A new frontier and legitimacy
AS VEGAS» Jimmy Vaccaro has seen just about everything in 40 years of taking money behind the counter at sports books in this gambling city.
Until Monday. He had never seen a day like this.
Sports betting is about ready to explode across the nation, thanks to the collective wisdom of the justices on the Supreme Court. Their ruling that states are now free to offer sports betting means it may soon be as easy to bet a $20 parlay in some states as it is to order pizza on the phone.
Almost as important for some, it also wipes away the final stigma on an industry that Vaccaro has made both his occupation and his life.
“People like me have been waiting 35 years for this to happen,” said Vaccaro, who operates the sports book at the South Point hotel. “For a 72yearold bookmaker, it’s special in a very personal way.”
No longer can the Roger Goodells of the world fool anyone with their absurd arguments about the evils of betting. No longer can the NCAA hide behind its archaic fears that college students everywhere will be wagering their scholarship money on Notre Dame plus the points.
Sports betting is now a legitimate industry. And it’s about to go nationwide in a big way.
Imagine, if you can, stopping on the way to the Meadowlands to watch the Jets and putting $20 on them to cover the spread. Better yet, how about sitting in the stands and making bets in real time on your phone?
It’s all coming, and soon. By the time the NFL kicks off next season, there easily could be sports betting in a handful of states, maybe more.
That didn’t exactly send bookies out dancing in the streets of Las Vegas to celebrate. There’s a lot of work to be done, and a lot of jockeying for position among gambling companies and sports book operators.
Yes, there is money to be made. But who makes it and how the major sports leagues are involved — if at all — will be a contentious battle over the coming months.
“It’s a gigantic step but there are so many more issues still to be handled,” Vaccaro said.
No one is certain just how big sports betting will become. Estimates of the betting market in the United States are mostly just guesses because no one really knows how many people like to bet or how much they will end up wagering, though for perspective, Nevada books took in $4.87 billion last year.
If sports betting is regulated like it is in Nevada, it poses no threat to sports leagues or their products.