Requiem for a Sports Bettor

 Requiem to a Sports Bettor

Gambling on sport has never been easier or more risky. However, with the influx of Europe-based businesses in the game, pros feel squeezed and routinely get banned from prying their trade. Is this the end for professional sports bettors?

Gadoon KYrollos informs me that he is not a bookmaker as we stroll through Atlantic City's Hard Rock Casino, where we play penny slot machines. Kyrollos is a sports bettor. In fact, he is one of America's highest-rolling bettors. He places millions of dollars annually on sporting events, including the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest and NFL games. He's well-known in the gambling industry as Spanky. His hoodie and sweatpants look almost like a 40-year old Little Rascal. But his backpack isn't filled with school books and snacks. It's full of bricks of cash worth almost $150,000.

"Bookmakers hang numbers," he says, pantomiming holding a gun to his eye and pulling out the trigger. "And they snipe me."

Spanky is captivated with the penny slot machine, despite the fact that he has a bag filled with money. He pumps in one bill after the other. He consults a spreadsheet to figure out how to play the particular machine. It is called "plus Ev," which means that the player has a greater advantage than the machine over the long term. "This is some real insider sh*t I'm showing to you right now," he says, referring his spreadsheet that has formulas for dozens slot machines. "It's probably an edge around $12, but you'd still bend down to grab it if you could see $12 on the street."

Spanky should know the difference between betting or bookmaking. Many people don't appreciate this distinction. In 2012, Queens' district attorney charged Spanky for bookmaking. He claims that the charge stemmed out of a widespread misinterpretation about the business.

The misunderstanding will spread like wildfire. Last year, the Supreme Court invalidated the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (92), allowing individual states to remove restrictions and regulate bookmaking. New Jersey, the state where Spanky grew-up, was among the first to adopt this law. The result has been a gold rush within a little over a year. New Jersey has now got 10 and 14 online betting sites that have already processed more than $1.5 million in wagers. Seven other states are now following New Jersey's lead and 29 more are currently reviewing sports-wagering legislation in their respective state legislatures. Many professional gamblers are concerned about how the American business is evolving. Spanky has invited me to Atlantic City to get more information on what he calls "the dying art form" in bookmaking. He will help me learn how to bet like an expert by pooling our money. This will allow me to witness firsthand the destruction of the art and professions of betting by the corporations taking over the US sports betting industry.

As we walk down Atlantic City's boardwalk on a cold Monday night of March, the 40 year-old Spanky questions me about my knowledge in sports betting. "If I say you should place a bet on the over at 134.5 and the number is 135, can you make a bet?" I answer, not knowing if I am correct but trying not to fumble. "That's right. "What if I said that you should bet the Lakers +7 number and the number 7.5? Would you still bet it?" I answered, more confident this time.

"See? You know what your doing. "But you'd be shocked at how many people struggle with that." I don’t tell him that I wouldn’t be surprised at any. We stop at Ocean Casino, at the end the boardwalk. Spanky hands me my backpack. "I have to go. I don't want you to be photographed with me." He asks me, trying to conceal my concern. "They won't let me gamble in there. If they could see you talking to me, they wouldn't allow you to bet.

Eilers & Krejcik Gaming says that sports gamblers can be divided into seven categories. These include casual dabblers (status seekers), super fans, action chasers as well as would-be pros and high rollers. They all exist on a spectrum. Some of these individuals develop into others as they progress from casual dabblers to the coveted sharps--the players who are able beat the house advantage on a regular basis. Spanky was all seven at some point. He's a well-known player among all major bookmakers around the world. This means that his chances of winning are usually limited. It can be a sign that his actions aren’t appreciated by bookmakers.

Spanky shakes mine hand, then turns and walks along the boardwalk. I take deep breaths, lift the heavy backpack filled with cash over my shoulder and head to the casino.

Since bookmaking was legalized in New Jersey in less than a year, many European companies have joined the fray to offer their services to racetracks and casinos that are licensed to take sports bets. These companies offer a turnkey operation that includes quantitative analysts, technology for mobile wagering, modeling and software for profiling and managing risk, as well as access to data from international sports leagues. These companies can offer help for casino and racetracks who aren't sure how to run a betting site or are afraid to get involved in high-risk gambling. Paris Smith, CEO of Pinnacle, a Curacao-based sportsbook, says that the U.S. is seen as the land of opportunity in the industry. It is also considered a prize for European operators and suppliers who have been able to endure the maturation, saturation and consolidation of its markets in recent decades."

The rapid expansion of some European companies on the American markets is concerning for professionals and gamblers. Many see the European model for bookmaking as hostile towards winning players. During a panel discussion entitled "Skin in the Game. Sports Gambling's Emergence in the U.S." at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics conference this year, Jeff Ma challenged Sharon Otterman (a U.K.-based bookmaker William Hill) about their perceived policy of aggressively limiting or banning winning players. Otterman stated that she has a business. We aren't a not-for profit.

Alan Denkenson is a professional sports betting expert. He believes that the explanation is simpler than this. I was told by him that it's much easier to book your money using squares. William Hill still allows him to place bets, but "right now I am one of their sharper wagerers because they've thrown everybody out." They will eventually throw me out and someone will replace me. ... You can lose when you make big bets. If you try to make $20K, you will be kicked out. why sports bettors win and why they lose