
The Offshore Game of Online Sports Betting - nols
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/26/us/pinnacle-sports-online-sports-betting.html?_r=0
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coldcode
I still see no difference between Pinnacle and FanDuel, etc. It's still
bookmaking in the end. It does show you that making something illegal does not
make it go away, the business routes around the law. Some people apparently
want to waste money on gambling just like some people want to take drugs or
visit hookers. In the end is it worth making things illegal knowing it won't
make any difference?

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larrydag
The difference is the interpretation of the law. Sports booking in the US is
governed by the laws of the state so in most states it's illegal. Daily
fantasy sports get around this by saying it takes "skill" and it's not pure
luck.

In my opinion I don't see how the daily fantasy sports is any different then
gambling on horses.

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jbi
It's nearly the same in Europe / Germany. However, sports betting isn't really
under control here.

The reasoning is like this: Participation in the progress of playing makes a
difference. In one case you are just placing money on things other people are
doing. In the other case you are placing money on your own actions. For the
risk of gambling addiction this _is_ relevant. And it has a lesser (indirect)
potential for fraud.

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hackerboos
>It's nearly the same in Europe / Germany. However, sports betting isn't
really under control here.

I've worked for gambling companies in the UK and we are heavily regulated,
although not as much in the areas that you would want e.g. addiction.

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joosters
The 'skill vs chance' test for illegality makes no sense to me. With all
sports, there's luck involved as well as skill. So by betting on them, you are
at the mercy of luck too. Even a game of chess might involve luck - a player
might have a terrible headache, or get distracted at a key point in the game.

Surely the test, if it is to be used at all, should outlaw games where there
is no skill involved at all (e.g. roulette, lotteries)

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xlm1717
It does do that. Roulettes are generally banned. Of course, since the State
makes the laws, the State can also decide when to make exceptions, as is the
case in Nevada and Atlantic City, for example. And the State can also make
exceptions to benefit itself, as is the case in state-sponsored lotteries.

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6stringmerc
This might be a semantics approach - okay, it purely is a semantics approach -
but if I can use "skill" to pick a football player in the "daily fantasy
sports" realm and put real money up on the selection I get the framing.
However, if that player can get busted for DUI or domestic violence or assault
and battery which might keep them from playing in the game, I consider that a
game of luck. You know, there's a chance they don't ever take the field. And,
personally, I don't have the means to bail them out. So, yeah, just my take.

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Symbiote
William Hill runs betting shops in many towns in the UK. Sports betting is
promoted on the home page:
[http://sports.williamhill.com/](http://sports.williamhill.com/)

There's an American site:
[http://www.williamhill.us/](http://www.williamhill.us/) though it seems
they've just licensed the name.

How does the latter exist if online sports betting is illegal in the US?

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EwanToo
The US site runs under some really tight restrictions, you can only use it on
a mobile phone where your network provider verifies your location is in Nevada
(and Delaware maybe?), and you can only deposit cash into your account via a
few physical locations.

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gadders
Just legalise it already. Jeez....

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ecopoesis
And tax it. A lot. Both individual winnings and bookmakers profits.

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noarchy
Why should gambling be taxed more than anything else?

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ecopoesis
Because gambling becomes problem gambling for some people, and that costs
society money. Higher taxes offset that cost, the same way we have higher
taxes on alcohol and cigarettes.

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a3voices
How does it cost society money? When people waste money on gambling, it just
recirculates to others.

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noarchy
>How does it cost society money? When people waste money on gambling, it just
recirculates to others.

There is the odd case of areas where there are government-run gambling
establishment (not uncommon here in Canada), or a lottery. That money doesn't
necessarily get recirculated into the market, at least not before going
through the distorting effect of being spent by the state.

