Part 3 | Behind the Book: The History Behind WagerEasy
(continued from previous blog, Part 2)
According to industry insiders, for every dollar bet legally there is still seven dollars going offshore.
According to industry insiders...
Many offshore operators may be legal in the part of the world where they are based but illegal in the United States. Will states allow these offshore operators to jump on board and go legit? According to some regulators, these scofflaws need to make the move immediately to go legit and obtain a license, or be forever barred. In Chicago, a north shore butcher was recently sentenced to a year in prison for illegal sports betting and ordered to pay restitution of 1.4 million even though legislation had been passed approving sports betting in June, 2019, and the first legal sports bets placed in Illinois in March, 2020.
The fact that a great deal of money is still bet offshore shows how far legit sports betting companies have yet to go to “capture” the customer. If you are in a state that has legalized sports betting, all one needs to do is turn on the television to see the extent companies are going to sign up customers. Their promotional efforts include free bets and profit boosts under certain conditions (read the fine print).
Roadblocks remain for sports betting. New York has still not approved mobile sports betting. The New York customer has to cross state lines to New Jersey or Pennsylvania or travel to one of the upstate New York casinos. The experienced sports books in Las Vegas still limit the amount a sharp player can bet on a certain sporting event. The amount of taxes and regulation vary amongst the states while operating companies seek uniformity.
Change came fast with sports betting but since each state must promulgate its own laws the industry is still an evolving market in the United States.
- WagerEasy and the Wager Series of Mystery-Thrillers -
What if during this time of disruption in November, 2018, there is a murder? And what if the victim is killed in a way that reeks of organized crime and the victim happens to work for one of these sports betting Euro conglomerates trying to snatch a front row seat in the soon-to-be-legalized Chicago sports betting market?
Well, it does happen in WagerEasy.
