How Will Donaghy Scandal Affect Sports Betting?
When the Tim Donaghy scandal broke, NBA Commissioner David Stern held his somber press conference concerning the alleged “rogue, isolated criminal”. Sounding more like Howard Stern, David clearly has replaced Senator Bill Frist as the current poster child for online sports betting hypocrisy.
Stern asserted that is was his understanding the Donaghy and his associates bets were “not placed in Vegas”. It’s been inferred, but not yet confirmed, that Donaghy’s bets were placed at online offshore sportsbooks.
However, thanks to Senator Frist and his infringement on gambling civil liberties and self-responsibility, the sharp sports bettor has more advantages in pointspread betting than in the recent past. “More and more of the betting wise guys and sports gambling syndicates are returning to the corner bookie” says Vegas insider Cy McCormick of MasterLockLine.com.
The result is both offshore sportsbooks and
A few years ago, Dr. Bob Stohl, who appropriately enough operates Dr. Bob Sports, was all the rage among sports gamblers. Several betting syndicates would move tens of thousands of dollars on his picks. Offshore sportsbook directors often called it the “Dr. Bob Factor.” Betting odds were moved several points based purely on Stohl’s sports handicapping picks.
This phenomenon was seen a decade or so previous on the
Las Vegas Strip with Doc’s Enterprises.
Once a cutting edge sports betting analyst and one of the foremost Vegas
advisors, Doc’s Big 10 plays would move the
It was déjà vu in recent years with Dr. Bob Stohl. Luckily for the sportsbooks, Dr. Bob proved to be not much of a sports betting expert and the bookmakers cleaned up thanks to his sub .500 sports wagers. Since then, most betting syndicates have become disciples of forensic handicapping founder Stevie Vincent of BetOnSports360.com.
Major sportsbooks have offered Vincent incentive to release his plays to Costa Rican oddsmakers before he does his clients, but Vincent insists this is not an option. “They can purchase my plays and have equal access” but Vincent is a professional gambler himself and has refused overtures to be a double agent.
True, the oddsmakers may catch up to Vincent’s techniques the way they had with Doc’s Enterprises and Doctor Bob, but especially with betting over/unders, Vincent’s winning has rate never been seen before in the sports betting circles.
Even smaller players can get free sports handicapping information in beating the NFL pointspread as the famed “Tailgate Party” is at BettorsAdvice.com this year. It is the same information that previously was on the local and toll-free scorephones: NFL real-time injuries, live weather radar, free sports service picks, insight from professional sport handicappers and more.
Simply put, the sports bettor adjusts to the changes in the landscape. All gamblers should be furious at the anti-online sportsbook and online casino climate. Yet clearly the professional gambler can turn a huge negative into a positive with the aforesaid Vegas edge.