Every week, Gamble On listeners hear Poker Hall of Famer Phil Hellmuth’s voice utter the words, “Gamble on, fellas, gamble on,” and they know it’s time for another audio infusion of gambling news, views, interviews, and bankroll blues.
Here’s a taste of what Episode 268 of the leading industry podcast from US Bets, hosted by Eric Raskin and Jeff Edelstein, had to offer …
Andrews: ‘The thing I need most is variety’ 1i6g1j
Interview guest Captain Jack Andrews, a longtime professional gambler/advantage player and the co-founder of the site sports betting bankroll back on track. He suggested they lean more into what they’re good at.
“You both have really strong strengths,” Andrews noted. “Eric has an incredible boxing knowledge. Jeff … is funny.”
More seriously addressing the topic of working through a wagering cold streak, Andrews said:
“Don’t be afraid to take your foot off the gas pedal. Yes, the NFL is only 18 weeks and everybody feels like ‘I gotta get my bets in because it’s not gonna be here.’ … Everybody feels this FOMO that if they don’t bet the NFL, they’re missing out. It’s OK to maybe switch over to another sport or maybe just don’t bet for a little while. Those are viable options.”
Andrews, on his way to coining the term “FaceSportsBook” for a potential future FaceBook sportsbook, had plenty to say aboutmobile sportsbook app wars:
"When it comes to what will be the success of ESPN BET, you gotta think there's a dichotomy here of, they could be SkyBet … or they could be FOX Bet." @capjack2000 assesses the outlook for the major new player in U.S. sports betting on the latest #GambleOn podcast: https://t.co/JpTadTcsM7 pic.twitter.com/W4E1VMsBO9
— US Bets (@US_Bets) November 17, 2023
With the addition of exchange wagering and “sharp books” such as Circa Sportsbook and Prime Sportsbook, has the environment improved for a serious, profited-minded bettor over the last couple of years?
“Look, I’m a sharp bettor, so I’m going to tell you it sucks because I’m going to constantly be pushing people to encourage them to innovate in this market. Because honestly, as a sharp bettor, the thing that I need the most is variety. I need different opinions of lines. I need to be able to line shop between books. I actually probably need a lot of recreational sportsbooks that I can kind of pick off here and there. But I also need sharp books to help shape the market so that I know where the recreational books are the most wrong. I need a lot of surface area.”
And what does the future hold for the industry?
“I like to tell people in five to 10 years, we won’t be betting sports the same way we bet sports today. … I don’t know what the major change will be, but there’s going to be a change. This market has too much capitalistic momentum to not breed innovation into the market.”
News segment nuggets 3r2z3v
- Edelstein declared the launch of ESPN BET “the most mainstream sports betting news to come out post-PASPA,” and he suggested the new sportsbook should not offer NBA Draft and NFL Draft markets due to integrity concerns over information-based wagering markets. On the topic of ESPN employee conflicts of interest, Raskin added: “If you’re concerned about betting-related conflicts of interest now, you should have also been concerned about them before you had your own branded sportsbook. You should actually have been concerned about them before PASPA was overturned.”
- Pick’em sites are trying to pivot with regulators bearing down on their products, and Edelstein has grown weary of the assorted lines being drawn. “How about this,” he said. “Any time that you’re putting money on a sporting event, we’re just gonna call it gambling. Is it fantasy? Is it sports betting? The answer is, yes, it’s gambling.”
- New York sports betting achieved the first ever single-state $2 billion handle month in October, and if people are betting that much legally in 2023, it’s scary to think how much money was being bet illegally in prior years — and still is in many states. “That should be the takeaway for lawmakers in states that don’t have sports betting or that only have one or two operators,” Raskin said, “that every month, citizens of your state are betting way more money than you think at offshore books. Whatever you think the number is, it’s higher than that.”
Bankroll bets and parting thoughts 4u1m3a
The online streets are teeming with sharp bettors sharing advice that just may help people beat the books. Raskin and Edelstein are also online and like to place wagers.
This week’s notable bankroll bets:
- Trey McBride anytime TD, +240
- 6-point teaser: Lions -1.5, Dolphins -6.5, Bills -1, +160
- Cross-sport parlay: Dolphins -11.5/Shakur Stevenson boxing moneyline, +102
Raskin’s Bagels & Locks “lock” of the week (5-3 on the season so far): 49ers -11.5 vs Bucs
Edelstein’s Bagels & Locks “lock” of the week (5-3 on the season so far): Chiefs Eagles over 45.5
Edelstein ends every episode with parting thoughts, and this week, he focused — in his own unfocused way — on the “next big thing” in the sports betting business:
“I don’t know what the next big thing is, but the one thing I do know is that this industry is still in its infancy and … something will happen that will shock us all. … Disney is involved in this now. So you think the Googles and the Amazons and the Microsofts, their ears aren’t perked up a little bit, seeing that Disney is involved here? I think some big players are going to start gearing up to gamble on.”
