Top stories around our network this week
Plenty of seasoned sports bettors are content to practice the craft similar to how their fathers did, even if it may be different that they do so clicking buttons on a phone. When it comes down to it, many still just want to bet the point spread or points total, and maybe they’ll go wild with an occasional prop or futures bet.
But the industry is changing thanks to new technology, and the market is looking to captivate younger bettors in particular with formats that may hold more appeal to them. That’s the thinking behind this week’s launch in New Jersey of Sporttrade, which has followed Prophet Exchange in giving residents of that state — and likely others before long — a form of sports betting more equivalent to the stock trading many users may be more familiar and comfortable with.
At the same time, ScoresAndOdds has new software to help bettors make better use of parlays, and WagerWire is accessing new artificial intelligence to assist customers interested in buying and selling futures bet tickets on the secondary market.
As for another thing past generations never could bet on legally in the U.S., even if it’s common around the world, there are dual developments in the possibilities for futures market trading related to politics. Users of the PredictIt site, where on a small scale people can engage in wagering on election outcomes, have filed suit trying to stop the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission from shutting the site down. The action comes as another futures market operator, Kalshi, seeks the commission’s approval to allow wagering on which party will control Congress after the midterm elections.
The gambling industry is evolving for the public in many ways beyond just letting it consider whether Toledo will upset Ohio State in football action this Saturday (hint: they won’t). We have a group of writers and sites determined to explore and explain all of that and much more, as this past week’s articles show.
I remember the good old days of 2019-21
Sportsbook sign-up bonus offers starting to wither away
But Canadians always used to seem so nice
Frustration growing from sportsbook stakeholders toward Ontario’s regulators
Is there ever any good news in California?
Independent survey reveals uphill battle for California Proposition 27
Let’s talk about how to be responsible
Responsible gambling: A moving target in a mobile world