Originally in 1995 in Ontario, it was widely reported that the Province’s lottery corporation broke under fierce pressure from the NBA and it’s strict anti-gambling stance and removed basketball from its sports lottery.
It was presumed at the time, and reported by a number of Toronto media outlets that the NBA threatened to pull the franchise from Toronto. That was never confirmed as nobody at the NBA would comment.
But oh how times are changing.
Why Betting on Basketball in Canada Now?
Nobody really knows, and some of the related announcements in the past one decade or so took a lot of people by surprise.
Tom Anselmi, the executive vice-president and chief operating officer of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) said earlier that the team has been in negotiations with the league for the last year to have the restriction lifted.
According to Anselmi, it is yet to be done and may be soon things can be implemented.
Betting on Basketball
Betting on basketball is based on a point spread just like football. Odds makers and Line makers, like football, also base most of their handicapping on their power rankings of each team. With basketball it is commonly believed in the betting community that being the road team is a more significant detraction than in any other sport.
Money line wagering and totals are also very popular. A common basketball money line would show the Toronto Raptors +245 at the Atlanta Hawks -290.
A bettor would win $245 for every $100 wagered if Toronto prevails, and have to wager $290 to win $100 if Atlanta wins the game. You can see rather quickly that Atlanta at home is a pretty big favorite.
Totals can be usually seen somewhere between 190 and 220.
David Stern on Gambling
In a groundbreaking interview with Sports Illustrated in early December Stern surprised the professional sports community when he said that he could envision a scenario where legalized gambling could help the league.
He also said that things thereafter could be of a huge opportunity for many gamblers in the country and abroad.
When pressed on how he could even consider legalized sports betting during the ongoing controversy involving disgraced NBA referee Tim Donaghy, he responded on point.
“We used (the Donaghy revelations) as an opportunity to get better, to coordinate with law enforcement and go through a variety of processes that I don’t necessarily want to detail publicly, but you are on ready alert,” he said. And people are here mindful of what is going to happen as there are more-than-interested bystanders in the European football scandal.
“Two-hundred (soccer) games are being looked at by law enforcement across the continent,” he said. “It’s fascinating to see what’s happening. And people are even mindful of the cricket issues, and particularly the World Cup fixtures, of the football referees in Germany – there’s a lot going on.
When Ontario bettors get their hands on legal basketball betting it’s a sure bet that the results will significantly impact the league and its decision making going forward.
America, Canada as well as several more countries are currently undergoing through a period of economy crisis and it is believed sports betting and gambling could help in fixing the situation to some extent like Malaysia betting system. Let us have a brief look below:
Could Gambling save the American and Canada Economy
Lately I came across an article on one of the popular websites about the growing worries of the American economy. The deficit is predicted to hit 1.48 trillion dollars in a couple of years and there are 14 million people estimated looking for work according to reports from the Unemployment Department and other government resources.
It is estimated that the current unemployment rate is 9.4 percent and will not hit below 6 percent.
This is the reason I thought to be researching gambling in the country and if it could save the economy along with create some jobs.
I began my research of the gambling industry and sports wagering in America, and found these facts from the American Gaming Association web page:
Currently in American only two states Hawaii and Utah do not have some form of gambling this includes the lottery, horse or dog tracks, Indian casinos, casinos, poker rooms, bingo halls, extra.
Believe it or not the US Constitution in the 10th and 14th Amendments prohibits sports betting.
Nevada is the only state in America that you can legally wager on sports that does not involve a state lottery or some other system.
The Nevada Sports Gaming Commission reports an average 10 million dollars per year in revenues.
Recently three states Oregon, Montana, Delaware approved sports betting through the Lottery System.
There is currently another 12 to 15 states that are attempting to pass sports wagering in some form.
Your asking why do these states want sports betting and why should America make it legal?
The American Gaming Association that oversees gambling in America reported these facts very recently:
It was estimated that 5.9 Billion dollars was wagered on sports in America.
It was estimated 25.8 billion was wagered on sports worldwide.
Indian Casino Facts from the American Gaming Association:
There are currently around 410 to 428 Indian Casinos in 28 States, which is estimated to employ over 553,000.
Non-Native American employees, and add another 12,000 for river boats and casino boats in America.
Indian casinos have been estimated to make 67 billion dollars per year in revenues.
On-Line GAMBLING Facts from the American Gaming Association:
The American Gaming Association says is a $12 billion dollar industry.
The Justice Department says online gambling is illegal under the Federal Wire Act of 1961.
Despite generating half or more of their revenue from U.S. customers, online gaming companies maintain U.S. laws don’t apply to them because they’re located in places where online gaming is legal, such as England, Costa Rica and Gibraltar.
Recently I also learned that the United States Government is considering to make drastic changes in the online gambling legal again.
No matter how you look at it, gambling could and might be a real answer to America, Canada and the economy of the region.