Bucks Writs - Spring 2019 - 27

accessible anywhere within the state at any time. Setting
up a deposit account is fairly simple, as is the placing of
bets with the same odds as are available in the sportsbooks.
Sports betting is in play in Pennsylvania as well. Parx in
Bensalem, the Valley Forge Casino and the Valley Forge
Turf Club in Oaks are among the closest locations, along
with several Philadelphia options. Parx offers betting kiosks
to avoid lines and perhaps encourage more action. The
self-service kiosks are reminiscent of Wawa - ordering lunch
and placing bets could not be easier. Pennsylvania promises
online options as soon as "Spring." A betting man would
expect that online gambling will be available throughout
the Commonwealth by the time you read this.

companies. Leading the league, if you will, is MGM Resorts,
which has contracted with Major League Baseball, the NBA
and the NHL. Caesars Entertainment has partnered with the
NFL. The idea is that not only are there cross-promotions and
use of league (and teams) logos to boost branding, but these
casinos now receive exclusive up to date "enhanced statistics"
and other proprietary content and information, including
injury updates. In short, the more complete the information
received, the more accurate the betting line and odds that the
casino establishes, the more money it will make. Whether you
were a street corner bookie or are a large multinational casino
operation, the goal has always been to have nearly equal
money wagered on each side of the proposition or game.

Sports betting is in play in Pennsylvania as well. Parx in Bensalem, the Valley Forge Casino
and the Valley Forge Turf Club in Oaks are among the closest locations, along with several
Philadelphia options. Parx offers betting kiosks to avoid lines and perhaps encourage more
action. The self-service kiosks are reminiscent of Wawa - ordering lunch and placing bets
could not be easier. Pennsylvania promises online options as soon as "Spring."
Unlike other forms of gambling, access to additional
information can swing the odds. There have long been
professional sports gamblers based in Nevada. The ongoing
research done on the various teams, players, weather, trends,
and injuries is often monetized to seek that ever elusive
edge. Accordingly, information useful to the sports better
has popped up almost everywhere. Sure, the sports page
has always listed the point spreads. Now, however, there are
articles, analyses and betting tips designed to benefit the
average sports gambler. The number of newsletters and web
sites, both free and by subscription, have proliferated. The
Philadelphia 76ers (and other teams) have recently experimented with alternate TV coverage of its games geared to
sports betting, where commentary and analysis from the
hosts includes discussion about the odds and point spreads
and features unique graphics with betting information. It is
safe to say that the genie is out of the bottle.

The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement recently
reported that its sports gambling operators took in $372.5
million in bets in March, boosted by the NCAA Basketball
Tournament, for a total of $2.32 billion in the nine-anda-half months since legal gambling began. New Jersey
taxes sports gambling net revenues at 9.75% (13% for
online), which is considerable. Nevada, for instance, taxes
at only 6.75%. Pennsylvania "gambled" by establishing
the nation's highest tax rate at 36%, but seems to have
no reason to scale it back. The casinos and its customers,
the sports leagues and their fans, the media and the taxing
jurisdictions are all thrilled with the new normal. 

TANKER WINS BCBA BRACKET CHALLENGE
Congratulations to Adam Tanker for winning the
annual Young Lawyers Division March Madness bracket
challenge. He bested 43 other entries. Remarkably, he
not only had the University of Virginia going all the
way, but essentially led the pool from wire to wire,
through all three weekends of the tournament. He
finished a strong 11 points ahead of second place
finisher, Rusty Allen. According to CBS Sports, which
provides the "Bracket Games" application, while 8.3%
of all brackets globally had Virginia winning it all, only
0.028% had predicted the correct Final Four.

Cynics have always questioned why the various sports leagues
opposed legal gambling for so long. After all, any interest
in the games is good for business. Illegal sports gambling
has always driven conversation and passion about even the
least consequential game. The NBA was the first league to
come around to recognize and accept the inevitability of
legal sports gambling and how it can partner accordingly.
Now, there are lucrative contracts between every league
and most professional teams with the major casino/betting
27

SPRING 2019

Bucks Writs - Spring 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Bucks Writs - Spring 2019