4 ms·
I've been to the M Casino. It's not entirely unique, because other casinos are adding the "in game" betting using the same system, which was rolled out initial
by lessthanideal 16y ago
I've been to the M Casino. It's not entirely unique, because other casinos are adding the "in game" betting using the same system, which was rolled out initially at the M. This is very different from the normal sports betting because you can bet during the game. Traditional bookmaking will take bets before an event (sometimes even a long time before, for example, the winner of next year's Super Bowl is already a bet you can make in Vegas) but not during it.
I am not sure if a "in game" system ever existing before in Las Vegas casinos to the extent that the M is doing it. The gambling radio shows seem to think it's a novel thing.
I should add that this market (sports gambling) has long had "traders" (people looking to arbitrage games and do other technical actions), "brokers" (people who tell you what to bet on, similar to a stock broker) and "value" players (in the betting case this is guys who look for an imbalance in value, undervalued positions usually caused by too many people betting on one side of a game, similar to Buffet looking for undervalued companies). Recently, I've heard of one of these brokers advertising themselves as an investment group, particularly to the extent that insider trading isn't illegal in gambling (for example, if you have better information on the seriousness of a injury to a key player you have inside information, but instead of it being illegal as it would be in the stock market, it's actively encouraged).
This market is huge. I heard on the radio that Vegas did ~$85 million in bets on the Super Bowl alone.
As a final note, if you don't think you're gambling when you put money into the stock market, then I'm not sure what to tell you.
- praxxis 16y agoIts also important to note that Vegas is one of the few places in the US where sports betting is actually legal. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_gambling#United_States http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_gambling#United_States
- hayhayhay 16y ago> I heard on the radio that Vegas did ~$85 million in bets on the Super Bowl alone. And the thing they didn't tell you is that most of the serious sportsbetting is now done via offshore sportsbooks. Places like pinnaclesports.com offer better spreads to gamblers, and other sites offer much wider arrays of options.
- dedward 16y agoRegarding insider information in sports betting - yup, no rules against it. The professional gamblers who make a living betting share this kind of information, there are secondary markets that distribute such information (for a cost) etc..... These types of bettors, who generally win are interesting - thier actions cause bookies to change their offerrings immediately. They are on watch lists at various bookies. Bookies look for patterns of syndicate betting (where one guy who's known to be a pro gets a bunch of others to get a bunch of bets in as fast as they can before the bookies move the lines - and the bookies are all watching each other, both in vegas and around the world). Guys known to be pros also end up sometimes with different odds offered to them, with lower limits than the average person as to how much they can bet, etc.