Monthly Archives: August 2021

Bet Online Sports Betting at BetUS Sportsbook, Live Betting …

Posted: August 28, 2021 at 12:06 pm

Is it legal to bet on sports?

You can with BetUS, because we are an international company who acts in accordance with the laws and regulations of the countries in which we operate. If you have any questions about the legalities in your country of residence, we suggest you contact a legal representative.

What sports can I bet on?

You can pretty much bet on any sport at the collegiate or professional level, including Olympic events. You can bet on football, bet on baseball, bet on hockey, bet on basketball and so many more. If you want to bet on darts, or bet on table tennis, you can do it at BetUS. If you like to bet on fighting, you can bet on UFC, bet on boxing and bet on other MMA events. If there is a sport you want to bet on and we do not have lines for it, you can ask us and we will most likely be able to get odds up quickly for you to bet on.

How old do I have to be to bet online?

You have to be 18 years or older to bet online at BetUS.

What is vigorish?

The vigorish is how sportsbooks make money. Lets assume balanced (the same amount of) action on both sides of a sporting event. The book has two bets, one for each team. Each bettor wants to win $100, so they have both bet $110. Two bets of $110 means the book has taken in $220. Whichever side wins the game, the book will pay out the original $110 bet, plus $100 in winnings, for a total of $210 paid out. The book took in $220 and paid out $210. That extra $10 is the profit for the book. It is also known as the Juice, or the Vigorish (Vig).

How do I register for an account at BetUS?

Before you get started betting on sports or playing our selection of slots and other casino games, youll need to sign up for an account. Its easy to get started. From the homepage, just click on Join button on the top right to get to the registration page. Youll then provide your basic information to set up the account.

Does BetUS have a loyalty program?

Of course! The more you play at BetUS, the more you get rewarded. Our loyalty program includes perks like free payouts (depending on your tier level), monthly casino tourney entries and other exclusive member rewards. You can check your loyalty status by logging in and clicking here.

What deposit options does BetUS offer?

BetUS offers multiple deposit options. We offer credit card, cash transfer, cryptocurrency, and bank wire. We accept all major credit cards such as Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. We also offer cryptocurrency payments in Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Ethereum.

Is BetUS secure?

All personal information submitted is private and completely confidential. We complete fully transparent and comprehensive audit trails of all games played. Our unique encryption system protects us and you. We are committed to a firm and strict privacy policy. View our Terms & Conditions here.

How do I withdraw my winnings?

The daily limit for payouts is $5,000. BetUS.com.pa offers several options to withdraw your funds. Call 1-888-512-3887 or log into your account to learn more. CryptoCurrency payouts are FREE and are now being PAID 24/7. You can request payouts directly on our web site or by contacting an Account Manager toll-free at 1-888-51-BetUS (23887).

Important: Customers that place deposits with credit cards will be required to submit clear, legible copies of the front of all credit instruments used to deposit and the front of a valid state-issued ID. This practice is designed to protect your financial interests and safeguard against underage gambling with BetUS.com.pa. Please call 1-888-51-BetUS (23887) with any questions.

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Bet Online Sports Betting at BetUS Sportsbook, Live Betting ...

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What Congress Wants From Big Tech – The New York Times

Posted: at 12:06 pm

This article is part of the On Tech newsletter. You can sign up here to receive it weekdays.

First there was so much shouting. And now there is action. (Maybe.)

The bad mood about the power of Big Tech companies has a new and perhaps surprising development: House lawmakers wrote a package of proposed legislation that, if it all passes a very big if could fundamentally change Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple as we know them.

I asked my colleague Cecilia Kang to walk us through the bills, and how we got here.

Shira: What does this legislation propose to do?

Cecilia: There are six bills that in different ways attempt to limit the power of big tech companies. One bill to provide more funding to government agencies that keep a check on corporations isnt that contentious.

That helped to cement a mostly bipartisan consensus although not always for shared reasons that Washington needed to be less hands-off with technology companies. And antitrust law is now perceived as a way to address a set of perceived problems with tech, including for some Republicans perceptions of bias against conservative voices and views.

Did Big Tech companies mess up and create too many enemies in Washington, or was it inevitable that they would be targeted for new laws and regulation?

Both. From my conversations with lobbyists at big tech companies, theres some regret that the companies misjudged how much good will they had with politicians and regulators. And tech companies Washington policy offices may not have fully articulated to their bosses on the West Coast how much lawmakers had turned against Big Tech.

But look, a handful of technology companies are the most valuable companies in the country and influence the economy, labor practices, how people find information and the ways we live. That exposes the companies to scrutiny.

How are the companies responding to these bills?

Their central message is that lawmakers risk creating far more problems than they might solve. Apple says, for example, that people will be exposed to sketchy apps if Congress requires the company to let people download iPhone apps outside its official store. Lobbyists have said that Amazon might be forced to stop Prime delivery for some products.

Is there a united front among Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple?

Not necessarily. There are some disagreements about policy. Facebook seems open to one of the proposals that would make it easier for people to take their data from one app to a competitor. Google is against it, and says it exposes people to scammers.

Theres also visceral anger. Quite a few tech companies, not just the biggest ones, resent Facebook for what they believe the company has done to tarnish the entire industry. A lobbyist told me that its difficult for Facebook to push back against antitrust legislation after many scandals. Apple, which is at odds with Facebook in almost every way, is effectively lobbying lawmakers on behalf of it and Facebook.

Sorry for the cynicism, but what if Big Tech just waited for divisions and fighting among lawmakers to kill the legislation?

Are you sure you havent worked in lobbying?! Thats a classic strategy and its not an illogical bet that Congress wont get its act together. But these antitrust bills, especially the ones that make acquisitions more difficult or would force companies to pull apart their businesses, are existential threats to Big Tech. The companies have to fight them.

A middle class retirement account, at $5 billion: ProPublica examines how ultrawealthy Americans including Peter Thiel, a prominent investor in young tech companies, accumulated multi-billion-dollar, tax-free fortunes in what are supposed to be retirement accounts for those with far more modest savings.

Can e-commerce giants help Indias shopkeepers? The 20 million small stores in India known as kiranas dominate shopping in the country. Bloomberg News reports that Amazon and the Walmart-owned e-commerce site Flipkart are teaming up with the shops including providing them with inventory management apps and using the stores to ship deliveries to sell more merchandise in Indian communities.

Dr. Reddit? Wired writes that a Reddit forum called DiagnoseMe, where people ask strangers for medical advice, is not as bad as it sounds. DiagnoseMe is quite good at policing itself and encourages people to advocate for themselves in the sometimes hostile health care system.

Why did mom duck and her ducklings cross the road? To go to a bagel shop. (They later made their way safely to a park.)

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What Congress Wants From Big Tech - The New York Times

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Rubio Introduces Sec 230 Legislation to Crack Down on Big …

Posted: at 12:06 pm

Washington, D.C. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced legislation to halt Big Techs censorship of Americans, defend free speech on the internet, and level the playing field to remove unfair protections that shield massive Silicon Valley firms from accountability. The Disincentivizing Internet Service Censorship of Online Users and Restrictions on Speech and Expression (DISCOURSE) Act would hold Big Tech responsible for complying with pre-existing obligations per Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) of 1996 and clarify ambiguous terms that allow Big Tech to engage in censorship.

Specifically, the DISCOURSE Act updates the statute so that when a market-dominant firm actively promotes or censors certain material or viewpoints -- including through the manipulative use of algorithms -- it no longer receives protections. The bill also limits Section 230 immunities for large corporations that fail to live up to the statutes obligations.

Big Tech has destroyed countless Americans reputations, openly interfered in our elections by banning news stories, and baselessly censored important topics like the origins of the coronavirus, Rubio said. It is absurd that these massive companies receive special protections through Federal law, even as they tear our country apart. No more free passes -- it is time to hold Big Tech accountable for their actions.

When it was first passed in 1996, Section 230 was intended to enable internet companies to host third-party content and engage in targeted moderation of the worst content without being treated as publishers, which are generally held accountable for the content that appears in its publication. But in the 25 years since the CDAs passage, internet companies have developed from tiny start-ups that needed the protections afforded by Section 230 into some of the largest corporations on Earth.

In addition to their growth, these internet companies also changed their missions. Todays tech giants use opaque algorithms and unaccountable teams of moderators to manipulate online discourse to their worldview. The result is a highly distorted public square in which Americans are censored on a daily basis.

Industry and policy experts have lauded Rubios work and the DISCOURSE Act:

"Senator Rubio deserves a lot of credit for coming up with this innovative approach to reforming Section 230. The DISCOURSE Act holds Big Tech companies accountable not only for their censorship and viewpoint discrimination, but also for their algorithmic amplification of content. This makes perfect sense. If a Big Tech company arbitrarily picks winners and losers when it comes to speech, it is itself speaking, so why should it enjoy a special immunity from civil liability for that speech? We appreciate Senator Rubio's commitment to fighting Big Tech censorship, and we hope this legislation starts an important conversation in the months ahead." - Jon Schweppe, director of policy and government affairs, American Principles Project

"We are thankful for the hard work of Senator Marco Rubio and his staff in addressing the growing concerns of NRB Members about the power of Big Tech to censor and stifle free speech. This legislation is a great first step in ensuring digital platforms are open for free speech and the gospel. We encourage the Senate to take a very serious look at this important legislation." - Troy Miller, CEO of NRB

Oracle appreciates Sen. Rubios efforts to introduce the DISCOURSE Act, which will preserve Section 230 immunities for those upstart innovators who need it but limit the protections for dominant tech platforms, who do not.

Senator Marco Rubios proposed legislation to reform Section 230 is an important step in the right direction. The Internet Accountability Project (IAP) applauds his efforts, and we hope other Republican senators will join him.

A section-by-section overview of the bill is available here, and a one-pager is here.

Key provisions of the DISCOURSE Act are also listed below.

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Arizona Sports Betting: Launch Dates and Updates (August 2021)

Posted: at 12:06 pm

Arizona Sportbook Registation is Live!

Arizona sports betting is launching September 9th, but as of now, on August 28th, you can sign up with Caesars Sportsbook, BetMGM, FanDuel, and DraftKings. All four of these sports betting platforms are offering pre-launch promos as incentives to sign up for their sportsbooks prior to the launch. Daily Fantasy Sports is also live in Arizona. You can now play daily fantasy games with DraftKings and FanDuel RIGHT NOW!

One of the larger sports betting markets on the west coast has finally gotten the go-ahead to launch sports betting. Arizona was able to finalize a new gaming compact with the tribes to begin allowing them to partner with operators to bring online sportsbooks to the state. Professional sports teams were also allowed to partner with operators, clearing the way for plenty of sportsbooks to be available in Arizona on launch day. In addition to sports betting, daily fantasy will also now be legal after being one of the few states where DFS was banned. The legalization of sports betting was officially passed in April of 2021.

Since the passing of HB 2772, the state has been in a rush for finalizing operator details, partnerships, and any logistics needed before an official launch at the beginning of the NFL season. Sportsbooks like BetMGM and FanDuel were early in partnering, and TPC Scottsdale also found an early partnership. Arizona is expected to have a wide range of operators available in the state. There are also going to be added retail sportsbooks, as the law allowed retail sportsbooks to be placed on a team or tribal locations. With the finalization of sports betting rules and operators progressing in partnerships, Arizona is nearing its legal sports betting launch.

There are four pre-registration offers available. The Caesars Arizona, which you can unlock with promo code LINEUPSRF. You can get $100 free plus $1 for every point or run scored by the following Arizona teams between the dates of 9/10-9/13: The Cardinals (vs. Titans), Arizona University Football (vs. San Deigo State), Arizona State (Vs. UNLV), and the Arizona Diamondbacks (vs. Mariners). This bonus could easily reach over $200 when all is said and done, so make sure to sign up before launch and use the Caesars Arizona promo code LINEUPSRF.

There is also DraftKings Sportsbook, which is offering a $150 free bet upon sign up. There is no promo code for DraftKings; simply click our exclusive DraftKings link to claim. You will be able to use the free bet when the sportsbook is live! FanDuel is offering $100 Free when you sign-up using our FanDuel promo link before Fanduel Sportsbook officially launches. The bonus breaks down between $75 free for the Sportsbook and $25 free for DFS. BetMGM has a straightforward offer of $200 in free bets when you sign up for the Sportsbook prior to the launch. Simply use the BetMGM bonus code LINEUPS to claim this offer!

Arizona sports betting is launching soon on September 9th! Make sure to find the best sportsbook site for yourself and the biggest bonus. Some of the most notable players in the North American sports betting business will be participating in Arizona including Caesars, BetMGM, FanDuel, and DraftKings. All four of these sportsbooks are offering pre-launch bonuses when you sign up now!

Caesars is one of the most recognized names in gaming, and the Caesars brand has been very successful with online and in-person gambling. Caesars recently acquired William Hill for $4 billion to reshape its sports betting platform and invigorate its online gambling brand in the United States and internationally. Caesars Sportsbook is currently live in New Jersey, Indiana, Michigan, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Colorado, West Virginia, and now Arizona.

Caesars Arizona registration is now live! You can get a $100+ bonus when you sign up using the Caesars Arizona promo code LINEUPSRF before the Caesars Sportsbook in Arizona launches. On top of the $100 bonus, you will get $1 of free bet money for every point/run scored by the Arizona Diamondbacks, Arizona Cardinals, Arizona State Sun Devils (Football), and Arizona University Wildcats (Football) from the dates 9/10-9/13. This means that the bonus could equate to easily over $200. Do not miss out; make sure to sign up using LINEUPSRF before the projected launch date, September 9th.

Following the integration of William Hill and Caesars, the Caesars Sportsbook app is now one of the best on the market. Its effortless to locate the sport you want to wager on with an easy-to-navigate drop-down menu featuring all kinds of domestic and international sports. Caesars has implemented some of the best live-betting functionality in the market and makes it easy for users to deposit and withdraw money with just a few clicks.

Caesars Sportsbook has announced a partnership with the Arizona Diamondbacks, the resident MLB team, and will operate a physical sportsbook in Chase Field. Caesars also has a multi-year agreement with the MLB to be an authorized gaming operator of the league, so the partnership with the Diamondbacks was easy to integrate. In addition to the physical sportsbook, Caesars will open a sports bar and broadcast studio at Chase Field.

In other states, Caesars currently offers the best signup bonus for new users a $5,000 risk-free bet. All you need to do is use the promo code LINEUPSRF at the time of signup to access this amazingly lucrative offer. You can bet up to $5,000 and receive your wagered amount in site credits if your bet loses. This enticing offer from Caesars is provided in combination with several ongoing exciting promotions and odds boosts available in the sportsbook.

BetMGM is one of the top sportsbooks in the country and is backed by MGM Resorts, a globally recognized gaming and hospitality brand. BetMGM is one of the most user-friendly platforms in the world of sports betting, and it is one of our most trusted partners. BetMGM is now live in Virginia, Michigan, Iowa, Colorado, New Jersey, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia, Washington D.C., and now Arizona.

When you use the BetMGM Arizona bonus code LINEUPS before BetMGM Arizona launches, you will receive $200 in free bets! The only thing you need to do is register before BetMGM starts accepting bets. That projected launch date is September 9th. The $200 in free bets can be used on a myriad of wagers, and the only thing you need to do is use the bonus code LINEUPS.

The BetMGM mobile application is available on both iOS and Android devices, and its one of the most user-friendly choices on the market. BetMGM has made it very easy to find the sports and specific markets you would like to bet on. The in-play functionality on the application is also excellent. BetMGM has a wide range of options for deposits and withdrawals, and everything you could possibly need is easy to find with just a few clicks on the menu.

BetMGM recently announced an exciting partnership with the Arizona Cardinals and Gila River Hotels & Casinos. BetMGM will open physical sportsbooks at the three Gila River Hotels & Casinos locations, including Wild Horse Pass, Lone Butte, and Vee Quiva. In addition, State Farm Stadium will also house a BetMGM Sportsbook with a targeted opening ahead of the 2022 NFL season.

BetMGM has one of the best sign-up offers for new users in the country, with a $1,000 risk-free bet at signup. This means that you can wager up to $1,000 with your initial bet and earn 100% of your bet amount in site credits if you lose. We expect that this offer will be extended to Arizona bettors when BetMGM goes live in the state!

FanDuel is one of the most successful sportsbooks in the United States and lives in Virginia, Tennessee, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Colorado, and now Arizona. FanDuel is best known for its DFS offerings, but its become a powerhouse in the sports betting industry as well. We have been working with FanDuel since 2013 and highly recommend the sportsbook as one of the best in the business.

FanDuel Arizona is coming, and you can sign up for the Sportsbook today! When you sign up for FanDuel Sportsbook before its launch, you can receive $100 free. $75 of that bonus cash goes to your Sportsbook, and $25 goes to your FanDuel DFS account. This offer is extremely limited as the launch is projected for NFL Kickoff on September 9th!

The FanDuel Sportsbook application is available for both iOS and Android devices. The mobile application is one of the best in the industry as its a seamless extension of the beautifully crafted desktop user interface. Its straightforward to find all of the sports you want to bet on through the app, as well as the promotions and odds boost currently available. The bet slip is easy to use, and banking is seamless and fast, with tons of options for deposits and withdrawals.

FanDuel announced an exciting partnership with the Phoenix Suns shortly after Governor Ducey signed the fantasy sports bill. FanDuel is planning to open a physical sportsbook at the Talking Stick Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. The physical sportsbook will include kiosks and ticket windows and will likely have a luxury box component for the exceptionally loyal patrons.

In other states, FanDuel is currently offering new users a $1,000 risk-free bet at the time of signup. Registration is a quick and seamless process with FanDuel. Once you have signed up for your account, you will have the ability to place up to $1,000 on a bet with no risk if you lose, FanDuel will credit your account with the amount of money you initially wagered in the form of site credits. There is also a risk-free bet of up to $1,000 for the FanDuel casino.

DraftKings is one of the top sports betting providers in the United States, and it is one of our staffs top recommendations for sports betting. It is a popular sportsbook due to its excellent user interface on both the desktop and mobile applications while it provides competitive odds and user-friendly boosts and promotions. DraftKings is currently live in Michigan, Virginia, Tennessee, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Indiana, West Virginia, Iowa, and now Arizona. It is a popular sportsbook due to its awesome user interface on both the desktop and mobile application while it provides competitive odds and user-friendly boosts and promotions.

You can sign up for DraftKings Arizona today! When you do so using our link here on LINEUPS, you can get a bonus of a $150 free bet when the betting goes live. However, you need to sign up before DraftKings Sportsbook launches, which we project to happen on September 9th. You also must be 21 years of age. Make sure to claim this bonus while you can!

DraftKings has one of the best mobile applications in the sports betting industry. The user interface is clean and well-designed, the functionality is seamless, and there is a wide variety of sports and types of wagers available to bettors. Banking through the app is very easy, with tons of options available for deposits and withdrawals, and the bet slip is very intuitive. DraftKings also has an excellent in-game betting offering.

DraftKings has announced a unique partnership with TPC Scottsdale, one of the best courses on the PGA Tour, and the sportsbook will be offering a physical sports betting location on the golf course. DraftKings has an existing partnership with the PGA Tour that likely made this partnership with TPC Scottsdale easy to facilitate.

DraftKings often offers new users an excellent signup bonus of up to $1,050. That comes in the form of a $50 free bet with no deposit required as well as a 20% deposit match with a maximum of $1,000. If you deposit $5,000 into your DraftKings account, you can receive an additional $1,000 for wagers.

PointsBet has existed in the U.S. since early 2019, but it had a presence initially in Australia, where it was founded. PointsBet states that it has more betting types on NFL and NBA bets than any other sportsbook in the whole world. PointsBets creative approach to betting has allowed it to provide several unique bets and only available through them.

One of the betting types that PointsBet offers is PointsBetting. PointsBetting is specific to PointsBet and is not available on any other sportsbook in the world. It describes PointsBetting as a high-risk, high-reward way to bet where every single point matters in a bet. The more correct you are, the more money you make and vice-versa if you are very wrong. PointsBets promos are equally as competitive and entice prospective bettors to use its PointsBetting wager type as part of it.

PointsBet has partnered with the Yavapai-Apache Nation via Cliff Castle Casino Hotel to provide a land-based location for bettors in Arizona. Both residents and visitors have full access to PointsBets sportsbook at this location and can place bets and deposit and withdraw funds.

PointsBet historically has one of the most competitive first-time user promotions out of every sportsbook. It gives you up to a $500 risk-free bet on a fixed-odds bet and up to a $1500 risk-free bet on a PointsBetting wager. PointsBetting is a unique betting style specific to PointsBet and makes it one of the best sportsbooks in the industry. Again, this promotion is for new users only and is not available for existing users in any capacity.

WynnBET was birthed from Wynn Resorts in Vegas. When Wynn decided to step into the online sports betting marketplace, it came up with WynnBET, its online sports betting app. It has made a significant amount of noise, despite not being around near as long as DraftKings or FanDuel. WynnBET had to grow on an exponentiated curve, and many sports bettors across the states are glad that it did.

There are many reasons why betting with WynnBET is an intelligent move for prospective bettors. It offers very competitive odds across the market that some other big-time sportsbooks dont offer. Additionally, the brand recognition of Wynn Resorts gains the trust of people before they have even visited the sportsbook. Trust and reputation are crucial in any industry, especially sports betting. WynnBET will only continue to grow, and so will its app and user interface.

WynnBET has jumped on the free-market plan that Arizona has agreed upon quickly as it already partnered with the San Carlos Apache Tribe. WynnBETs physical location will therefore be stationed at the Apache Gold Casino Resort and Apache Sky Casino. It moved quickly and efficiently in the partnership process and has undoubtedly been rewarded. This is an excellent partnership for WynnBET as it looks to increase its presence in the market.

WynnBET has an exciting promotion for new users. It offers one risk-free bet of up to $1000 to potential bettors who have never used its site. The risk-free amount, up to $1000, is dependent on how much you deposit. Remember that these sportsbooks see your first bet that you make as the risk-free bet, so take advantage by making your first bet your largest bet.

BetRivers origins started as SugarHouse Casino; however, when it was decided that SugarHouse Casino would rebrand to Rivers Casino in 2019, so did its shiny, new mobile app. Its spread since then has been nothing short of nationwide (wherever online sports betting is legalized), and its popularity continues to grow. BetRivers offers sports from various countries and payout options that rival any other sportsbooks.

The mobile app could use a little bit of work to get it up to speed with DraftKings, FanDuel, or BetMGM. However, the mobile app has more than enough redeemable aspects to incentivize you to use it as your primary sportsbook. Bettors looking for great odds can find them at BetRivers, especially with its House Specials, which serve as odds boosts for selected games, events, or props. Additionally, you can count on BetRivers to supply excellent customer support and a wide array of banking options to simplify the process for prospective bettors.

As of this moment, BetRivers doesnt have any partners in Arizona, but this is likely to change very soon. Many of the other sportsbooks have teamed up with partners already, so BetRivers is indeed next in line, so stay tuned for an update in that regard. Arizona put a free-market plan in place, so it will not be difficult for BetRivers to capitalize on potential partnerships in the future.

BetRivers is competitive in its usual new-user bonus; however, it is structured differently from many other sportsbooks. Most sportsbooks seem to offer a risk-free bet up to a certain amount, but BetRivers is different. It is offering a 100% deposit match of up to $250. That means that if you deposit $250, you will get $250 extra to bet on top of what you deposited. These are preferable to some bettors because its money that you can use freely.

The Arizona Cardinals have not been around a long time but have been one of the more relevant teams over the last decade. They play in the NFC West, facing teams like the Rams, Seahawks, and 49ers. If the Arizona sports betting bill passes, you could wager on the Cardinals alongside various prop bets. They are also an enticing team for the future with Kyler Murray, and making some futures bets isnt a bad idea. The Arizona sports betting launch is being planned for the start of the NFL season.

The Cardinals have partnered with BetMGM, one of the biggest sportsbooks in the United States. The partnership includes plans for a betting lounge at State Farm Stadium, which includes a retail sportsbook. BetMGM has partnered with several NFL teams, including the Titans, Raiders, Steelers, Broncos, and Lions.

Phoenix has had one of the toughest runs in the NBA without a title. They have come close back in Charles Barkleys years and then not too far after with Steve Nash. Phoenix might be looking to make another run soon behind Devin Booker and company. NBA sports betting has become immensely popular. Arizona sports betting will have prop bets, game odds, totals, and futures to start wagering on upon launch.

The Suns have partnered with FanDuel Sportsbook in an effort to increase their involvement with the growing sports betting industry. FanDuel will open a luxury sportsbook inside of the Phoenix Suns arena, which will be renamed the Footprint Center. The sportsbook is expected to be complete in time for the 2021-22 season. FanDuel has a partnership with the NBA and the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Diamondbacks are the ones to have brought the lone championship to Arizona professional sports back in 2001. The Diamondbacks are in the NL West, where they have some heated rivalries with the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Colorado Rockies, and San Diego Padres. There is an ongoing list of MLB props available to wager on, and the same goes for team bets. Arizona sports betting has already made its stamp on the Diamondbacks as they expect to open a sportsbook outside the stadium.

The Diamondbacks have partnered with Caesars Entertainment, and Caesars will be opening a retail sportsbook and bar next to Chase Field with access to mobile sports betting. The Diamondbacks are the third MLB team to partner with a sportsbook provider after the Cubs partnered with DraftKings and the Nationals partnered with BetMGM.

Hockey isnt necessarily known for belonging in the desert, but the Phoenix Coyotes have had their moments in the franchises history. NHL has started to embrace the sports betting movement as they look into a new era with partnerships and a new TV deal. Arizona sports betting will offer a ton of NHL futures and bets to place.

Arizona sports betting has allowed betting on in-state and out-of-state college betting. That means you can wager on Arizona State, Arizona, and Northern Arizona games. There is no live betting on college sports. Arizona sports betting laws have confirmed that, which is generally the case in most states.

DraftKings does not have a partnership with a professional sports team in Arizona, but they are partnering with TPC Scottsdale, one of the best PGA Tour courses in the country. DraftKings will be creating a 19th hole, which will be a location where fans can place wagers, watch sports, and enjoy food and drinks. DraftKings had an existing PGA Tour partnership.

Mobile and online betting means that you can wager on sports teams from your phone or desktop instead of an in-person casino or designated area. This was approved in the recent bill, and those in Arizona can simply register from their phones with any legalized operator within the state.

While this is not the recommended way to partake in sports betting, it is the only way you can currently wager in Arizona if you are under 21. This is one of the negatives that come with banning legalized sports betting, as many turn to offshore sites or go to Nevada with a quick drive. Bovada is one of the major offshore sites, and there is no guarantee for safe deposit and withdrawal options.

There are retail casinos in Arizona, both in Phoenix and Tucson, and once they begin to partner with sportsbooks, people will be able to wager on site. Keep an eye on partnerships over the next few months as Arizona sports betting progresses.

Daily Fantasy Sports are officially legal in the state of Arizona! On August 28th, DFS launches and is available for residents and visitors of Arizona. For a while, DFS was not legal, and Arizona was one of the few states fighting it. You now have the opportunity to play DFS during the NFL season, as Arizona prioritized that. Check out DraftKings and FanDuel for your everyday DFS needs!

DraftKings offers some of the best DFS options of any sportsbook, along with FanDuel. It has a wide array of sports to choose from, including NFL, MLB, Golf, MMA, NBA, NASCAR, LoL, Tennis, Australian Football, and more! As if its selection of sports isnt enough, DraftKings also has several different fantasy game styles such as Classic, Showdown Captain Mode, Best Ball, Snake, Snake Showdown, and Madden. The options and choices on DraftKings are limitless, and its simple layout and sleek design make beginners feel welcome and not overwhelmed.

FanDuel is another absolute monster in the DFS marketplace. It offers many of the same sports that DraftKings does with a few exciting twists. FanDuel has a section called Free Games, You can submit picks for special events and potentially win actual money if you are right! Another remarkable feature is Create Contest, where you can create your own contest with custom settings if you do not find something that interests you. If you dont have much money for DFS plays, dont worry at all! FanDuel has entries that can range as low as a couple of cents. Find a penny, pick it up, play DFS on FanDuel, and good luck!

Is Arizona Sports Betting Legal?

Sports betting was legalized in April of 2021. Regulations and licenses are now finalized, meaning that sports betting is good to go in the state of Arizona. September 9th was the official launch date for sports betting, meaning residents and visitors can bet on the NFL this year.

When Will Sports Betting Be Available in Arizona?

Sports betting will be fully available and legalized as of September 9th, 2021. However, you can register now with many sportsbooks in Arizona. This includes Caesars, BetMGM, FanDuel, PointsBet, WynnBet, and DraftKings.

What Are Arizona Sports Betting Laws?

Within the new bill, you must be 21 years or older to bet on sports in Arizona legally. Mobile and retail betting are available in the state, making it perfectly fine to wager on-site or from a mobile/desktop device.

What Is The Arizona Sports Betting Tax Rate?

In Arizona, residents are subject to a 5.0% tax withholding on lottery winnings, while non-residents are subject to 6.0%. Lottery winnings of $600 or less are not reported to the IRS. Winnings over $5,000 are subject to a 25 percent federal withholding tax.

Where Are The Closest Sports Betting Place To Arizona?

Three of the five states that border Arizona has legalized sports betting: Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico. Colorado launched sports betting on May 1st, 2020, and it is officially active. California and Utah still have not legalized online sports betting.

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Arizona Sports Betting: Launch Dates and Updates (August 2021)

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Big Tech pledges billions to bolster US cybersecurity defenses – TechCrunch

Posted: at 12:06 pm

Tech giants Apple, Google and Microsofthave pledged billions to bolster U.S. cybersecurity following a meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House on Wednesday.

The meeting, which also included attendees from the financial and education sectors, was held following months of high-profile cyberattacks against critical infrastructure and several U.S. government agencies, along with a glaring cybersecurity skills gap; according to data from CyberSeek, there are currently almost 500,000 cybersecurity jobs across the U.S that remain unfilled.

Most of our critical infrastructure is owned and operated by the private sector, and the federal government cant meet this challenge alone, Biden saidat the start of the meeting. Ive invited you all here today because you have the power, the capacity and the responsibility, I believe, to raise the bar on cybersecurity.

In order to help the U.S. in its fight against a growing number of cyberattacks, Big Tech pledged to invest billions of dollars to strengthen cybersecurity defenses and to train skilled cybersecurity workers.

Apple has vowed to work with its 9,000-plus suppliers in the U.S. to drive mass adoption of multi-factor authenticationand security training, according to the White House, as well as to establish a new program to drive continuous security improvements throughout the technology supply chain.

Google said it will invest more than $10 billion over the next five years to expand zero-trust programs, help secure the software supply chain and enhance open-source security. The search and ads giant has also pledged to train 100,000 Americans in fields like IT support and data analytics, learning in-demand skills including data privacy and security.

Robust cybersecurity ultimately depends on having the people to implement it, said Kent Walker, Googles global affairs chief. That includes people with digital skills capable of designing and executing cybersecurity solutions, as well as promoting awareness of cybersecurity risks and protocols among the broader population.

And, Microsoft said its committing $20 billion to integrate cybersecurity by design and deliver advanced security solutions. It also announced that it will immediately make available $150 million in technical services to help federal, state and local governments with upgrading security protection, and will expand partnerships with community colleges and nonprofits for cybersecurity training.

Other attendees included Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazons cloud computing arm, and IBM. The former has said it will make its security awareness training available to the public and equip all AWS customers with hardware multi-factor authentication devices, while IBM said it will help to train more than 150,000 people in cybersecurity skills over the next five years.

While many have welcomed Big Techs commitments, David Carroll, managing director at Nominet Cyber, told TechCrunch that these latest initiatives set a powerful precedent and show the gloves are well and truly off but some within the cybersecurity industry remain skeptical.

Following the announcement, some infosec veterans noted that many of the vacant cybersecurity jobs the U.S. is looking to fill fall behind on competitive salaries and few, if any, benefits.

So 500,000 open cybersecurity jobs and almost that same amount or more looking for jobs, said Khalilah Scott, founder of TechSecChix, a foundation for supporting women in technology, in a tweet. Make it make sense.

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Biden tells CEOs to ‘raise the bar on cybersecurity’; Big Tech pledges billions – MarketWatch

Posted: at 12:06 pm

President Joe Biden on Wednesday urged top CEOs from the tech sector and other industries to do more to improve cybersecurity, as he hosted a meeting with them at the White House on the issue.

The reality is most of our critical infrastructure is owned and operated by the private sector, and the federal government cant meet this challenge alone, Biden said at the start of the meeting.

Ive invited you all here today because you have the power and the capacity and the responsibility, I believe, to raise the bar on cybersecurity. And so, ultimately, weve got a lot of work to do.

The participating chief executives included Apples AAPL, +0.72% Tim Cook, Microsofts MSFT, +0.21% Satya Nadella and Amazons AMZN, +1.01% Andy Jassy, who took over last month from Jeff Bezos. Alphabets GOOG, +1.71% GOOGL, +1.81% Google, IBM IBM, +0.45%, ADP ADP, +0.91%, JPMorgan Chase JPM, +0.80%, Bank of America BAC, +1.07%, TIAA, U.S. Bancorp USB, +1.85%, ConocoPhillips COP, +2.92%, Duke Energy DUK, -0.17%, PG&E PCG, , Southern Co. SO, -0.23%, Williams WMB, +1.90% and Travelers TRV, +1.33% also were expected to be among the companies with CEOs taking part.

Washington is trying to respond to an ongoing barrage of cyberattacks. This year has brought high-profile incidents such as the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack that led to gasoline RBU21, +1.44% shortages in the Southeast, and the massive SolarWinds SWI, +0.40% hack that affected the networks of multiple government agencies and corporations.

Microsoft on Wednesday said it will invest $20 billion over five years to speed up its cybersecurity work and will make available $150 million in technical services to help federal, state and local governments keep their security systems up to date.

The Biden administration also announced a number of steps, including efforts to strengthen the security of the nations natural-gas pipelines. Apple announced a new program to help bolster the security of the technology supply chain, Google committed $10 billion on security efforts that include digital-skills certifications for 100,000 American workers, and IBM said it will train 150,000 people in cybersecurity skills, focusing on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Cybersecurity initiatives were also announced by companies such as Amazon, Resilience and Coalition; organizations such as Code.org and Girls Who Code; and educational partners such as the University of Texas and Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, Wash.

Now read: Can Biden really protect Americans from the next crippling cyberattack?

After the presidents discussion with the CEOs, the executives and some educators had been due to participate in separate meetings with other administration officials, covering Critical Infrastructure Resilience, as well as Building Enduring Cybersecurity and theCybersecurity Workforce.

U.S. stocks SPX, +0.88% closed higher at new records on Wednesday.

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Sports betting – Wikipedia

Posted: at 12:06 pm

Form of gambling

Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome. The frequency of sports bet upon varies by culture, with the vast majority of bets being placed on association football, American football, basketball, baseball, hockey, track cycling, auto racing, mixed martial arts, and boxing at both the amateur and professional levels. Sports betting can also extend to non-athletic events, such as reality show contests and political elections, and non-human contests such as horse racing, greyhound racing, and illegal, underground cockfighting. It is not uncommon for sports betting websites to offer wagers for entertainment events such as the Grammy Awards, the Oscars, and the Emmy Awards.

Sports bettors place their wagers either legally, through a bookmaker/sportsbook, or illegally through privately run enterprises. The term "book" is a reference to the books used by wage brokers to track wagers, payouts, and debts. Many legal sportsbooks are found online, operated over the Internet from jurisdictions separate from the clients they serve, usually to get around various gambling laws (such as the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 in the United States) in select markets, such as Las Vegas, Nevada, or on gambling cruises through self-serve kiosks. They take bets "up-front", meaning the bettor must pay the sportsbook before placing the bet. Illegal bookies, due to the nature of their business, can operate anywhere but only require money from losing bettors and don't require the wagered money up front, creating the possibility of debt to the bookie from the bettor. This creates a number of other criminal elements, thus furthering their illegality.

There have been a number of sports betting scandals, affecting the integrity of sports events through various acts including point shaving (players affecting the score by missing shots), spot-fixing (a player action is fixed), bad calls from officials at key moments, and overall match fixing (the overall result of the event is fixed). Examples include the 1919 World Series, the alleged (and later admitted) illegal gambling of former baseball player Pete Rose, and former NBA referee Tim Donaghy.

For example, before game 5 of the 2012 NBA Finals, the Miami Heat were expected to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder. The line read: Miami 3.5, Oklahoma City +3.5.[1] To determine who wins against the spread, the line is either added or subtracted from a team's final score. In the above example, if the bettor chose Miami, for him to win his bet, Miami would have to win the game by 4 points or more.

If a bettor took Oklahoma City, they would have to win outright or lose by 3 points or fewer.

If the final adjusted score is a tie, the bet is considered a push. The half point at the end is sometimes added to eliminate the possibility of a push. This is the most common type of bet in American sports betting.

The possible payout of the parlay is determined by the combined likelihood of all bets placed. A parlay of riskier bets (more underdogs) will pay greater than a parlay of more likely bets (more favorites). In a parlay, all bets need to win in order for the parlay to win. If one of the bets on a parlay loses, the whole parlay loses. In the event of a push, the pushed bet would be taken out of the parlay and the parlay would bump down to a set of odds without that bet.

Parlays are very appealing to bettors because they pay out much more than the total winnings of their constituent straight bets. However, it is much more difficult to hit on a parlay than it is on a single wager.

The bettor selects the sport(s), number of games, and number of points given.

If the bettor takes two NBA games at +6.5 it will adjust the individual bets at that rate. So a bet on a 3-point underdog at +3 will become a bet at +9.5 points, and for favorites, it will change a 3-point favorite at 3 to +3.5 points.

Although the rules to win his bet are the same as a parlay, he is paid less than a regular parlay due to the increased odds of winning.

A sportsbook may choose to buy in-play futures wagers at a price below the actual payout before a championship is decided if the potential payout is very high (and thus, damaging to the sportsbook due to the money that may be lost). The most recent example of this was when Leicester City pursued and went on to win the 2015/16 Premier League.[2]

The bookmaker functions as a market maker for sports wagers, most of which have a binary outcome: a team either wins or loses. The bookmaker accepts both wagers, and maintains a spread (the vigorish) which will ensure a profit regardless of the outcome of the wager. The Federal Wire Act of 1961 was an attempt by the US government to prevent illegal bookmaking.[4] However, this Act does not apply to other types of online gambling.[5] The Supreme Court has not ruled on the meaning of the Federal Wire Act as it pertains to online gambling.

Bookmakers usually hold an 1110 advantage over their customersfor small wagers it is closer to a 65 advantageso the bookmaker will most likely survive over the long term. Successful bookmakers must be able to withstand a large short term loss. (Boyd, 1981)

Many of the leading gambling bookmakers from the 1930s to the 1960s got their start during the prohibition era of the 1920s. They were often descendants of the influx of immigrants coming into the USA at this time. Although the common stereotype is that these bookies were of Italian descent, many leading bookies were of eastern European ancestry.[6]

Odds for different outcomes in single bet are presented either in European format (decimal odds), UK format (fractional odds), or American format (moneyline odds). European format (decimal odds) are used in continental Europe, Canada, and Australia. They are the ratio of the full payout to the stake, in a decimal format. Decimal odds of 2.00 are an even bet. UK format (fractional odds) are used by British bookmakers. They are the ratio of the amount won to the stake the solidus "/" is pronounced "to" for example 7/1 "seven to one". Fractional odds of 1/1 are an even bet. US format odds are the amount won on a 100 stake when positive and the stake needed to win 100 when negative. US odds of 100 are an even bet.

In Asian betting markets, other frequently used formats for expressing odds include Hong Kong, Malaysian, and Indonesian-style odds formats. Odds are also quite often expressed in terms of implied probability, which corresponds to the probability with which the event in question would need to occur for the bet to be a break-even proposition (on the average).

Many online tools also exist for automated conversion between these odds formats.

In setting odds, the bookmaker is subject to a number of limitations:[7]

In many countries, bookmaking (the profession of accepting sports wagers) is regulated but not criminalized.

In areas where sports betting is illegal, bettors usually make their sports wagers with illicit bookmakers (known colloquially as "bookies") and on the Internet, where thousands of online bookmakers accept wagers on sporting events around the world.

The National Football League is fully against any sort of legalization of sports betting, strongly protesting it as to not bring corruption into the game. On the other hand, the CEO of the International Cricket Council believe sports betting, in particular in India, should be legalized to curb illegal bookies where match fixing has occurred from nontransparent bookmakers. Many of the illegal proceeds also allegedly go to fund terror, drugs and other illegal activities.[citation needed]

In the United States, it was previously illegal under the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) for states to authorize legal sports betting, hence making it effectively illegal. The states of Delaware, Montana, Nevada, and Oregonwhich had pre-existing sports lotteries and sports betting frameworks, were grandfathered in and exempted from the effects of the Act.[8][9]

A national survey in 2010 by Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind found that 67% of Americans did not support the legalization of Internet betting websites in the United States, whereas 21% said they would support legalization.[10] In a national poll released in December 2011, PublicMind asked voters whether they support or oppose changing the federal law to allow sports betting in their respective states. Just as many voters approved (42%) as opposed (42%) allowing sports betting. However, voters who already live in households where family members (including themselves) engage in sports betting had a strongly favored legalization of sports betting (71%23%), while voters in households where sports betting is not an activity, opposed legalization (46%36%). Peter J. Woolley, professor of political science and director of the poll commented on the findings, Gambling has become, for good or ill, a national industry, and you can bet that politicians and casinos all over the country are closely following New Jerseys plans.[11]

In a different study released by FDU's PublicMind in October 2011, results showed that New Jersey voters thought legalizing sports betting in New Jersey was a good idea. Half of New Jersey voters (52%) said that they approved the idea of legalizing sports betting at Atlantic City casinos and racetracks, 31% opposed it. In addition, there was a significant gender split: a majority of men approved of the idea by a wide margin (6521), while only 39% of women approved and 41% opposed.[12] The October results were stable, reflecting an earlier poll in April 2011 where New Jersey voters approved the legalization of sports betting in the state by a margin of 53%30%. However, nearly two-thirds (66%) of voters were not aware of the upcoming statewide referendum on the issue. Age proved to be a divide: voters between the ages 18 and 34 were more likely to approve of sports betting than were older voters. Dr. Woolley commented: "But... younger voters... are far less likely to vote than other voters... As always, a lot depends on who actually shows up to vote."[13]

In February 2011, FDU's PublicMind released a poll which showed that half (55%) of voters agreed "that people bet on sports games anyway, so government should allow it and tax it." On the other hand, approximately (37%) of New Jersey voters concurred that betting on sports is "a bad idea because it promotes too much gambling and can corrupt sports." Again, by a significant margin (70%26%), voters who already engage in sports betting in office pools tend to be more supportive of legal sports betting than other voters.[14]

Donald Hoover, FDU professor in International School of Hospitality and Tourism Management and former casino executive commented on the results, "Betting on sports is not an uncommon practice for many New Jerseyans, but for the most part, the state doesn't supervise it, doesn't tax it and doesn't take any revenue from it."[15] In 2010 a national poll showed that voters opposed sports betting in all states by a margin of 5339. Woolley commented on the results, "If some states allow sports betting and profit by it, other states will want to follow."[16] Yet by December 2011, after New Jersey passed its sports betting referendum, the national measure shifted to 4242.[11] In January 2012, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed legislation allowing sports betting in the state after it was approved in a nonbinding voter referendum in 2011. He announced on May 24, 2012 that he planned to go ahead and set up a system of wagering at the state's racetracks and casinos that fall, before the National Football League season ended.[17]

In 2012, despite federal law preventions, the state legislature of New Jersey and Governor Chris Christie signed a law that would allow sports betting to take place in New Jersey race tracks and Atlantic City casinos.[18] In August 2012, Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind conducted a study on the issue. Voters were asked whether New Jersey should allow sports betting even if federal law prevents it from doing so, or wait to allow sports betting until federal law permits it. Results showed that nearly half (45%) of voters wanted to allow sports betting, while (38%) decided to wait and allow sports betting once Congress allows it. Krista Jenkins, director of the poll, commented, "Although support is not overwhelming, these numbers suggest the public is cautiously behind the goal of moving forward with legalized sports betting."[19]

In November 2014, a poll found that there had been a major shift in attitudes towards sports betting in the United States, showing that 55% of Americans now favored legal sports betting, while 66% of respondents agreed that this should be regulated by state laws, as opposed to federal legislation.[20] The poll also suggested that 33% of respondents disagreed with the notion of legalization.

In June 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States announced that it would hear New Jersey's case, Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, in the fall of 2017, contradicting the position of the US Acting Solicitor General, Jeffrey Wall, who asked that the case not be heard in May 2017.[21] In September 2017, a poll conducted by the Washington Post and the University of Massachusetts Lowell showed a 55% majority of adults in the U.S. approved of legalizing betting on pro sporting events.[22]

Sports betting legal

Sports betting illegal

In May 2018, the Supreme Court ruled in the PASPA case in favor of New Jersey, ruling that the 1992 federal ban on sports betting in most states violated their rights.[23] After the ruling, several states, including New Jersey[24] and Rhode Island,[25] prepared to legalize sports betting.[26]

On June 5, 2018, Delaware became the second state after Nevada to implement full-scale sports betting. Sports betting in the state is run by the Delaware Lottery and is available at the state's three casinos. Prior to 2018, the state offered limited sports betting consisting of parlay betting and championship futures on NFL. Delaware had been granted a partial exemption from the sports betting ban as it had made a failed attempt at legalized sports betting in 1976.[30][31][48]

On June 11, 2018, New Jersey became the third state to legalize sports betting, after Nevada and Delaware, with Gov. Phil Murphy signing the legislation into law.[24][26] Sports betting in New Jersey began when a sportsbook opened at Monmouth Park Racetrack on June 14, 2018.[40] Following this, sportsbooks opened at the casinos in Atlantic City and at Meadowlands Racetrack.[49][50] Online sports betting is also legal in New Jersey.

Several additional states such as Louisiana, Connecticut, Mississippi,[51] Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, California, South Carolina, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Ohio, New York, and West Virginia,[52] began drafting bills to legalize sports betting soon after New Jersey and Delaware. Pennsylvania,[53] Rhode Island,[54] and West Virginia were able to pass legislation legalizing sports betting within their states.[55]

Some states must still organize which department will oversee state-regulated sportsbooks, most are choosing between their respective gambling commissions or lottery boards until then no wagers can be legally taken.

Mississippi became the fourth state in the United States to launch sports betting operations on August 1, 2018 when Gold Strike Casino Resort in Tunica Resorts and Beau Rivage in Biloxi started taking wagers.[36] On August 30, 2018, West Virginia became the fifth state to launch sports betting, with Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races the first casino to offer sports betting.[46] New Mexico became the sixth state to offer sports betting on October 16, 2018 with the launch of sports betting at the Santa Ana Star Casino in Bernalillo.[56]

Pennsylvania approved a sports betting law in October 2017, prior to PASPA being turned down. Pennsylvania became the seventh state to legalize sports betting when the state had regulations for sports betting in place in August 2018.[41] The state approved the first sports betting licenses for Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course and Parx Casino on October 3, 2018.[57] On November 17, 2018, after a two-day soft launch, Hollywood Casino became the first casino in Pennsylvania to offer sports betting.[58][59] Several other casinos would follow in launching sports betting. Online sports betting in Pennsylvania began on May 28, 2019 when SugarHouse Casino launched an online sports betting app.[60] Other casinos have followed in offering online sports betting.

On November 21, 2018, Rhode Island became the eighth state to legalize sports betting, with Twin River Casino in Lincoln opening the first sportsbook in the state.[42]

In 2019, several states, including Indiana, Iowa, Montana, and Tennessee, legalized sports betting. Indiana and Montana permit brick-and-mortar locations such as casinos but Tennessee restricts sports betting to being online only.[61][32][37][44] In May 2020, it was reported that since the decision, over $20 billion had been spent on sports betting in the United States.[62]

In April 2021, Ohio state senator Kirk Schuring announced that he would be introducing a sports betting legislation bill that would also include casino gambling and ebingo.[63]

The positions of the four major American sports leagues (representing American football, baseball, basketball, and ice hockey) have become more complex since their decision to embrace daily fantasy sports (DFS) in 2014, which are described by those within the industry as "almost identical to a casino" in nature. With the contention by critics that such activities blur the lines between gambling and fantasy sports, the endorsement of all four major sports leagues and many individual franchises provided a marked contrast to their positions on betting.[64]

While the National Basketball Association (NBA) was once active in preventing sports betting law relaxation, current NBA Commissioner Adam Silver became the first major sports leader to break from previous administrative opposition to gambling. In 2014 he stated in a New York Times op-ed, "I believe that sports betting should be brought out of the underground and into the sunlight where it can be appropriately monitored and regulated."[65] In 2017, with support for legalization growing, he confirmed his belief that "legalized sports betting is inevitable".[66]

Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner Rob Manfred has also advocated the league changing its stance on sports betting, with both Manfred and Silver noting that the scale of illegal sports betting makes opposition to betting meaningless. He also stated a willingness to "try to shape" any future legislation at federal level. This was noted as a marked contrast to former Commissioner of the MLB Bud Selig, with Manfred going beyond tacit approval and stating, "There is this buzz out there in terms of people feeling that there may be an opportunity here for additional legalized sports betting."[67]

The National Football League (NFL) remains the only sports league to maintain public opposition to sports betting, however critics have noted that with the move of the Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas in 2019, the NFL has positioned itself for legalization, while simultaneously contradicting its long-held position that sports betting in NFL markets would lead to potential match-fixing.[68] Commissioner Roger Goodell agreed with Manfred in a July 2017 seminar that betting on in-game events, as opposed to the outcome of games, was a more palatable form of sports betting.[69]

The National Hockey League (NHL) has not stated a public position for or against sports betting, with Commissioner Gary Bettman noting that they are smaller than the NBA and NFL and less vulnerable to negative issues as a result. The NHL was the first major professional league to place a team in Nevada, when the expansion Vegas Golden Knights took the ice in 2017: since then the league has signed sponsorship agreements with William Hill and MGM Resorts International that include betting partnerships and access to in-play data. Other clubs in states with legal sports gambling, such as the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers, also have similar sponsorships with bookmakers.

Major League Soccer (MLS) the top soccer league in the United States and Canada has expressed sports betting as a possible way to gain popularity. Commissioner Don Garber has stated about sports gambling, " We have a project going on now to really dig in deeply and understand it. Ill join the chorus of saying its time to bring it out of the dark ages. Were doing what we can to figure out how to manage that effectively."[70]

The Alliance of American Football and XFL have both publicly endorsed gambling on their games, with the AAF securing a partnership with MGM Resorts International[71] and the XFL partnering with DraftKings.[72]

The American Gaming Association stated in June 2017, that a coalition will advocate for the repeal of the United States' sports betting ban.[73]

In February 2018, a lobbying document surfaced advocating a new position held by the NBA and MLB that sports leagues should be financially compensated for betting activity.[74]

The Football Association, the governing body for association football in England, has imposed football betting bans on all individuals involved in the sportplayers, managers, match officials, and club staff. The scope of these bans varies based on level of the English football pyramid.[75][76]

The following individuals are banned from betting on any football-related matter worldwide, or providing inside information to any individual who can reasonably be assumed to use said information for betting purposes:

Individuals who are associated at clubs at lower levels of the men's or women's league systems, plus match officials at FA Level 4 or below, are only banned with respect to the match or competition in which they are involved or can influence, and also to the league in which they participate.

All individuals are banned from advertising or promoting any football betting activity in which FA regulations prohibit them from engaging. This, however, only applies to individuals in their personal capacities. For example, if a club is sponsored by a betting company and said company places its logo on the club's kit, the team's players are not in violation of the betting rules.

The World Baseball Softball Confederation, the international governing body for baseball and softball, has betting rules similar to those of Major League Baseball. Participants in any WBSC-sanctioned event are banned from betting on the following:[77]

The WBSC statutes define "participant" as any player, team staff member (including coaches/managers), tournament official (such as umpires and official scorers), or anyone in an ownership, executive, or staff role within any entity that organizes or promotes a WBSC-sanctioned event.

The betting ban, as in the case of The FA's rules outlined above, also extends to providing inside information that the tipper could reasonably believe will be used to bet on a WBSC event.

The International Cricket Council imposes a blanket ban on what it calls "corrupt conduct" by anyone it defines as a "participant".[78]

Under the ICC anti-corruption statutes, a "participant" is defined as:

The ICC shares anti-corruption jurisdiction with national cricket federations, all of which have anti-corruption rules substantially identical to those of the ICC. The ICC has elaborate mechanisms for determining whether it or a national federation will take action under the relevant anti-corruption code. In general, the ICC has either exclusive or priority jurisdiction over international matches, while national federations have responsibility for actions relating only to domestic matches.

The ICC code bans the following activities with regard to any international match, whether or not the participant had any involvement in said match, or any possible means of influencing the outcome:

Perhaps the most extreme ban on sports betting is imposed by the NCAA, the main governing body for U.S. college sports. The following individuals are banned from any involvement in sports betting, including providing any tips that may be used in betting:[79]

This ban covers all competitions, whether intercollegiate, amateur, or professional, as well as team practices, in any sport in which the NCAA conducts a championship, plus Division I FBS football (whose championships have never been operated by the NCAA) and all sports within the scope of the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program.[80] The only exception is traditional wagers between institutions, most commonly associated with rivalries or bowl games; according to the NCAA, "items wagered must be representative of the involved institutions or the states in which they are located."[81]

In 1919, the Chicago White Sox faced the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series. This series would go down as one of the biggest sports scandals of all time. As the story goes, professional gambler Joseph Sullivan paid eight members of the White Sox (Oscar Felsch, Arnold Gandil, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Fred McMullin, Charles Risberg, George Weaver, and Claude Williams) around 10,000 dollars each to fix the World Series. All eight players were banned from playing professional baseball for the rest of their lives.[82] Pete Rose, the all-time MLB leader in hits, was similarly banned from baseball in 1989 for betting on games while he was an MLB manager.

The rule against gambling in baseball is known as "Rule 21," which is publicly posted on dugout walls and states: "Any player, umpire, or club or league official or employee, who shall bet any sum whatsoever on any baseball game in connection with which the bettor has a duty to perform shall be declared permanently ineligible." People permanently banned from Major League Baseball are also forever banned from entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame, although most such people have been reinstated a few years later by a later Commissioner of Baseball. For instance, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays were both banned from baseball in 1983 after taking jobs as casino greeters (which would have expelled them from the Hall of Fame had it been allowed to stand); they were reinstated two years later. Only Rose has yet to be reinstated.

A 1906 betting scandal between the Massillon Tigers and Canton Bulldogs, two of the top teams in professional American football in the early 1900s, led to the demise of "big-money" professional football for several years. Modern research has suggested that the claims of betting were unsubstantiated.

On December 7, 1980 the San Francisco 49ers overcame a halftime deficit of 28 points in what became the greatest regular season comeback victory in NFL regular season history. By the beginning of the third quarter, notorious Vegas bookmaker Frank Rosenthal received forfeiture notices from 246 San Francisco bettors totaling more than $25,000 in premature winnings. Rosenthal was able to retain these winnings despite the final outcome of the game due to gambling regulations previously established by the NAGRA.[citation needed]

The Cronje Affair was an India-South Africa Cricket match fixing scandal that went public in 2000[citation needed]t began in 1996 when the-then captain of the South African national cricket team, Hansie Cronje, was convinced by Mukesh "John" Gupta, an Indian bookmaker, to throw a match during a Test in Kanpur, India. The scheme was discovered when Delhi police recorded illegal dealings between Indian bookmaker Sanjay Chawla and Cronje. According to the Telegraph in 2010, Cronje was paid off a total of 65,000 from Gupta.[83]

Corruption in tennis has been long considered as issue.[84] In 2011, the former world No. 55 Austrian tennis player, Daniel Koellerer, became the first tennis player to be banned for life for attempting to fix matches. The violations were outstanding between October 2009 and July 2010 after The Tennis Integrity Units had launched an investigation on behalf of the International Tennis Federation and the ATP and WTA tours. In 2004 and 2006, Koellerer was banned for six months due to his bad behavior. In addition, in August 2010, he facilitated betting by placing odds for matches and had links for placing bets.[85]

Machine learning models can make predictions in real time based on data from numerous disparate sources, such as player performance, weather, fan sentiment, etc. Some models have shown accuracy slightly higher than domain experts.[86] These models require a large amount of data that is comparable and well organized prior to analysis, which makes them particularly well suited to predicting the outcome of Esports matches, where large amounts of well structured data is available.[citation needed]

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China’s Big Tech vows to give back as Xi touts ‘common prosperity’ – Nikkei Asia

Posted: at 12:06 pm

HONG KONG -- China's top internet companies have pledged billions of dollars for social goods in response to President Xi Jinping's call to share their wealth, in a sign of the big politically driven change in a sector already hit by Beijing's regulatory crackdown.

Philanthropic and investment commitments have been unveiled this year by companies ranging from Tencent Holdings to online retailer Pinduoduo and top executives including Wang Xing of food delivery platform Meituan and Lei Jun of smartphone maker Xiaomi. These efforts will fund areas such as research, agriculture and clean energy.

The pledges come as Xi ratchets up rhetoric about "common prosperity" -- which includes income regulation and redistribution -- and bids to narrow the yawning income inequality gap in the world's second-largest economy.

Businesses have shifted noticeably. After reporting first-half earnings, large companies such as Alibaba Group Holding and online retailer JD.com focused on plans to create value for society instead of profits, spooking investors already worried by Beijing's regulatory crackdowns. Analysts are trying to gauge whether the shift represents a serious threat to corporate bottom lines, or whether investments ultimately will rebound to companies' benefit.

"A new regulatory environment is being created, one that will impose more limits on internet firms' growth and profitability, and increase state control," Ernan Cui, an analyst with research company Gavekal Dragonomics, wrote in a note to clients Thursday. Chinese authorities now treat these businesses more like "essential infrastructure providers" that require tight supervision.

Last week, Tencent pledged 100 billion yuan ($15.4 billion) to fund social responsibility projects in areas from basic science research and education to clean energy, with half dedicated to a "common prosperity" fund that focuses on improving the livelihood of China's low-income earners.

As a tech company that "benefited from China's economic reform, Tencent is always exploring ways to ... better give back to society," it said in a statement.

Pinduoduo, a fast-growing Chinese e-commerce platform, vows to invest up to 10 billion yuan in future profit to expand agriculture and the rural economy.

"Investing in agriculture pays off for everyone because agriculture is the nexus of food security and quality, public health and environmental sustainability," Chairman and CEO Chen Lei said in a call last week after reporting earnings.

He acknowledged the initiative is not for profit and would affect Pinduoduo's earnings in the short term, though analysts at Nomura said initiatives such as training farmers to sell products through more channels and improving logistics infrastructure could boost the company's business.

While Pinduoduo "stressed the social good nature of this initiative, we believe agriculture e-commerce has significant potential, given its high consumption frequency," the analysts said in a note Tuesday. "In the long run, it may help Pinduoduo acquire a unique strength in one of the largest e-commerce verticals."

Alibaba will continue to carry out its commitment "to be a good company that creates long-term value for the society in China and globally," Daniel Zhang, the chairman and CEO, said on Aug. 3. The group will invest all incremental profit and additional capital this year into strategic areas including support programs for merchants to lower their operating costs, he said.

Jeffrey Towson, an online lecturer on China's digital sector and former professor at Peking University, said such commitments will erode market value and take away funds that otherwise would have been invested for growth.

"Every shareholder is watching to see if this is a one-time event or a regular occurrence," he said.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yiming of TikTok parent ByteDance and Pinduoduo founder Colin Huang have vowed to donate much of their personal wealth. Five of China's tech billionaires have pledged at least $13 billion of their personal or corporate fortunes to charitable foundations and initiatives, a sum that far exceeds previous years' totals, according to Fortune magazine.

Xi restated the socialist value of common prosperity -- heavily used by former leader Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s -- at a meeting of the Communist Party's Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs last week. He called for "reasonable adjustments to the excessively high incomes" and encouraged wealthy people and companies to give back more to society.

Though China declared this year that it has eradicated poverty, income inequality has not narrowed since 2015. The richest 20% of Chinese had average disposable income of more than 80,000 yuan last year, 10.2 times what the poorest 20% earn, government data shows.

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Sports Betting: Odds, Sites, News + More | SportsBettingDime.com

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Is healthcare too hard for Big Tech firms? – Healthcare IT News

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When David Feinberg, head of Google Health, announced this past week that he was departing to take up the CEO role at the EHR company Cerner, media reports took it as an admission of defeat by Google in the campaign to win in the healthcare space.

A leaked internal memo, scooped by Business Insider, revealed that the Google Health division was disbanding. The parts are scattered among different business units where they may simply limp along or quietly shut down.

Google wasn't alone in making news. Another article in the same weekinBusiness Insiderrevealed that Apple acknowledged it is "scaling back" a key project, an app called Health Habit.

The app allows Apple employees to log fitness goals, manage hypertension, and talk to clinicians and coaches at AC Wellness, the doctors' group that Apple works with.

There was no shortage of commentary on social media. Aaron Martin, chief digital officer of Providence, quipped on LinkedIn: "If you're a big tech and want to exit healthcare, this is the week to do it." For good measure, he added the hashtag #healthcareishard.

My friend and digital health entrepreneur Sherri Douville, whose post on LinkedIn went viral, summed it up like this: "If companies misunderstand evidence-based medicine, they have no business bringing technology into medicine at all (as opposed to consumer or administrative use)."

Glenn Tullman, digital health entrepreneur and founder of Livongo which merged with Teladoc in 2020 had this to say: "Big Tech was struggling in healthcare because patients' problems are more about the overall experience than technology, per se."

Dr. Nick Patel, chief digital officer at Prisma Health, is not surprised that Google and Apple were scaling back.

"The multi-trillion-dollar healthcare industry is a hard nut to crack," he said. "There are too many complex variables to solve, and the healthcare tech space is already too crowded. Each is trying to solve for a tiny part of the overall tangled mess."

Google (Google Health) and Microsoft (Health Vault) tried to aggregate patient medical information directly from consumers and gave up after several years. Google Health shuttered in 2011, and Health Vault closed its doors in 2019.

Apple has made steady progress over the years, successfully integrating its Health app with the EHR systems of dozens of providers across the nation. It's not clear what the failure of the Health Habit project means for Apple's overall commitment to the healthcare sector.

So that leaves us with the obvious question: What will happen with Amazon's healthcare efforts? Amazon's recently launched Amazon Care has run into scaling issues almost from the get-go, with the unit's head acknowledging they will need "thousands of employees" to scale. It is a nontrivial problem in a market where there is widespread shortage of healthcare workers.

The commonalities between Apple's Health Habit product and the Amazon Care product are important. Both started as a limited primary care service offering targeting internal employees, presumably as a precursor to opening the offering to the public at some point. Both incubated the service using partnerships: AC Wellness in the case of Apple and Care Medical in the case of Amazon.

Tech firms are used to big-ticket failures (remember the Haven Healthcare debacle?) and often use the learnings to come back in a different shape and form. This is what has happened with Google and Amazon. Apple will undoubtedly brush aside the current setback and find a different approach to the healthcare market.

The repeated setbacks of big tech firms in the healthcare space merit the question: Is healthcare too hard for technology firms? Finding the answer requires understanding the structural issues within tech firms in their approach to the healthcare market:

Healthcare is a part-time job. The core mission of all the big tech firms is to sell software and hardware in as many different sectors and to as many customers as possible. Healthcare is seen as a huge opportunity, and by all accounts, the big tech firms are doing well selling their core products in the sector. However, unlike healthcare-focused tech firms notably EHR firms - the healthcare sector gets only a part of the CEO's attention in big tech firms and only a part of the overall company resources.

Further, healthcare efforts are often scattered across the organization, with no cohesive enterprise-level strategy ostensibly by design. When these tech firms try to cross the Rubicon into core healthcare services business to compete, in short, with their customers and displace them in a $4 trillion industry it's no surprise that they find themselves in over their heads.

Big tech firms want to solve the healthcare problem by themselves. Healthcare is a notoriously fragmented industry. Paradoxically, most tech companies add cost to an unsustainable, inflated healthcare bottom line by adding redundant layers to an already burdensome workflow for clinicians.

Nick Patel offers a counterintuitive suggestion. "If major technology companies came to the table together at the national level to solve this problem instead of trying to get a piece of the trillion-dollar pie, then maybe we will have a shot at fundamentally reducing costs and improving outcomes."

It's not just that technology firms are trying to go it alone. It's the structural barriers to the free movement of data, the data privacy considerations, the lack of desire among healthcare providers to consider patient-generated or other data that is not considered clinical evidence, and a host of other issues that hamper big tech firms.

Selling technology is not the same as selling healthcare services. Tech firms that work within the current construct of healthcare and focus on providing technology solutions have plenty of success to look forward to. Indeed, many are. It is a different story when it comes to getting into the healthcare services space. Incubating a primary care service offering for a few hundred employees and scaling it to 50 states are efforts that are entirely different orders of magnitude.

Healthcare consumers value their relationships with their physicians. The decades and generations of trust-building that define a hospital's relationship with its community are missing for big tech firms getting into the healthcare services space. Throw in the current employer-based insurance and reimbursement model for healthcare services, and it is clear why healthcare is not your conventional B2C business. (And not to forget, the provider community has little interest in being disintermediated.)

In the longer term, though, things are bound to change. We already see it in the success of digital-first and virtual-first providers of healthcare emerging as challengers. One or more of them will eventually have a breakthrough.

It just may not be one of the big tech firms we know today. Here is a thought to ponder, though: Maybe Google, Appleand Amazon go out and buy a big, established health system someday soon? After all, Amazon went out and bought Whole Foods to enter the grocery business, so why not repeat it in healthcare?

Paddy Padmanabhan is the author of Healthcare Digital Transformation How Consumerism, Technology and Pandemic Are Accelerating the Future. He is the founder and CEO of Damo Consulting.

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Is healthcare too hard for Big Tech firms? - Healthcare IT News

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