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Originally Posted by horses4courses
I agree with all you say, until the last part.
Never say never - especially when it comes to "easy money".
It's always blown me away how much money can be bet - either legally
or otherwise - on a single game point spread in this country.
The perfect scenario for "fixing" is a huge favorite (say, over 14 points in
either football or basketball) that still wins the game, but doesn't
come close to covering the spread. The casual bystander thinks
nothing of it - after all, the favorite won the game. End of story.
You are correct in saying that pro athletes would be harder to bribe.
College athletes are far more prone to "take a dive".
However, nothing is impossible when large sums of cash are involved.
These types of "non-covering favorite" situations could occur pretty easily
with little risk of detection. Unless, those involved got too greedy and tried it
once too often.
Where would they get the wagers down?
Hard to say, except that large illegal bookmakers might be very interested
in being able to lay large sums at favorable spreads to unsuspecting bettors
in the knowledge that they won't be having to pay out.
This is where the pro sports bodies, and the NCAA, start to cough uncomfortably,
and try to change the topic of discussion.
They always deny that legal books in Nevada are the best possible
barometer for uncovering point-shaving and fixing situations.
Unusual betting patterns can be detected in Nevada pretty easily,
and those responsible actually have a chance of being caught.
This has happened on more than one occasion - an Arizona State
point-shaving scheme comes to mind in 1994.
Under current conditions, with billions being bet illegally
both in the US and with the offshore books, game fixing is far more difficult to detect.
Pro sports, and the NCAA, have no desire to make changes.
They argue their games will become tainted
should gambling on them be legalized beyond Nevada.
They don't want change because they are making billions as things stand.
I won't go into the probable influences on those who lobby politically
for these sports bodies. You can draw your own conclusions.
It's safe to say, though, that all involved do very nicely
under the current state of affairs. They long to maintain the status quo.
This state of inertia, when it comes to sports wagering, goes against the wishes of a growing number of younger voters. It's not a critical issue, by any means, but, like marijuana, it has gained more prominence.
Here's hoping it continues to do so, and that eventually each state
will have a choice as to whether it's residents can wager legally
on a sporting event.
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