Legal Betting: A Gambler's Paradise
As a visitor to London, one of the first things you notice is
the plethora of betting shops. They’re everywhere. You
can’t walk a city block without passing at least one
bookmaker. Gambling is 100% legal in the UK and placing a bet
is as easy as buying a quart of milk. What a refreshing
contrast to the draconian treatment of betting we endure
across the pond. But it’s not just the law that’s
different over here. There’s a completely different gambling
culture. The key distinction is not that gambling is legal,
but that it’s socially acceptable. Betting is seen as a
perfectly normal human activity, not a shameful, unspeakable
act done secretly by the dregs of society. In fact, the Brits
are very much a nation of bettors (or ‘punters’ as they
would say). Pick up a newspaper and you’ll find
sportswriters talking about bizarre things like ‘odds’ and
‘value.’ Watch a soccer game on TV and you’ll notice the
announcer mentioning the odds more than a few times. Gambling
has permeated the society to such a degree that people use
expressions like ‘odds-on’, ‘one horse race’, and
‘bookie’s fave’ when referring to situations in everyday
life that have nothing to do with betting. If two people are
having an argument, it doesn’t take long for one of them to
suggest a friendly wager to settle the dispute. The Brits bet
on anything and everything imaginable: reality TV shows,
politics, and even the weather. Ridiculous Superbowl-style
props are common every weekend of the year for soccer matches.
For example, you can bet on the total produced by adding
together the shirt numbers of the all the goal scorers in a
game. (Don’t ask)
Gambling is just one of many areas where the British are more
tolerant. The whole Nipplegate fiasco was met with confusion
at first and then laughter at how uptight America is about
stuff like this. In Britain you can see nipples on prime time
TV, in mainstream magazines, and even on page 3 of the daily
newspaper. They know it’s harmless, and that’s why the
Brits allow it - and the same is true of gambling. On our side
of the Atlantic we can buy lottery tickets, play the stock
market, even visit the odd casino - all of which are risky
activities that can be called ‘gambling.’ But we can’t
wager on sports. We are allowed to smoke cigarettes and drink
alcohol - activities that can kill if taken to excess - but we
can’t be trusted to place a wager on a football game. . .
OK, OK, I’m preaching to the converted, but let’s take a
look at how we’d benefit from a legalized and regulated
betting industry.
Sports betting is an $80 billion industry in the UK and
employs thousands of people in betting shops, call centres and
racecourses across the country. As a bettor, you can take
comfort knowing that the biggest bookmakers have been in
business for decades. The UK betting and gaming industry is
regulated by some of the strictest gambling legislation in the
world. There’s absolutely no reason to worry about payouts.
And if you’re a professional, you don’t have to worry
about your account being closed or stakes being limited: just
walk into a different betting shop and wager anonymously.
But legalization is often not enough. A healthy betting
industry needs sensible regulation to succeed. Until recently,
British bettors had to pay a sales tax of 6.75% on their total
stakes. So a $110 football bet with standard juice becomes
$117.43. Since the vast majority of bettors lose money in the
long run, it’s hardly fair to tax them on top of that.
Recognizing this problem, the regulatory authority introduced
the Gross Profits Tax in 2001 to reform taxation of the
betting industry. The 6.75% betting tax was replaced by a 15%
tax on bookmakers gross profits. This had a revolutionary
effect on the industry because bettors could now wager
tax-free. Sports betting increased by 20% and thousands of new
jobs were created. Under the old system, British books found
it hard to compete with the hundreds of tax-free offshore
sportsbooks, so they started offshore operations of their own
in places like Gibraltar. After tax reforms were implemented
they moved back to Britain and billions of dollars were
injected into the UK economy. There are many lessons to be
learned from the British experience with sports betting.
Politicians in North America would be better off studying the
reality of legalized betting before decrying it as unethical,
unviable and undesirable.
Last week: We had 2 out of 3 winners and a small profit of +67
units.
This week’s picks:
Lecce vs. Siena: 2004-03-07 09:00 ET
There’s excellent value in backing Lecce at even money at
home. They’re a streaky team, but right now they’re in top
form. Siena have flopped after an impressive start to the
season and they’ve yet to win on the road, allowing more
road goals than any other team in Serie A (29). Lecce have
relied heavily on striker Javier Chevanton, but he’s at the
top of his game at the moment, and will want to continue
impressing some of Europe’s top teams so he can get traded
next year. Play on Lecce
Roma vs. Inter Milan: 2004-03-07 09:00 ET
Roma still trail league leaders Milan by five points. They are
in superb form and they’ll take Inter very seriously. Inter
are a solid team, who play decently on the road. But Roma
definitely have the edge in this one. They’re 10-1-1 at home
and have only allowed 5 goals in 12 home games - the lowest in
the league. Roma have also surpassed Juventus as scoring
leaders, averaging nearly 3 goals per game at the Olympic
Stadium. Play on Roma
Atletico Madrid vs. Murcia : 2004-03-07 15:00 ET
Murcia have scored fewer goals on the road than any other team
(7). Atletico have the best home defence in the league,
conceding only 8 goals. Don’t expect Murcia to find the back
of the net in this match. Atletico, on the other hand, is one
of the higher scoring teams and they’ve only lost one game
at home this season. Murcia have allowed 22 goals in 12 road
games and have never won a match on the road. When these teams
met in Murcia last October Atletico won 3-1. Play on
Atletico Madrid
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