NJ.com – Working as a bookmaker for the mastermind of illegal sports gambling, Ron “The Cigar” Sacco, I’ve seen it all. I began clerking for Sacco in Los Angeles in 1986, when his organization was taking in a meager $40 million a year in bets. Raids on his offices in the United States eventually prompted Sacco to relocate offshore to the Dominican Republic, where gambling is legal. The feds were not deterred and Sacco was captured in 1993. By then his business was generating an estimated $1 billion a year in bets. Fast-forward two decades: U.S. News and World Report…

NBC – Sports fans can be very forgiving. Just look at the Chicago Cubs, who fill Wrigley Field every year despite last winning the World Series 106 years ago. When athletes bet on sporting events, however, all of that changes. Otherwise compassionate fans who would be willing to look the other way in most cases have been known to permanently turn their backs on athletes who bet, or who get in on gambling schemes that can affect the outcome of a game. Why is this? Michael Vick operated an illegal dogfighting ring, but that didn’t stop him from signing a…

The Cato Institute and the Pacific Legal Foundation this week filed an amicus brief which supports the New Jersey sports gambling appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court regarding online sports betting. In February, Chris Christie’s administration filed an appeal with the Supreme Court, stating the federal ban on sports gambling in all but 4 states (the PAPSA law) is unconstitutional. The Cato Institute is a libertarian think tank located in Washington D.C. The think tank was founded in 1974 by Charles Koch. It is considered one of the leading think tanks in the world, sitting at 6th best among American…