What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Vegas Sports Book to Take Fantasy Bets (1 Viewer)

Swing 51

Swing 51

Footballguy
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSPublished: August 29, 2007Filed at 5:53 p.m. ETThe billion-dollar business of fantasy football got another new player Wednesday: Las Vegas oddsmakers.Station Casinos Inc., the fifth-largest sports book in the country, was to become the first to release a betting line -- at 7 p.m. EDT -- and start taking wagers based on players' projected fantasy statistics.So instead of plunking down a bet on whether the Saints will beat the Colts next week, or how many points will be scored, a better in Vegas can wager that Reggie Bush will finish with more than 16 fantasy points. Or that Peyton Manning might be under 21.Jason McCormick, director of race and sports for Station's 14 sports books, said consumer demand led to the fantasy-based betting.''It's kind of like March Madness,'' he said. ''Even though maybe you're not a big college basketball fan, when March rolls around everybody in your office gives you a bracket to fill out. And that's where fantasy football is headed.''More than 13 million people play fantasy football, according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association. And economic impact studies have put total fantasy spending at more than $1 billion.Station isn't offering fantasy leagues, just the chance to bet on fantasy projections for 24 players a week.Some sports books in Nevada -- the only state where sports gambling is legal -- occasionally offer ''proposition'' bets on a player's yardage or touchdowns.But Station is rolling all a player's projected stats together, then setting an over-under betting number based on a scoring system used in many fantasy leagues. With six points awarded for each touchdown, one point for every 30 yards passing and one point for every 10 points rushing or receiving, Station determines a player's fantasy line.For the opening weekend, for example, Donovan McNabb's fantasy line is 16, and Terrell Owens' is 14.McCormick, a longtime fantasy player who won a league title in 2005, said betting lines will be available on eight quarterbacks, eight running backs and eight receivers.The 24-player lineup, chosen by McCormick and a handful of other Station oddsmakers, will change each week. McCormick and another oddsmaker will set the fantasy line based on trends, matchups, recent performance, weather and other factors.The NFL long has opposed gambling on its games, and league spokesman Greg Aiello declined to comment Wednesday on Station's fantasy wagering.Kenny White, the chief operating officer at Las Vegas Sports Consultants, an independent oddsmaker consulting group that provides opening betting lines to 90 percent of the Vegas casinos, said Station's approach has not been attempted before.Officials in the gaming industry and at the Nevada Gaming Control Board also say such an approach is unheard of among the state's 175 sports books.''I think this is real interesting, because sports betting and fantasy sports have both felt like the other is different and have nothing to do with each other,'' said I. Nelson Rose, a gambling law expert.But Andrew Smith, director of research at the industry trade group American Gaming Association, doubts there's much future in Las Vegas fantasy gambling because it's tough to match fantasy league play.''At least in my experience it's much less about the money than kind of bragging rights and being able to tell your wife or friends who aren't in the league, 'Oh my gosh, I'm just crushing these guys,''' Smith said.Jeff Thomas, president of the fantasy sports trade association, said Station's new line is simply another form of gambling and has nothing to do with fantasy football.''I think a lot of businesses are sort of stretching the definition of fantasy lately, trying to capitalize on what's popular,'' he said. ''If I'm a smart businessman, whether I own a casino or want to promote my brand, I'd be looking at fantasy sports.''
Click to expand...
 
Maurile Tremblay said:
That's pretty cool.
Click to expand...
I'm not so sure. This will bring increased scrutiny and it will be easier for the "holier than thou"* folks to call fantasy sports gambling instead of a game of skill. Since I don't spend time hanging around Vegas, this doesn't help me much, but it might make it harder to run my normal league. :thumbup: *Just to clarify: I'm not making any kind of religious judgment, just referring to people who feel the need to tell others what not to do and make rules and laws to that effect.

 
Mungo Burrows said:
Maurile Tremblay said:
That's pretty cool.
Click to expand...
I'm not so sure. This will bring increased scrutiny and it will be easier for the "holier than thou"* folks to call fantasy sports gambling instead of a game of skill. Since I don't spend time hanging around Vegas, this doesn't help me much, but it might make it harder to run my normal league. :thumbup: *Just to clarify: I'm not making any kind of religious judgment, just referring to people who feel the need to tell others what not to do and make rules and laws to that effect.
Click to expand...
Yeah, but the people who disagree with betting are most likely already going to be against Fantasy anyway because there is the assumption that people are betting on it already. How would this news make it harder for you to run your league. People who are against gambling have nothing to do with you and your friends getting together to do fantasy. Besides, those who are against gambling can't do anything to stop fantasy anymore than they can stop Vegas.I think its a really cool idea to start up and keep track of. I think it will only increase the popularity of fantasy sports as it spread and more and mor people become involved with it. I'm suprised this hasn't happened in the past. :thumbdown:

 
arcticmammal said:
Mungo Burrows said:
Maurile Tremblay said:
That's pretty cool.
Click to expand...
I'm not so sure. This will bring increased scrutiny and it will be easier for the "holier than thou"* folks to call fantasy sports gambling instead of a game of skill. Since I don't spend time hanging around Vegas, this doesn't help me much, but it might make it harder to run my normal league. :unsure: *Just to clarify: I'm not making any kind of religious judgment, just referring to people who feel the need to tell others what not to do and make rules and laws to that effect.
Click to expand...
Yeah, but the people who disagree with betting are most likely already going to be against Fantasy anyway because there is the assumption that people are betting on it already. How would this news make it harder for you to run your league. People who are against gambling have nothing to do with you and your friends getting together to do fantasy. Besides, those who are against gambling can't do anything to stop fantasy anymore than they can stop Vegas.I think its a really cool idea to start up and keep track of. I think it will only increase the popularity of fantasy sports as it spread and more and mor people become involved with it. I'm suprised this hasn't happened in the past. :goodposting:
Click to expand...
Isn't this what people were saying about offshore gambling a while back: It's not in this country...they can't touch them! If the wrong people decide fantasy football is gambling, and thus is immoral (I can just hear it, "Did you know children play it? CHILDREN...THE HORRORS!!!! They're corrupting our youth!"), there are ways they could effectively kill many of the companies that make it what it is today. No, they can't stop a local league from getting together, but if these sites get added to more and more web filters, and you can't get funds to the commissioner services so it's harder and harder to play online. Then as the volume of players starts to drop, the economics for sites like this become tenuous. May not be likely, but it could happen.

 
arcticmammal said:
Mungo Burrows said:
Maurile Tremblay said:
That's pretty cool.
Click to expand...
I'm not so sure. This will bring increased scrutiny and it will be easier for the "holier than thou"* folks to call fantasy sports gambling instead of a game of skill. Since I don't spend time hanging around Vegas, this doesn't help me much, but it might make it harder to run my normal league. :excited: *Just to clarify: I'm not making any kind of religious judgment, just referring to people who feel the need to tell others what not to do and make rules and laws to that effect.
Click to expand...
Yeah, but the people who disagree with betting are most likely already going to be against Fantasy anyway because there is the assumption that people are betting on it already. How would this news make it harder for you to run your league. People who are against gambling have nothing to do with you and your friends getting together to do fantasy. Besides, those who are against gambling can't do anything to stop fantasy anymore than they can stop Vegas.I think its a really cool idea to start up and keep track of. I think it will only increase the popularity of fantasy sports as it spread and more and mor people become involved with it. I'm suprised this hasn't happened in the past. :thumbup:
Click to expand...
it could ideally allow people to say fantasy football can now have a much more clearer path to gambling...i'm not concerned with my local league (it's not like we don't routinely gamble away hundreds some weekends on poker over each others houses)... but i'd hate to not be able to gobble up the fish on cbs sportsline... because it was determined that that was gambling (like they did with poker online)

it's a long shot, but that thought did cross my mind when reading the article...

 
Last edited by a moderator:
This seems to me to be a dangerous step, at least in the NFL's eyes. Makes it a heck of a lot easier for individual players to get caught up in shaving points or otherwise adjusting their performance for financial gain. When there are 11 guys out there it's hard for one to affect the game as much as when all the money is put on one guy's individual performance. Whether it actually happens or not it could lead to the perception of happening. I'd be willing to bet that Goodell hates this. In addition to the perception of FF changing, it's a bit of a possibility of casting doubt on the integrity of the NFL itself. I'm not necessarily against it, but that's the first thing I thought of.

 
mad sweeney said:
This seems to me to be a dangerous step, at least in the NFL's eyes. Makes it a heck of a lot easier for individual players to get caught up in shaving points or otherwise adjusting their performance for financial gain. When there are 11 guys out there it's hard for one to affect the game as much as when all the money is put on one guy's individual performance. Whether it actually happens or not it could lead to the perception of happening. I'd be willing to bet that Goodell hates this. In addition to the perception of FF changing, it's a bit of a possibility of casting doubt on the integrity of the NFL itself. I'm not necessarily against it, but that's the first thing I thought of.
Click to expand...
Good point. The NFL isn't going to be able to do anything about the offshore stuff, but I think there's a chance the Vegas books will cap the amount any single person can wager at a fairly low amount (like under $1000). Not just because the NFL will want them to, but to protect themselves from losing because a player manipulated his performance. Come to think of it, the offshore books will probably put a fairly low cap on their bets as well, for the same reason.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You want more accurate projections? Done.

And not like the days of the more "skilled" being able to win through diligent research and knowledge weren't already over, but this indeed puts a nail in that coffin.

Average Joe wants to know who to start each week. Who's he gonna turn to? -- Vegas bookmakers, or websites?

 
BRONG said:
You want more accurate projections? Done.And not like the days of the more "skilled" being able to win through diligent research and knowledge weren't already over, but this indeed puts a nail in that coffin.Average Joe wants to know who to start each week. Who's he gonna turn to? -- Vegas bookmakers, or websites?
Click to expand...
Prop bets been around forever. Some books had "highest scoring fantasy qb/rb/wr" bets last year. Listed about 30 different guys and gave (usually crappy) odds on all of them.
 
Sonny's right here. If Vegas gets involved in this, then fantasy information sites are not something that I would want to be invested in.

 
Nipsey said:
BRONG said:
You want more accurate projections? Done.And not like the days of the more "skilled" being able to win through diligent research and knowledge weren't already over, but this indeed puts a nail in that coffin.Average Joe wants to know who to start each week. Who's he gonna turn to? -- Vegas bookmakers, or websites?
Click to expand...
Prop bets been around forever. Some books had "highest scoring fantasy qb/rb/wr" bets last year. Listed about 30 different guys and gave (usually crappy) odds on all of them.
Click to expand...
:moneybag: Um, yeah, like they've scratched the surface.
 
Maurile Tremblay said:
mad sweeney said:
This seems to me to be a dangerous step, at least in the NFL's eyes. Makes it a heck of a lot easier for individual players to get caught up in shaving points or otherwise adjusting their performance for financial gain. When there are 11 guys out there it's hard for one to affect the game as much as when all the money is put on one guy's individual performance. Whether it actually happens or not it could lead to the perception of happening. I'd be willing to bet that Goodell hates this. In addition to the perception of FF changing, it's a bit of a possibility of casting doubt on the integrity of the NFL itself. I'm not necessarily against it, but that's the first thing I thought of.
Click to expand...
Good point. The NFL isn't going to be able to do anything about the offshore stuff, but I think there's a chance the Vegas books will cap the amount any single person can wager at a fairly low amount (like under $1000). Not just because the NFL will want them to, but to protect themselves from losing because a player manipulated his performance. Come to think of it, the offshore books will probably put a fairly low cap on their bets as well, for the same reason.
Click to expand...
There have been online books for years which create a fantasy line to be wagered upon. There used to be "BetonFantasy.com"... but I believe they left their legs open by setting weak lines and underestimating the intelligence of the average fantasy geek. They shut down and haven't been heard from again. The book I primarily use, Olympic Sportsbook, has fantasy props every week. Not just this 8 QBs, 8 RBs and 8 WRs crap. They have a ton of player props. Often times, you'll see far better value in a fantasy prop than you will a wager on the game itself. We eat and breathe fantasy football. You just know when they set a number (o/u rushing yards for a player, etc.) which is a little "off."But for the most part, there is indeed a nickel limit on player props. Every now and then, you can call a supervisor and get special permission to send in a grand on one of their props, but you'd better catch them in as good mood. The answer is typically no. The only other recourse is having a buddy of yours put in a max bet for you using his account.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

JohnnyU
Does this happen in the NFL?
Replies
18
Views
501
Stinkin Ref
Stinkin Ref
Joe Bryant
Bob Harris' Fantasy Football Notebook
Replies
17
Views
2K
Bri
B
Joe Bryant
Article In The Atlantic: Legalizing Sports Gambling Was A Huge Mistake
2 3 4
Replies
151
Views
4K
bolldpt
bolldpt

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back
Top