This week we’re looking at news about cheating in gambling from the horse racing industry, online poker and esports. We also discuss the dangers of match fixing in American sports betting, plus stories from Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania.
Hello friends, and thanks for streaming another edition of This Week in Gambling. With the spread of sports betting across our great nation, and given some of the recent headlines, I thought it was time we discuss a difficult topic: Cheating in gambling! This week’s big story is nothing new for our friends in the United Kingdom and Europe, where match-fixing has been a part of the sports betting landscape ever since there was… well, sports betting!
To find a sports betting scandal in America you have to go back a hundred years, all the way to 1919 when the Chicago White Sox threw the World Series! Of course, there was also that Pete Rose feller… but I mean, come on man! Of course we’re not just talking about sports betting here. Cheating affects online poker, horse-racing, even e-sports! In fact, one player was recently banned from an eSports league for providing inside information to someone who was betting on the games!
Speaking of cheating in gambling, it’s recently been revealed that Triple Crown winner Justify failed a drug test last year… a test that revealed performance-enhancing drugs. He should have been banned from even running in the Kentucky Derby! Instead the California Horse Racing Board just covered it up, and Justify kept on running and kept on winning. Later the board had the nerve to say that they take the integrity of horse racing very seriously! Obviously! It shows!
Also, let’s not ignore the potential for cheating on sports betting in America. Just take the current situation with the National Football League, Antonio Brown and the Steelers… or the Raiders… or the Patriots… where is he now? While the accusation against Brown are quite serious, can you imagine the ramifications if similar charges – whether true or untrue – were leveled against a star quarterback, say, ten days before he was scheduled to play in the Super Bowl? After a lot of big bets had already been placed? Yeah, you see where I’m going with this?!
Not only that, now there are growing concerns about online poker cheats... and I’m not talking about collusion or accusations that the software is rigged… I’m talking about artificial intelligence! A computer geek at Carnegie Mellon University recently developed a poker bot that can outplay even the best professionals! And it only took him eight days and $140 to develop it! Think about what that could mean for the future of our industry!
Some encouraging news this week as the state of Michigan now says they could… could have legal regulated sports betting up and running by the time the Super Bowl rolls around in February! Well, better late than never!
Not so encouraging news this week came from the state of New York where sports betting was legalized and regulated this past summer… but only in land-based casinos. And it looks like it’s going to stay that way for a while. Word is that mobile and or online sports betting will not get done in 2020. Legislators there say there’s just not enough time to get a bill passed. I would think not when they’re only in session a little over 60 days during a five-month period all year! Nice work if you can get it!
Finally this week, we’ve recently reported that three progressive jackpots had been hit over a four day period in the state of Pennsylvania… all at the same online casino… all playing the same online game! And now you can make that four progressive jackpots hit over an 11 day period in Pennsylvania… all at the same casino… all playing the same game! Damn, must be something in the water in Pennsylvania! That delicious Lake Erie water!
