Three people in Philadelphia will decide the fate of the free world today. Or they will decide whether Delaware can accept single-game bets on professional and college sports. To me, the situations are equal.
A panel from the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals will rule on a request by the major pro sports leagues and the NCAA for an injunction which will halt Delaware’s sports gambling plan until a trial can proceed. The leagues insist that fair play as we know it will end if Delaware accept single-game bets, something which already happens in Nevada and through illegal betting operations all the time.
The leagues are cool with the First State taking parlay bets on the NFL, meaning a gambler would have to pick at least two games correctly on one betting slip in order to win. Those games don’t interest as many betters because it’s harder to succeed.
One of the main pieces of the debate is what kind of bets require skill and what ones boil down to just plain luck. In my eyes, a parlay bet involves a lot of luck because you have more factors to consider. But the NFL can’t stop that kind of betting since Delaware offered it previously.
So they go with the argument that picking one game involves more skill than luck. As someone who has watched a lot of sports, I disagree. Betting, especially with a point spread or picking the over under – a bet where you gamble whether the teams will combine for a number of points higher or lower than the betting line – involves so much luck. Leagues strive for parity and have so many teams that the talent pool is more unpredictable. You just never know what will happen.
We don’t know when the judges will hand down their ruling. Today is just for arguments, but the three racetrack casinos in Delaware intend on accepting bets in eight days (Sept. 1) so a decision will have to come pretty soon. Anyone want to bet on the outcome?
And the court went beyond the injunction request and stopped the state from even accepting single-game bets. What a crock.
Kind of makes you wonder how much of a windfall or other payoff Vegas gives the leagues. Seems like a ridiculous argument by the professionals.