Right now, there's a lot of legal posturing going on between many major professional and collegiate sports leagues and the state of Delaware over single-game betting. Delaware is one of a few states exempt from federal law, since they tinkered with single-game parlays prior to the national statute prohibiting such endeavors going into effect. Or something.

That's probably the most legal jargon I've ever written, so excuse me if any minor details are wrong. I sorta just blacked out and scribbled some stuff down that sounded kind of right. From my viewpoint, this is what's going down. Delaware, feeling the weight of the recession, decides to open single-game betting across various sports platforms to make some cash. It seems like the NFL and other sports leagues are trying to stop Delaware from doing this, because they can't make money off of the state's plan.

I don't bet...the most I've ever really gambled in that state is like 20 bucks at the Delaware Park Casino slots, so I have a pretty neutral stance. The NFL and other leagues are right to limit betting on single games, as they want to keep the integrity of sport clean. Yet they also profit and and have a relationship with Vegas oddsmakers, so it's hypocritical to pick and choose which kind of gambling to allow.

But the NFL has a plan to make some serious cash on other gambling ventures if they cannot prohibit Delaware's proposal. STEELERS-THEMED SCRATCH-OFF INSTANT LOTTERY GAMES! And they kicked off today...right in time for the season to start!

Man, Steelers fans will buy just about anything remotely related to the Black and Gold. Just yesterday, the gift my aunt got me for my birthday arrived at my apartment. In it was a Steelers/Penguins t-shirt saying, "On Ice Or Grass, We'll Kick Your Ass," as well as a plastic Steelers mug that shoots LED lights up from the bottom of whatever beverage you're currently drankin' on. And a Super Bowl XL program...of which I have about 5 copies now. Leagues such as the NFL know that local fans buy up any ridiculous merch featuring their teams, so they churn out anything with a logo or a name and watch the money fly in.

So go right ahead and let people gamble on football games in your state, Delaware. The NFL's profits on the Pennsylvania Lottery instant games will probably trump whatever you make. There'll probably be more than a few Pittsburghers who will buy these tickets and frame some unscratched ones to go with the rest of their Steelers collection.

And since it's the PA Lottery and not the Pittsburgh Lottery, you can gamble on the Eagles as well. Just like they did on Vick! Thanks to Shireman for the heads up.

Comments (3)

as;dlfjksad
written by tiny, August 18, 2009

They have a similar thing in MD for the Ravens.

Being from Las Vegas, I'm not sure I totally understand the stigma against single game sports betting - in fact, I was kinda shocked when I realized that AC doesn't even have sports books.

A co-worker of mine went to Delaware, and said that the NCAA was not allowing any Delaware colleges to host championship games if single game betting was allowed. My argument was, "That's fine. The money coming into the state for the sports betting should offset any money generated from a couple of championship games held in the state."

Sorry for the long-winded response. I am excited for sports betting in DE. I will go there often.

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Poker and more funny bets
written by Joe Maze, August 19, 2009

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...
written by docs, August 19, 2009

The position of sports leagues and politicians in this country on gambling
is the height of hypocrisy. I¹m glad you mentioned the scratch-off lottery;
a lot of people don¹t think of the state-run lotteries as gambling although
it clearly is. The only difference is that if you are skilled you can
actually make money on things like sports wagering, whereas the House
controls all of the odds in the lotto and the people that play are suckers.

In terms of the NFL, you are right again: they are only against it since
they can¹t profit off of it. It¹s very similar to what went down when they
tried to take on Fantasy Football sites (they lost). The NFL wants its cut.
But what they don¹t realize is that the only reason that this sport is the
most popular in the country is because of fantasy football and gambling. The
NFL would like to think that it¹s just all them and their ³product².
Absolutely couldn¹t be further from the truth. Take away the gamblers and
the FF players and you have the NBA. With pads.

Finally, I¹m excited about the stance that Delaware is taking. I hope it
works and is a rousing success for their state in combating their deficit.
Maybe then other states will push to legalize. The bottom line is that while
I wouldn¹t doubt that gambling is somewhat of a vice (but so are sex,
alcohol, binge eating, and smoking ­ all of which are legal) it is not
unethical and it is absolutely ridiculous that it is illegal. Why is the
government telling us what we can do with our money? For 99 percent of
bettors it is simply a form of entertainment and a source of enjoyment. So
while all of the focus goes on the negative stories the fact of the matter
is that it¹s a personal choice and laws against it represent a serious
governmental overreach. I pay my taxes ­ let me do what I want with the
rest. And since states already allow horse racing and lotteries they lose
the moral high ground. (Either gambling is bad or it¹s not. It¹s a joke to
only let people bet on things that they are going to lose on.) Instead,
let¹s legalize it, regulate it, and tax it. Just about anyone that is
currently involved with the industry would tell you that regulation would be
welcome with open arms. And with that state of our national debt and our
economy we¹re pissing away a shot at a multi-billion dollar revenue stream
because of some ridiculous, immature, hypocritical moral argument. It¹s
insane.

Anyway, good post.

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