SportsBooks In Mainstream Media
Gamblers say that there is no such thing as a sure bet in the world but we most certainly disagree. Here’s one for you- the media will always report whatever they feel is in their best interests, regardless whether or not it actually contains some semblance of truth to it. Take sports betting, for example, and you’ll see a picture portrayed by the US media that makes gambling seem like some evil, corrupted system that takes honest family men and turns them into heathens. Heck, they can’t even tell the truth about whether or not it is actually legal…probably because they do not even know what sports betting really is.
The Birth of Sportsbooks in the USA
Then again, you can not fully blame the press in this one instance, especially due to the history that sports betting has inside the United States. All a reader has to do it go back forty or fifty years and they will see a completely different picture of the gambling world within the US- intimidating bookies standing on street corners within the worst of neighborhoods, late night collection runs that were often administered with a baseball bat, and a complex crime syndicate that had ties to the biggest mob bosses all over the world.
How the First Bookies Operated
Sports betting back in those days was serious business; a losing bet could easily cost you a heck of a lot more than you bargained for. If you wanted to place a bet but you didn’t have any money, no problem! Your friendly neighborhood loan shark would take the bet on your behalf for almost any amount you could imagine, and when you won it was all smiles and kisses. Of course, the thug wasn’t about to pay you the winnings until you placed a dozen or more wagers with him, and during this extended time period your personal loan was building interest at 5-30% per day. Even if you won big money, you usually ended up losing almost everything you owned…including some fingers.
Modern Sportsbooks and the Media
Of course, the sports betting industry is nowhere near as hazardous as it once was back in the day, but that does not mean that the media has changed their tune when it comes to casinos and sports books. According to your local press, the street thugs have simply exchanged their baseball bats for suits and fancy offices while moving from the slums to a flashy hotspot on the Vegas strip. While we make absolutely no claim that the gambling industry executives should be nominated to sing in the local church pageant, the sports book world is certainly as legitimate as any other business inside the United States.
The Sportsbook/Media Balance
The thing about the media is that they really are smarter than we give them credit for; reporters hop on the phone and contact the public relations departments of brick and mortar casinos everyday. The conversation normally starts with something like, “Hi, I’m being paid by so and so magazine to write an editorial review on your establishment. Do you have any recommendations for my stay there?”
What they’re really trying to say is, “Hi, I’m a reporter and I’m a lot more corrupt than the stuff I write about everyday. If you give me a bunch of free comps, I’ll give you rave reviews in so and so magazine.” Nothing is free in Las Vegas or Atlantic City…not even the truth in local newspapers.
The Media and Online Sports Betting
Of course, since the media is finally embracing the benefits of large gambling towns across the United States, they now require a new topic that they can refer to as the ultimate in corruption and evil. As you can probably guess, that subject conveniently became the online sportsbooks that can be found throughout cyberspace. Never mind that places like Sports Interaction are regulated by the Canadian government and they actually offer better betting lines than Vegas, Atlantic City, or the Bahamas combined; the media makes them out to be the scum of the Earth and everything else they used to say about traditional betting establishments.
