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November/December 2016 // PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL //
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gambling heats up on u.s.
presidential election
As the U.S. presidential campaign
sprints toward Election Day, the
enthusiasm for gambling on the event
also is heating up. Although there are
no sports books or casinos that can
accept a wager on the outcome of
the presidential election in Las Vegas,
there are online gambling operators
who permit such bets.
Betting on the presidential election, or
other political elections, is not permit-
ted by Nevada gaming authorities.
However, wagering on politics is a seg-
ment of sports betting, which is regu-
lated by the Professional and Amateur
Sports Protection Act, the Federal Wire
Act, and the Unlawful Internet Gam-
bling Enforcement Act. Many online
operators, including Bovada, TopBet,
BetOnline, Bookmaker, and JustBet,
are offering odds on the nominees.
Gambling on the election began
months ago during the nomination
process, when on-line bookmak-
ers were uncertain whether Donald
Trump would win the Republican
Party nomination or whether Hilary
Clinton would secure the Democratic
nomination after a lengthy battle with
Senator Bernie Sanders.
Meanwhile, in Canada, the British
Columbia Lottery Corporation is
administering its first ever novelty
bet on the U.S. presidential election.
Nearly two years ago, in January 2015,
Trump was listed as a 100-to-1 shot
even though he was not at that time
an official candidate. Now Trump’s
odds have improved to 21-to-5, which
represents a 19% chance of winning.
More than $258,000 dollars has been
bet on the American election from
2,400 wagers, the British Columbia
Lottery said. Clinton is now a 19-to-
100 bet to win, which represents an
84% chance of victory.
Only Canadians can place wagers.
lawsuit filed against new
york governor cuomo
A group of New York citizens backed
by the anti-gambling group Stop
Predatory Gambling has filed a lawsuit
against New York Governor Andrew
Cuomo challenging the constitution-
ality of the bill that legalized daily
fantasy sports in the state. The lawsuit
contends that the law violates the
Constitution of the State of New York
because a constitutional amendment
is needed to legalize a new form of
gambling.
intralot announces that
tom little, ceo of its us
subsidiary intralot inc.,
steps down
Group CEO Mr. Kerastaris stated:
“I
would like to thank Mr. Little for his
contribution to the launch and growth of
INTRALOT’s US activities. I would also
like to take this opportunity to reconfirm
our strong commitment to the US market
as an area of key strategic focus and main
source of future growth for our Group.
We are excited to dedicate more resources
and launch new products and services, as
part of our evolving portfolio to meet new
consumer demands, mainly in the retail
area, and help our valued US clients
fulfill their own growth targets.”
Mr. Little’s duties will be undertaken
by INTRALOT Group Chief Operat-
ing Officer Nikos Nikolakopoulos as
Interim CEO of INTRALOT Inc. to
ensure continuity of services and full
alignment of offering upgrades with
our global strategies, effective October
19, 2016.
frank farricke named
interim director of the
connecticut lottery corp
scientific games scores
third casino systems solu-
tion agreement with hard
rock hotels & casinos
law enforcement
officials join in battle
to repeal paspa
A group of law enforcement officials,
acting in partnership with the Ameri-
can Gaming Association (AGA), the
principal lobbying group for casinos
and other gaming companies, is advo-
cating the repeal of the federal law that
prohibits sports betting in most of the
United States.
The law enforcement group says the
Professional Amateur Sports Protection
Act, enacted in 1992 and commonly
known as PASPA, has had the unin-
tended effect of driving sports betting
underground. The illegal market is esti-
mated at $150 billion to $500 billion.
The AGA has been lobbying for new
legislation that would regulate sports
betting, and recently hired a strategist
who has previously worked on the
presidential campaigns of John Kerry
and Hillary Clinton (in 2008) to assist
the association’s efforts.
The AGA estimates that $90 billion
will be bet on football games this season
(both professional and college games),
and that 98% of those bets will be made
illegally. Further, a Nielsen study com-
missioned by the AGA shows that TV
networks may wish to support legalized
sports betting because they stand to
gain viewership and bolster advertising
revenues. If sports betting were legalized,
the AGA concluded from the Nielsen
data, the number of regular-season
sports viewers betting on games would
skyrocket from 40 million to 57 million.
The major American sports leagues
appear to support the repeal of PASPA.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has
been a strong advocate for legalizing
and regulating sports betting, and Gary
Bettman, the commissioner of the
National Hockey League, has inched
closer to publicly endorsing the move-
ment because his league is preparing to
locate a franchise in Las Vegas.