Opinion: Why California should continue to hold the line against sports betting
9 months, 1 week ago

Opinion: Why California should continue to hold the line against sports betting

LA Times  

Where sports betting is legal, you can bet pitch by pitch or shot by shot from your mobile phone. Americans wagered a record $119.84 billion on legal sports betting in 2023, but California should continue to hold the line and just say no to what has become the most popular game in town. The sports betting companies want nothing more than to check the state off their list of holdouts, but their wants are a world away from California’s needs. To take just one state, in the five years since New Jersey legalized sports wagers, calls to the state’s gambling addict helpline tripled, driven by gamblers ages 25-34. The Ohtani scandal should compel us to consider how many more stories like this could happen if sports gambling were legal in California and what a pall it could cast across sport in the state.

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History of this topic

Scandals, some changes in public perception highlighted the year for sports betting
3 weeks, 1 day ago

Scandals, some changes in public perception highlighted the year for sports betting

Associated Press  

In the six years since the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for states to offer sports betting, each successive year has set a record for the amount of money wagered legally. I think it’s opening people’s eyes that the legalization of sports betting in the U.S. wasn’t going to be the exception to the problems that come with sports …

Bill would ban sports betting ads during games and forbid bets on college athletes
3 months, 4 weeks ago

Bill would ban sports betting ads during games and forbid bets on college athletes

Associated Press  

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The federal government would ban in-game advertising and bets on college athletes under a sports betting regulation bill proposed by two northeastern legislators. The legislation already faces strong opposition from the gambling industry, which has said for years that it should self-regulate sports betting advertising to avoid the federal government imposing standards on it. The American …

The Golden Age of Sports Betting Is Over
5 months ago

The Golden Age of Sports Betting Is Over

Slate  

These past few years have been a great time to bet on sports. Now the sportsbooks have decided they’d like to actually make some money, and they have pared back their promotional offerings to spend less on “customer acquisition.” The little carrots designed to make betting a friendly financial proposition are dulling or just going away, and they’ll only come …

California bookie pleads guilty to running illegal gambling business used by ex-Ohtani interpreter
5 months ago

California bookie pleads guilty to running illegal gambling business used by ex-Ohtani interpreter

Associated Press  

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A Southern California bookmaker who took thousands of sports bets from the former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani pleaded guilty Friday to running an illegal gambling business. According to prosecutors, Bowyer ran an illegal gambling business for at least five years in Southern California and Las Vegas, and he took wagers from more than 700 …

Bookmaker to plead guilty in gambling case tied to baseball star Shohei Ohtani’s ex-interpreter
5 months, 1 week ago

Bookmaker to plead guilty in gambling case tied to baseball star Shohei Ohtani’s ex-interpreter

Associated Press  

LOS ANGELES — A Southern California bookmaker who took thousands of sports bets from the ex-interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani has agreed to plead guilty to running an illegal gambling business, U.S. authorities announced Thursday. Mathew Bowyer’s business operated for at least five years in Southern California and Las Vegas and took wagers from more than 700 bettors, including …

NCAA president: prop betting on college athletes ‘enormously problematic’
9 months ago

NCAA president: prop betting on college athletes ‘enormously problematic’

Associated Press  

GLENDALE, Ariz. — NCAA President Charlie Baker has already been pushing for states with legal wagering to ban betting on individual performances for college athletes. Shortly before the final game of the men’s basketball season, Baker called prop betting “enormously problematic” for college athletes and highlighted a successful push to get some states like Ohio, Vermont and Maryland to remove …

Inside the gambling ring linked to Ohtani — as told by two bettors themselves
9 months ago

Inside the gambling ring linked to Ohtani — as told by two bettors themselves

LA Times  

For all its complexities, all its twists and turns, the gambling scandal that has engulfed Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani raises a simple question. “The guy seemed to run a good shop,” one said of the bookmaker, adding that he has used “dozens of different bookies and this is easily the best I’ve ever worked with.” The Times linked one of …

Column: It’s not just Shohei — a massive scandal involving sports betting is just around the corner
9 months, 1 week ago

Column: It’s not just Shohei — a massive scandal involving sports betting is just around the corner

LA Times  

Shohei Ohtani, right, and former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara last month during the Dodgers’ series in Seoul, just before allegations of illegal gambling by Mizuhara emerged and suspicions swirled about Ohtani. — Cleveland Cavaliers Coach J.B. Bickerstaff Mizuhara originally asserted that Ohtani had covered his gambling losses; Ohtani’s camp has subsequently maintained that Mizuhara covered those losses by stealing from the …

Opinion: Shohei Ohtani gambling scandal putting Pete Rose roadmap to the test
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Opinion: Shohei Ohtani gambling scandal putting Pete Rose roadmap to the test

CNN  

Editor’s Note: Keith O’Brien is the author of the new book “Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball.” The views expressed in this commentary are his own. CNN — We’re a week into baseball’s gambling crisis surrounding Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, his close friend and former interpreter Ippei …

LA Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani to address illegal gambling, theft allegations against interpreter
9 months, 2 weeks ago

LA Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani to address illegal gambling, theft allegations against interpreter

Firstpost  

The interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was fired by the Dodgers last week when the team opened the season with two games against the San Diego Padres in Seoul. Los Angeles: Shohei Ohtani plans to speak to the media Monday for the first time since the illegal gambling and theft allegations involving the Los Angeles Dodgers star and his interpreter emerged during …

Shohei Ohtani says he never bet on sports, interpreter Ippei Mizuhara stole money, told lies
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Shohei Ohtani says he never bet on sports, interpreter Ippei Mizuhara stole money, told lies

Associated Press  

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani said Monday he never bet on sports or knowingly paid any gambling debts accumulated by his longtime interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. Ohtani hasn’t addressed the Dodgers in a group since Mizuhara’s firing, but he had explained himself to several Dodgers individually, manager Dave Roberts said. So Ippei has been telling everyone around that he has been …

Ohtani to speak to media for 1st time since illegal gambling, theft allegations against interpreter
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Ohtani to speak to media for 1st time since illegal gambling, theft allegations against interpreter

Hindustan Times  

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani plans to speak to the media Monday for the first time since the illegal gambling and theft allegations involving the Los Angeles Dodgers star and his interpreter emerged during the team’s trip to South Korea. I think it will give us all a little bit more clarity.” Mizuhara was let go from the team following …

Ohtani to speak to media for 1st time since illegal gambling, theft allegations against interpreter
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Ohtani to speak to media for 1st time since illegal gambling, theft allegations against interpreter

Associated Press  

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani plans to speak to the media Monday for the first time since the illegal gambling and theft allegations involving the Los Angeles Dodgers star and his interpreter emerged during the team’s trip to South Korea. I think it will give us all a little bit more clarity.” Mizuhara was let go from the team following …

MLB investigating gambling, theft allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and interpreter Ippei Mizuhara
9 months, 2 weeks ago

MLB investigating gambling, theft allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and interpreter Ippei Mizuhara

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — Major League Baseball has opened a formal investigation into illegal gambling and theft allegations involving Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani and his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. Mizuhara was let go from the team Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and claims from Ohtani’s attorneys that …

Firing of Ohtani's interpreter highlights how sports betting is still illegal in California
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Firing of Ohtani's interpreter highlights how sports betting is still illegal in California

Associated Press  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The firing of Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter by the Los Angeles Dodgers over allegations of illegal gambling and theft has highlighted an issue many outside of California don’t realize: Sports betting is still against the law in the nation’s most populous state. AP AUDIO: Firing of Ohtani’s interpreter highlights how sports betting is still illegal in California. AP …

Is Shohei Ohtani another Pete Rose? Dodgers star may be in legal trouble if he paid gambling debt
9 months, 3 weeks ago

Is Shohei Ohtani another Pete Rose? Dodgers star may be in legal trouble if he paid gambling debt

LA Times  

Left: Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani gestures during a game against the San Diego Padres in Seoul on Wednesday. His representatives accused his longtime interpreter and friend, Ippei Mizuhara, of engaging in a “massive theft” of Ohtani’s money allegedly used to pay off millions in gambling debts Mizuhara owed to a bookmaker. Ohtani’s representatives muddied the waters by making Mizuhara …

Legalized sports betting continued to grow in 2023, though some significant states remain resistant
1 year ago

Legalized sports betting continued to grow in 2023, though some significant states remain resistant

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Legalized sports betting continued its …

Legalized sports betting continued to grow in 2023, though some significant states remain resistant
1 year ago

Legalized sports betting continued to grow in 2023, though some significant states remain resistant

Associated Press  

LAS VEGAS — Legalized sports betting continued its expansion this year while also factoring into scandals in college athletics and suspensions in the NFL for players who violated the league’s gambling policy. Another state, Florida, relaunched sports betting after a two-year legal battle ended when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in October in the casinos’ favor. There was no apparent …

Online sports betting to start in Vermont in January
1 year ago

Online sports betting to start in Vermont in January

Associated Press  

MONTPELIER, Vt. — Vermont sports fans will be able to bet online starting early next year when mobile sports betting kicks off in the state on Jan. 11, Republican Gov. “I first proposed Vermont legalize sports wagering several years ago, and it’s good to see it come to fruition,” Scott said in a statement. “Vermonters and visitors alike will soon …

Athletes’ confidence, competitiveness explain willingness and risk to bet on own games, experts say
1 year, 4 months ago

Athletes’ confidence, competitiveness explain willingness and risk to bet on own games, experts say

Associated Press  

Allegations of Iowa and Iowa State athletes illegally wagering on sports is one thing. While fans of both schools have asked why athletes would risk losing eligibility and possibly going to jail over relatively small amounts of money, National Council on Problem Gambling executive director Keith Whyte said he isn’t surprised by allegations of athletes betting on their own games …

Why sports betting is everywhere.
1 year, 7 months ago

Why sports betting is everywhere.

Slate  

If you watch live sports these days, there is one thing—besides the athletes, the announcers, and the play-by-play—that’s always there: betting. A 2018 Supreme Court decision made sports betting legal, and since then, it’s become seemingly inextricable from every aspect of big-time sports. New Jersey and New York were all considering sports betting, and at this time the sports leagues …

Americans bet $220B on sports in 5 years since legalization
1 year, 8 months ago

Americans bet $220B on sports in 5 years since legalization

Associated Press  

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Americans have bet over $220 billion on sports with legal gambling outlets in the five years since the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for all 50 states to offer it, and the industry shows few signs of slowing despite some recent scandals that have put a spotlight on wagering safeguards. When Sunday’s anniversary of the …

Odds are good for sequel to California sports betting effort
2 years, 2 months ago

Odds are good for sequel to California sports betting effort

Associated Press  

LOS ANGELES — The effort to legalize sports betting in California ran headlong into a typical challenge for competing ballot measures as each was battered in a torrent of negative advertising that doomed both to spectacular failure in the most expensive ballot race in U.S. history. “This campaign has underscored our resolve to see California follow more than half the …

Big bet a bust in bid to allow sports gambling in California
2 years, 2 months ago

Big bet a bust in bid to allow sports gambling in California

Associated Press  

LOS ANGELES — The most expensive ballot proposition gamble in U.S. history went bust Tuesday as California voters overwhelmingly rejected sports betting initiatives by Native American tribes and the gaming industry. Tribes who opposed Proposition 27, the mobile and online gambling measure, said voters didn’t want a massive expansion of gambling, they thought it would be easier to become addicted …

Propositions 26 and 27, which would have legalized sports gaming, lose big
2 years, 2 months ago

Propositions 26 and 27, which would have legalized sports gaming, lose big

LA Times  

FanDuel, DraftKings and other online gambling apps are displayed on a cellphone in San Francisco. Propositions 26 and 27 were resoundingly rejected by voters in Tuesday’s election, despite a half-billion dollars in spending to convince Californians to legalizing sports gaming. Leaders of four of California’s most successful Native American tribes with gaming interests are the original proponents of Proposition 26, …

Endorsement: No on Propositions 26 and 27. Legalizing sports betting stacks the odds against Californians
2 years, 4 months ago

Endorsement: No on Propositions 26 and 27. Legalizing sports betting stacks the odds against Californians

LA Times  

Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that states can allow sports betting, legal gambling has exploded across America — leaving some predictable problems in its wake. Proposition 26, backed by several Native American tribes that run casinos including Pechanga and Agua Caliente, would allow sports betting in person at four privately owned horse-racing tracks and at tribal casinos …

California propositions voter guide: Gambling, abortion, EV cars, kidney dialysis and more
2 years, 4 months ago

California propositions voter guide: Gambling, abortion, EV cars, kidney dialysis and more

LA Times  

Proposition 26 would legalize in-person sports betting on tribal lands and at four horse-racing tracks. Along with gambling on sports, the tribes also would be allowed to offer roulette, as well as craps and other dice games, if permitted by individual tribal gambling agreements with the state. Proposition 27 would allow licensed tribes and gambling companies, including FanDuel and DraftKings, …

Gamblers bet $492M in February, Arizona gets $670,000 in tax
2 years, 8 months ago

Gamblers bet $492M in February, Arizona gets $670,000 in tax

Associated Press  

PHOENIX — Arizonans bet nearly $492 million on sporting events in February and won back all but $24 million of that money, a slight dip as pro football ended except for the Super Bowl on Feb. 13. Tuesday’s report from the Arizona Department of Gaming on the sixth month of legalized sports betting showed sports books made $24.4 million in …

Arizona fans love freedom to bet during the NCAA tournament. Will California be next?
2 years, 9 months ago

Arizona fans love freedom to bet during the NCAA tournament. Will California be next?

LA Times  

It was 9:30 a.m. on a Friday, the morning after St. Patrick’s Day, and a man in a yellow dress shirt and brown tie was going berserk. “It’s about time.” A year ago, sports gambling in Arizona remained illegal, pushed to underground bookies, whose illicit business always thrived. “We’re taking a phased approach.” Arizona crashed a movement that has swept …

California voters lean toward legalizing sports betting in new poll
2 years, 10 months ago

California voters lean toward legalizing sports betting in new poll

LA Times  

California voters could see as many as three proposals to legalize sports betting on the Nov. 8 statewide ballot. California California Politics: A sports betting showdown in 2022 California voters could be asked next year whether to legalize betting on professional and college sports. “But legalizing sports betting in California appears to be one of them, at least for the …

Don’t bet on it. Wagering on the Super Bowl is illegal in California
2 years, 11 months ago

Don’t bet on it. Wagering on the Super Bowl is illegal in California

LA Times  

Las Vegas casinos frequently won’t allow you to place bets online from California. But it’s clearly against the law.” Federal laws, such as the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and the Illegal Gambling Business Act, bar gaming sites from operating in states that prohibit gambling. California voters are likely to see one or more initiatives on that subject this November …

Half of US offers legal sports betting as NFL season begins
3 years, 4 months ago

Half of US offers legal sports betting as NFL season begins

Associated Press  

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — More than half of the United States now offers legal sports betting, just three years after it was allowed by the U.S. Supreme Court. That’s up from 18 states with legal sports betting at the start of last year’s football season. “A lot of people still don’t want to travel and be in crowds, and sports …

California voters will decide in 2022 whether to allow sports betting
3 years, 7 months ago

California voters will decide in 2022 whether to allow sports betting

LA Times  

Amado Nanalang watches basketball games while making bets at a sports book in Las Vegas. The constitutional amendment to allow sports betting was written by Native American tribes that showed their political might in 2008 when they spent $115 million to win approval of four ballot measures that preserved an expansion of gambling they had been granted a year earlier. …

Competition has begun to capture market for legalized sports gambling in California
4 years, 5 months ago

Competition has begun to capture market for legalized sports gambling in California

LA Times  

People make bets in the sports book at the South Point hotel and casino in Las Vegas. They’re just holding their breath.” Some businesses have already put plans in motion, with Monkey Knife Fight, a fast-growing daily fantasy sports site, making among the most visible early efforts. “To me, a team-centric deal makes a lot of sense.” Asher’s playbook seems …

Tribal casinos sue California for more time to qualify legal sports betting measure amid coronavirus
4 years, 7 months ago

Tribal casinos sue California for more time to qualify legal sports betting measure amid coronavirus

LA Times  

A coalition of California Native American tribes sued the state Tuesday seeking more time to qualify a sports betting initiative for the statewide ballot, arguing that the state‘s coronavirus shutdown kept them from collecting voter signatures in recent months. The new legal claim was filed by the Coalition to Authorize Regulated Sports Wagering, which represents more than 25 Native American …

California could become America’s sports betting capital as rival groups eye November ballot
4 years, 11 months ago

California could become America’s sports betting capital as rival groups eye November ballot

LA Times  

Amado Nanalang watches basketball games while making bets at a sports book in Las Vegas. Last week, a coalition of 18 Native American tribes was given state approval to begin circulating petitions for a statewide ballot initiative that would allow sports betting at tribal casinos and horse racing tracks, but not at rival card clubs or on the internet. “Voters …

Native American tribes propose initiative to legalize sports betting in California
5 years, 1 month ago

Native American tribes propose initiative to legalize sports betting in California

LA Times  

Betting on Lakers and Rams games would be legal in California under an initiative proposed Wednesday by a coalition of Native American tribes that want a piece of the action. The filing of papers for an initiative supported by 18 tribes led by the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians comes just four months after state Sen. Bill Dodd and Assemblyman …

Make California sports betting legal? Lawmakers propose measure to go on 2020 ballot
5 years, 6 months ago

Make California sports betting legal? Lawmakers propose measure to go on 2020 ballot

LA Times  

Guests line up to place bets at the sports book at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino in March. Joining a national wave, California lawmakers on Thursday proposed a ballot measure that would legalize sports betting in the state in response to last year’s Supreme Court ruling allowing states to permit wagering. “In short, CNIGA does not support any …

Handful of US states are poised to legalize sports betting
5 years, 8 months ago

Handful of US states are poised to legalize sports betting

Associated Press  

— The number of states allowing sports betting is poised to expand. The nation’s three most populous states — California, Texas and Florida — are not expected to legalize sports betting this year, mostly because of opposition from casino-operating Native American tribes and because it could require amending state constitutions. “A guy who wants to bet on the Chicago Cubs …

Column: In California, legal gambling’s bets don’t produce big jackpots for state government
5 years, 10 months ago

Column: In California, legal gambling’s bets don’t produce big jackpots for state government

LA Times  

The California Lottery provides only around a penny of every dollar spent on education in the state. Sacramento Bureau Chief Few noticed last week when a proposed ballot measure — the kind that used to spark intense debates over legalized gambling — fizzled out, perhaps a sign that powerful interest groups are no longer willing to place big bets on …

Legalized sports betting unlikely in 3 largest US states
5 years, 10 months ago

Legalized sports betting unlikely in 3 largest US states

Associated Press  

Over the past decade, teams from California, Florida or Texas have competed in more than half the championship series in the four major professional sports — including every NBA final. California, which alone accounts for one-eighth of the U.S. population and has 16 teams among the four major professional leagues, will not be joining the sports gambling states anytime soon. …

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