There was a time when the NBA, the NFL and Major League Baseball all argued strenuously against any kind of sports betting, even in Nevada.
That day is gone.
For years it was impossible for the city of Las Vegas to land a major sports franchise, given the prevalence of sports gambling in that city, legal or otherwise.
The thinking was that gambling would lead to corruption of the game, with players bribed by big-money gamblers into intentionally missing free throws or dropping sure touchdown passes.
For sure, bribery has happened throughout the history of college and professional sports. College basketball had some major scandals years ago and a few minor ones in recent years.
The argument from Nevada, where sports betting has been legal for a number of years, was that people are going to bet on sports no matter what, so why not regulate it and tax it by making it legal.
Additionally, so the argument went, legal sports books are able to detect unusual betting patterns and alert authorities that a game might be fixed.
The introduction of point spreads into a game makes betting not about picking winners and losers but which team will “cover” the spread.
Let’s say Idaho Tech is a 15-point favorite over the Idaho Institute of Potatoes in a college basketball game. If Idaho Tech wins the game by only 14 points, the Idaho Institute of Potatoes is the winner as far as bettors are concerned.
So, before the game a big-time gambler might approach a vulnerable star player for Idaho Tech and tell him he can make a few thousand easy dollars by simply making sure Idaho Tech doesn’t win by 15 points or more.
He doesn’t have to throw the game, just control the margin of victory. In other words, he’s not betraying his teammates because Idaho Tech doesn’t have to lose the game for the big-time gambler to collect on his wager.
Can you imagine how much it would be worth to a gambler to pretty much know ahead of time which side of the point spread a team in going to land on? Why flip a coin when you can bet on a sure thing?
The major sports leagues have now realized that sports betting drives attendance at games and ratings on television.
Major League Baseball plays a 162-game regular-season schedule. Many of those games are virtually meaningless when the last-place team in the National League is playing the last-place team in the American League.
Unless you have 20 bucks riding on the outcome. Then you’ll watch every inning to the bitter end, even if the game runs past your bedtime.
So listen to this out of the great state of Arizona:
“Just after Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill to open legalized sports gambling in the state of Arizona, the Phoenix Suns and gambling service FanDuel announced the team’s downtown home, Phoenix Suns Arena, will open an on-site luxury sportsbook by the start of the 2021-22 season.”
Yes, a betting parlor inside the arena where NBA games are being played.
“The sportsbook will be 6,300 square feet and open daily for patrons to place wagers on sporting events throughout the year. It will include self-service kiosks and a ticket window.”
And here it comes, just in case you were wondering.
“Fans at the arena will be able to place bets on their phones during game days and other hosted sporting events.”
So there you are, watching the Suns play the Warriors and you have a bet on the Suns, but are giving away nine points. Plus you have a side bet that Steph Curry will score fewer than 28 points.
Phoenix leads by 10 as the game ticks down under a minute, but then the Suns call a timeout and clear the bench to give several rookies some much-needed playing time.
The hometown crowd erupts in boos. Turns out they all have taken the Suns but are giving away those same nine points.
The rookies are no match for Curry and the Warriors in the final 60 seconds, but the Suns still end up winning the game. By five points. Everyone in the arena leaves disgruntled, discouraged and mad as hell at the coach for making such a boneheaded decision.
“This is a watershed moment for the Suns organization and our fans,” Phoenix Suns president and CEO Jason Rowley said in a release.
“FanDuel is the perfect partner as our missions are fully aligned. Simply put, FanDuel is committed to making sports more exciting while the Suns are focused on delivering exciting sports and entertainment and engaging fans at the highest level possible.”
It’s no longer sports, folks. It’s now simply entertainment. And gambling.
— Contact Bob Dunning at bdunning@davisenterprise.net.
