House of Lies
Oddsmakers at online bookmaker Sportsbook.com have closed ESPY Awards futures bets due to suspicious betting activity from the New York and Connecticut areas.
(story courtesy of Jon Campbell at Covers)
ESPN is headquartered in Bristol, Connecticut and holds an annual award show – The ESPYS – to honor the top teams and athletes around the world from the past year.
Oddsmaker Mike Perry told Covers an unusual amount of betting activity came in on LeBron James to win best male athlete and the Miami Heat to win best team.
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Todd’s Take: I’m the biggest proponent of the mentality “if you can put a number on it, let people bet it.” However, even my zeal for booking the absurd and encouraging others to do so stops with award shows. I’ve never once trusted the integrity of any event where someone actually knows the winner ahead of time. ESPY’s, Oscars, etc there’s just no benefit to the house for hanging odds on these events once the ballots have been tabulated. I won’t claim to have inside knowledge on the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s agenda but don’t count on seeing bets of this nature accepted anywhere in Vegas if there’s even the slightest hint of impropriety.
