a catalyst for more people's gambling to get out of control.

She advises using blocking software to stop access to certain websites and also suggests that people with addictions ask betting shops to prevent them from entering.

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Euro 2020: Tournament caused spike in gambling problems, says charity, which warns of return of live sports - Sky News

Minnesota United attacker Robin Lod leads his team with six goals, but was a late injury scratch in ... [+] Saturday's loss to the Galaxy. His absence was the latest in a string of high profile players missing games after not being listed on team injury reports.

Minnesota United leading scorer Robin Lod sustained a calf injury in training last Friday morning, one that wasnt reported until 30 minutes before Minnesota kicked off a nationally televised match against the LA Galaxy on Saturday.

Some 10 days earlier, MLS assist leader Carles Gil was ruled out of the New England Revolutions home game against Nashville SC with an injury reported late the night before via anonymous sourcing by the SB Nation site that covers the team.

A few days before that, reigning MLS MVP Alejandro Pozuelo missed Toronto FCs gameday roster against Nashville with a leg injury revealed only in pregame comments manager Javier Perez to Canadian broadcasters TSN.

None of the three players were listed on the clubs official injury reports prior to those games. And while last-minute injuries happen in pro sports, these recent ones shine a light on an injury reporting system that is in drastic need of improvement as Major League Soccer continues wooing the American sports betting public.

(Full disclosure: In addition to my MLS writing for Forbes.com, I am an active MLS bettor and handicapper for ActionNetwork.)

Sports gambling has become a major part of MLS strategy to make inroads with new fans. Last year, MLS became the first major American sports league to list gambling odds for games on its official league website. The year before, it became the first American league to allow individual clubs to pursue jersey sponsorship agreements with domestic gambling firms.

It was a sensible decision following a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that paved the way for individual states to legalize sports betting.

Because betting is already legal throughout much of the world, soccer already has more of an established legalized betting culture than most American sports. And for a league that struggles at times for exposure, getting odds prominently displayed on popular gambling websites is essentially free advertisement.

But if MLS wants to retain interest among bettors, it needs to fall in line with other North American leagues in terms of how strictly injuries and other availability issues are monitored. Because between the nature of soccer overall and the lack of depth on MLS rosters, a star injury can have as much impact on the potential outcome for a game as that of a starting pitcher in baseball or a starting quarterback in football.

Like the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB, Major League Soccer requires does clubs to disclose player availability status. But there are obvious cracks in the system.

Generally, teams are expected to file their availability report 48 hours before each game, which is usually before their final training session ahead of the match. The league only requires players be listed as questionable or out. And teams arent required to list the kind of injury or availability issue a player is dealing with.

That alone is less transparent than the other North American leagues. But the real problem is what happens after: essentially, nothing.

Compare it to the other popular American pro sports.

In the NFL, there is no update to the injury report following Friday until inactives are announced 90 minutes before kickoff. But reporters have access to locker rooms and the first 15 minutes of practice every day but the day before gameday, making it hard to miss if an important player is nursing even something minor.

Coaches disclose if players are limited in their practice activities. And practice the day before a game is normally a walk-through, which makes injuries in those sessions exceptionally rare.

In the NBA and NHL, unless a team is playing on back-to-back days or an afternoon game, reporters have access to a morning shoot-arounds or morning skates on the day of a game. Coaches address the media at morning skate in the NHL, and 90 minutes before tip-off in the NBA.

In MLB, managers meet with reporters twice daily once several hours before a game and once immediately after except on rare occasions.

In every case, its far harder for a crucial injury to go undetected.

To be fair, these leagues dont have to fight the same cultural battle as MLS, which is often working with coaches and players from other countries with far more restrictive media environments.

The amount of information and access MLS teams freely give is greater than most leagues on the planet.

Theres also the fact that MLS media coverage lags those other major U.S. sports. Say the league required managers to have a pregame media session 90 minutes before kickoff. Its not a guarantee anyone would show up particularly for the manager who is on the road.

Even so, the lack of injury disclosure is a problem that is in the leagues best interest to solve, and its not a difficult one.

The easiest fix is to change the injury reporting deadline to 24 hours and separate it from the rest of the media information process. This would take more resources, but only marginally so, and could be something the leagues gambling partners could even help fund.

And if teams are submitting their injury reports after their final training sessions, theres no reason to leave out situations like Lod or Pozuelo from the questionable category, even if you dont disclose exactly the kind of injury. If teams arent truthful, its easy enough to make them pay with their wallet.

No system is perfect. There will always be the sneaky injuries that pop up in pregame warm-ups, and there will always be managers who simply decide to give a veteran the night off during a busy stretch. But it can easily be a lot better.

With 14 states now offering sports betting, and nine more set to do so in the near future (According to ActionNetwork), MLS is making a first impression on a lot of new potential consumers. It would be a shame to do so as the league you shouldnt bet on because of dodgy injury reporting.

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As MLS Courts Gamblers, Its Injury Reports Arent Worth Betting On - Forbes

The nations best-known online sports-betting platforms are wagering heavily on their ability to convince Florida voters to expand the gambling market in 2022.

Florida Education Champions, a political action committee backed almost exclusively by the betting sites FanDuel and DraftKings, has raised more than $20 million to get on the ballot next year a constitutional amendment permitting organized sports betting.

The crux of the PACs pitch is the same used by lottery fans: education.

The proposed amendment would allow the Legislature to tax gambling revenues, with all proceeds funneled to the state Educational Enhancement Trust Fund.

According to state election records as of July 31, FanDuel and DraftKings each put up $10 million for the cause.

A total of six other donors have chipped in a combined $87.

So far, the PAC has spent about $3.6 million, records indicate. Florida Education champions has doled that out for legal advice, mailing expenses, research, with the bulk of the spending so far going to Dallas-based Advanced Micro Targeting for voter outreach.

Floridians love their sports. The thrill of a buzzer-beater victory or the agony of a hard-fought loss, we love it all, the group says on its website, fledchampions.com.

Many Floridians also enjoy betting on sports its a fun way to participate in the excitement of the game. By signing the Florida Education Champions petition, you can allow Floridians, 21 and older, to use their favorite online sports betting platform and ensure any new revenue MUST go to increase education funding in Florida.

The group maintains that the amendment, if approved, could generate hundreds of millions of dollars for Florida, based on the action in comparably sized states like New York and Illinois.

The amendment itself would authorize sports and event betting at professional sports venues, pari-mutuel facilities and online sports-betting platforms for people 21 or older.

It restricts the online action to gaming house that have operated in at least 10 states for at least a year, and by Native American tribes holding a gaming compact with the state of Florida. Other firms could enter the market after 20 months.

The amendment defines betting as wagering on any sporting event or portion of a sporting event, or even the individual performance or statistics of any athlete or participant in a sporting event, or any combination thereof in any one of several methods.

It would not include any other casino gambling now specifically listed in the state Constitution, nor fantasy sports contests. Qualified events include pros, amateurs, colleges, the Olympics or other international sports, motor sports and any other competition, contest or event in accordance with implementing legislation or agency rule.

Back in the spring, Gov. Ron DeSantis, with the overwhelming approval of state lawmakers, endorsed a new gambling pact that permits sports betting. Because the deal involved the Seminole tribe, it needed federal approval, which was granted two weeks ago.

Florida Education Champions note their measure will allow more competition and enable Floridians to use their favorite sports betting platform.

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Sports Biggest Online Gambling Sites Betting Big They Can Get Floridians To Authorize Constitutional Protection - The Free Press

Phnom Penh municipal Military Police are questioning more than 100 suspects involved in a covert online gambling operation in violation of the governments ban on gatherings and gambling regulations.

Their arrests followed a raid on a condominium building on street 508 in Chamkarmon districts Phsar Doeum Thkov commune.

National Military police spokesman Eng Hy told The Post that the suspects gathered for online gambling. He said those found to be involved in the operation would be referred to court on gambling charges.

A Phnom Penh Military Police official who asked not to be named told The Post on August 22 that most of the suspects were Chinese, and officials were still searching for other suspects.

The source said those not directly involved in the offences would likely only receive a warning and be released.

We will send all those involved in the gambling operation to court. As for those who were not involved in the crime, like cooks, security guards and vendors, we will not prosecute them, he said.

He said the suspects, including some Vietnamese nationals, were being questioned but those found to be behind the crime would be sent to court within 48 hours of their arrest.

The prosecutor has temporarily closed the condominium, pending further court proceedings, he said.

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Police bust gambling operation, nab over 100 - The Phnom Penh Post

Legal betting on sports in North Carolina is closer to reality.

ACC POLICY >>> AT THAT POINT, IT WAS A HUGE POLITICAL CONTROVERSY AND FAIRLY PASSED. TODAY IT DID NOT GET DEBATE. WHAT CHANGED IN THE MEANTIME? IN 2018, THE U.S. SUPREME COURT RULED STATES HAVE THE RIGHT TO LEGALIZE GAMBLING. SINCE THEN, ONLINE SPORTS BETTING SITES PROLIFERATED AND MORE THAN 20 STATES LEGALIZED IT. NORTH CAROLINA COULD BE NEXT. >> PROHIBITION DOES NOT WORK. >> Reporter: SENATOR JIM PERRY SAYS PEOPLE ARE ALREADY DOING AND HE THINKS IT COULD BE A NEW REVENUE SOURCE. >> IT IS A VOLUNTARY TAX FROM PEOPLE ALREADY TAKING PLACE IN THAT MARKET. CHOOSING TO SPEND MONEY THAT WAY. I BELIEVE I OWE IT TO THE PEOPLE I REPRESENT TO FIND ALTERNATIVE MEANS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY. >> Reporter: THE FAMILY POLICY COUNCIL THINK THAT IS A BIG MISTAKE. THE BILL WOULD MAKE ONLINE BETTING AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE IN THE STATE. >> CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS AND OVERALL POPULATION WOULD BE OVERCOME WITH ADVERTISEMENTS AND PROMOTIONS THAT ARE PUSHING GAMBLING ON OUR CITIZENRY AND WE DON'T BELIEVE THAT IS A GOOD IDEA. >> Reporter: 16 SENATE REPUBLICANS VOTED AGAINST THE BILL, MORE THAN HALF. SENATE LEADER PHIL BERGER USUALLY DOES NOT ALLOW A VOTE ON A BILL UNLESS THE MAJORITY OF HIS CAUCUS SUPPORTED BUT HE MADE AN EXCEPTION THIS TIME. >> THE CHAMBER, GOOD MAJORITY OF FOLKS IN FAVOR OF IT, SOMETHING TALKED ABOUT FOR A WHILE. FELT LIKE IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR US TO GO AHEAD AND ALLOW THE CHAMBER TO WORK ITS WILL. >> Reporter: HE WAS SURPRISED BY THE DECISION BUT SAYS THERE'S A LOT OF MONEY AND POWER BEHIND THE BILL. >> I DON'T CALL INTO QUESTION THE INTEGRITY OF ANY OF OUR LEGISLATORS. BUT THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT INTERESTS AT HAND HERE. >> Reporter: THE BELL HAS A LONG WAY TO GO. HOUSE LAWMAKERS HAVE NOT TAKEN IT UP YET. THEY TALK ABOUT CHANGES THEY WANT TO MAKE TO MAKE SURE THE STATE GETS A BIGGER CUT OF THE MONEY.

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Supporters of legalized gambling say NC residents already bet on games :: WRAL.com - WRAL.com