- 3 months ago
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00We do start off with a sports betting story that just broke about an hour ago from ESPN.
00:05It looks like college basketball, once again, the center of attention.
00:08Potential indictments coming in a scandal from December of last year to January.
00:13Nine sports books across 13 U.S. states and Canada have flagged unusual betting activity,
00:18and they're looking into it involving a large or repetitive first half wager that consistently paid off smaller schools.
00:25There's right now a gentleman by the name of Marvis Faley, who's from Mississippi, who sells his betting picks,
00:32identified in an internal sportsbook document as a central figure.
00:37He denies involvement.
00:38Naturally, college basketball will look into the situation and figure out if it indeed is legitimate or if it is much ado about nothing.
00:46Sometimes these ends up being that, so we will see.
00:48Steelers and Bengals played last night.
00:50Very exciting finish and very exciting game involving two of the oldest quarterbacks in the National Football League in Aaron Rodgers and Joe Flacco.
00:59Flacco ended up getting the better of it, and he had a dial-it-back time game, 33-31 the final.
01:06Huge game also for Jamar Chase in this one.
01:0923 targets, 16 catches, 161 yards, and a touchdown.
01:17So, finally, if you drafted him first overall in fantasy football, you're in good shape going into the weekend.
01:23Meanwhile, Steelers no slouch as well.
01:24They had a nice game on offense with Aaron Rodgers, throwing a bunch of touchdowns as well.
01:28Let's hear first from the winners, Joe Flacco, on what it's all about being back in the league and succeeding.
01:35Yeah, this is what we do it for is games like that.
01:38It came down to the wire just like we know it's going to, and I'm really, really happy about how the guys just kind of stayed with it for a full 60 minutes.
01:49And, man, our offensive line was going today, you know.
01:54We're running the football, protecting, you know, doing a lot of things that we wanted to do.
01:58So, how cool is it to see Joe Flacco as a bangle and obviously winning for you guys now?
02:06It's honestly good having him here for us, you know what I'm saying?
02:10Organization made a big jump on him.
02:12We believed him.
02:13We got him.
02:13So, he came in doing his thing and showing off for us.
02:16What did it mean for him to go right back to you when you had that play that was really an incomplete on the sideline and obviously the touchdown right away just going right back to you?
02:25Well, we already had the next play in already, and they said I was, they said it was incomplete, and we was already in the middle of calling another play, and then, you know, we just called it again.
02:40Meanwhile, the Steelers came up just short in this one.
02:43After the game, Mike Tomlin said the team did enough, but the Bengals did a bit more.
02:49You know, a tough hard fork game, but certainly got to give credit to those guys, the Bengals.
02:54They did what was required to win.
02:56They made a few more plays than we did.
02:59Just from an analysis perspective, I just thought, you know, the first half, we allowed them to run the ball too much.
03:08I think they had about 100 yards rushing at the half, and then we turned the ball over a couple times.
03:14And so, that just kind of set a negative trajectory, and we're fighting uphill the rest of the way.
03:18I certainly appreciate the fight, but, man, we got to be cleaner.
03:22We got to be better, and we weren't tonight.
03:25Well, I think you got to realize, listen, we want to win every game.
03:29There needs to be an expectation of winning, but this is a short week, division opponent, anything can happen.
03:35Obviously, Joe played really well for them, and Chase and T got going for them.
03:42This is the NFL.
03:43You know, we had a chance to really open up some space, but we're 4-2.
03:47Still first in the division, got a couple, you know, home games coming up, back-to-back, another Sunday night opportunity against my former team.
03:56So, I'm not going to ride the roller coaster, and I know Mike isn't, and hopefully you guys follow suit.
04:03Meanwhile, the National League Championship Series appears to be all but over.
04:10The Los Angeles Dodgers have pitched their way to a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
04:16They end up beating the Brewers yesterday, final 3-1, another great start for Tyler Glass now.
04:22And surprisingly, the Dodgers' offense really has not come alive, and that would include the probable MVP in Shohei Otani, who's really struggled, but he is expected to pitch Game 4.
04:35Here is Dave Roberts first on the pitching of the Dodgers, which has been stellar.
04:41We're pitching really well.
04:43We're playing very good defense.
04:45Obviously, Shohei's not performing the way, you know, he would like or we expect, but I just know how big of a part he is to this thing, and we've got a long way to go, but I just like the work that he's putting in, and I'll bet on him all day long.
05:00Yeah, I mean, that team's pretty good.
05:03So are we.
05:04We haven't shown our best foot.
05:07Like I said, if you would have told me the Dodgers are going to store 10 runs in three games, what would be the score?
05:13If you said 2-1 us or 1-2 them, you know, you wouldn't say 0-3, but we haven't got the clutch hit.
05:23We haven't.
05:24We've been a little bit, you know, foreign to how we've played in terms of contact.
05:31Now, there wasn't a hard-hit ball hit between two outs in the second and the sixth because it was very difficult to see for hitters.
05:42So take nothing away from Glassnow, who pitched great.
05:45Take nothing away from Miz, who pitched great.
05:48But it was a really tough visual for both teams.
05:51Nobody can think of a hard-hit ball hit during that time.
05:55Game four is this evening between the Dodgers and Brewers.
05:58If L.A. wins behind Shohei Ohtani on the mound, they get back to the World Series.
06:03Meanwhile, the Blue Jays-Mariners series has been flipped on its head.
06:06The road team has won all four games.
06:08They're now tied up at two.
06:10The Blue Jays end up evening it up last night, 8-2 the final.
06:14More offense, more Vlad Jr., but also a pitching performance from a guy who's used to the big games.
06:21Yes, Max Scherzer.
06:23This is like the day of 41- and 42-year-old players we're talking about.
06:28On Newswire today, here's John Schneider on the great start from Scherzer, who led them to the win.
06:36Really good.
06:39Dude's 41.
06:40And I said it before, it's easy to say, before the game, he lives for this.
06:46And you have to respect that and you have to appreciate that.
06:49So, I thought he actually got better as the game went on, to be honest with you.
06:54And the changeup to Naylor, he had really good stuff.
06:58And I think it was just almost too hard of a changeup.
07:00But after that, man, breaking ball, curveball, slider, good, changeup, good, held his velo.
07:09That's why he's going to the Hall of Fame.
07:10You know, I think our guys, you know, have thrown the ball well all season long and have done that.
07:18And, you know, this is, you know, two good teams going at it.
07:21That's what this, you know, the championship series is all about.
07:24And we will make our adjustments and, you know, continue to do that.
07:29And, you know, continue to do the things that we do that make us successful as well.
07:33In college football, we can end the speculation of Kurt Signetti being the next Penn State head coach or anywhere else.
07:40He and Indiana have agreed to terms on a new eight-year contract.
07:43Average annual compensation of $11 million.
07:47It'll run through 2033.
07:49So, he's staying in Bloomington.
07:51Meanwhile, the Green Bay Packers, and specifically Micah Parsons is upset, says that the NFL wants more points.
07:58And therefore, it's changing the officiating in the games.
08:01We'll see how that affects the Packers this week.
08:03CeeDee Lamb says he'll be back for the Cowboys this week.
08:06George Kittle should return for the 49ers.
08:08Garrett Wilson, wide receiver for the Jets, is out for the upcoming game this week.
08:13And a short time ago, Puka Nakua of the Rams ruled out for the Rams game in London against Jacksonville.
08:20Welcome back to Newswire.
08:21We've got Robert Linehan in the house today making an appearance with us here on Sports Grid.
08:25Robert, of course, works for Sport Radar and covers a lot of the betting industry and things that are technically not betting, as they say, but appear to be betting to all of us.
08:35Robert, thanks for coming on Newswire.
08:37Really appreciate it.
08:38And, yeah, I mean, most of your time, most of our time when it comes to sports betting is the discussion on prediction markets and companies like Kalshi and Robinhood.
08:46They seem to just be continuing this slow push toward becoming legal, which essentially is what's happened.
08:56They're open for business in states that sports betting is illegal because they say that they're not.
09:01I'm starting to see commercials and ads.
09:04And it seems to me right now, Robert, they're saying, well, if no one tells us to stop, why would we?
09:11Craig, thanks for having me on.
09:13Yeah, I know my title, you know, says sports betting and iGaming regulatory writer, but I feel like for the last six months or so, you could just call it a sports prediction regulatory writer at this point because it's all anyone in this industry is reporting on right now.
09:30You certainly touched on it in the fact that these companies like Kalshi and Robinhood and Crypto.com and, you know, even a couple of gaming companies are really pushing hard throughout all 50 states with sports event contracts.
09:49Which, you know, basically some states and some state gaming commissions are, you know, they've got a problem with and you can see why.
10:02Recently, Nevada, the Nevada Gaming Control Board joined the ranks of several other gaming commissions that sent letters, sent letters to their licensed gaming operators in the state saying, hey, look, we don't want you even thinking about offering sports event contracts.
10:21We don't want you partnering with any of these prediction market companies.
10:25We don't want you doing that in Nevada, and we don't even want you partnering with these companies if they don't do any business in Nevada, if they only offer these types of markets in other states.
10:34It's a very serious letter and a very serious warning to some of their gaming license holders.
10:43Basically, they said that, you know, if they are found to be partnering with these companies or offering these contracts, disciplinary action could be taken against them.
10:52And they even said that, hey, look, when we determine if you're suitable to hold a gaming license in the future, this will absolutely come into play when we make our decision.
11:04It was a very similar letter that the Ohio Gaming Control Board, Gaming Commission, excuse me, sent to licensed sports betting operators in their state over the summer.
11:17And it just shows that, you know, some of these boards, some of these regulatory boards, they've had it with these contracts, these sports event contract markets.
11:28They don't pay, you know, they don't pay the licensing fees that licensed operators pay.
11:33They're not beholden to the same tax rates, even though these boards would argue that they're basically offering sports betting.
11:39They don't have the same KYC regulations.
11:42They don't provide the same responsible gaming programs that licensed operators are supposed to provide.
11:49There's no integrity of sport event integrity monitoring.
11:53So, you know, before we jumped on, you said it was almost like the Wild West and it really is in many ways.
11:59You know, all you have to be is 18.
12:02You have to create an account and then you can start trading these contracts, which these companies say aren't sports betting.
12:09But, you know, you could you're basically taking one side or the other if a team will cover a spread or reach a certain total or win a game.
12:19I mean, it's just it's all we're seeing right now.
12:22And it's by far the biggest story in the in the industry.
12:25Excuse me.
12:26Yeah, it reminds me of when sports betting went live initially here in my home state, Robert, in Florida, where the Hard Rock app just said, hey, we have sports betting.
12:34And they went live.
12:35They hung around for a while.
12:37Then it went back to court.
12:38They shut it down and then they opened it back up again.
12:41And I feel like we could be headed in that same direction.
12:43What is interesting is that you don't really hear a lot from FanDuel and DraftKings, the industry leaders in sports betting here.
12:49And it seems to me, Robert, that it's like one of those if you can't beat them, join them.
12:53But BetMGM, at the very least, doesn't seem to be one of those companies.
12:57And it makes sense because, you know, their operation is going to be based on not being first or second in the industry.
13:03They can't afford to fall any further.
13:06Absolutely.
13:07I mean, you mentioned FanDuel and DraftKings.
13:09Both of those companies, FanDuel has said that they're going to start offering prediction market contracts by the end of the year.
13:16They have not yet said anything about event contracts, sports event contracts.
13:20But you can be sure that they're thinking about it and it could be rolled out when they roll out the prediction market contracts as well.
13:28DraftKings has also shown interest in offering these markets.
13:32But like you said, BetMGM and their CEO, Adam Greenblatt, they recently, during this week's Q3 earnings call, Greenblatt really had the most damning statement of any gaming operator that I've seen against sports event contracts.
13:52Basically, you can see Sam McQuillen, a great reporter for Legal Sports Report there, quoted him, you know, basically he's saying, Greenblatt is saying that sports event contracts are illegal sports betting.
14:05Um, and he, you know, basically ran through the problems that he had with it that I've talked about here a couple minutes ago.
14:12But he said BetMGM is not going to be participating.
14:15They're not going to be getting into this industry.
14:18Um, over the summer, he had mentioned, uh, that they certainly weren't going to be a first actor in this.
14:25Uh, but I think you can see now that they are not going to be getting into this industry.
14:30He believes it's illegal sports betting.
14:32Um, he doesn't, I believe in his comments, he said that he has not seen really an erosion of, uh, sports betting handle and revenues for BetMGM as part of the, uh, event contract markets.
14:46And he doesn't think it's worthwhile to get into.
14:49So certainly an interesting counterpoint to what you're seeing from some of these other operators.
14:55Like you said, DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatic Sportsbook is looking to get into the business.
15:00Um, Underdog, uh, the DFS company and the small sports betting company is now currently offering sports prediction market contracts on its app through a partnership with crypto.com.
15:11I believe PrizePix is looking to get into this.
15:14So this is something that everyone's looking to get into except BetMGM.
15:18They took a stand and they're going to stick with it.
15:21Yeah.
15:22And, and interesting that they do and FanDuel and DraftKings just seemingly are like, all right, well, you'll maybe go the other way.
15:28We'll see.
15:29I think by the end of the year, we'll have more clarity on it.
15:31Uh, okay.
15:32So let's get back to the state of New York.
15:34PrizePix initially decided to bail out of New York, I believe last year.
15:38Now they're reentering.
15:39So if you could just catch people up, Robert, why that happened and where things stand.
15:43Absolutely.
15:44Absolutely.
15:45So PrizePix left the state in early 2024 after the New York State Gaming Commission fined them $15 million for basically operating without, uh, I believe in New York, it's called interactive fantasy sports license, which is basically just a DFS license.
16:04Um, they left the state, they were offering their free to play contest in New York, but this week they said they announced that the New York State Gaming Commission awarded them an IFS license and they're coming back into the state to offer their peer to peer contest in the following weeks.
16:23Um, you know, we don't have a date on when they're going to launch the contest yet, but it should, it should be soon.
16:29Uh, it, it, it's good news for PrizePix.
16:32Um, you know, New York is a giant market.
16:34Obviously it was by far their biggest market before they left last year.
16:39Uh, and with everything in California, certainly being in flux right now with the attorney general basically saying that DFS contests were illegal.
16:47Uh, this is just a win for them.
16:49They're going to be able to get this gigantic marketplace back.
16:52Uh, they'll be able to bolster their DFS business if anything happens in California.
16:57And it's just good news for them.
16:59Robert, great stuff as always.
17:01Thanks again for coming on Newswire.
17:03We really appreciate it.
17:04And we'll catch up again down the line.
17:06Thanks again for coming on.
17:07Greg, thanks so much for having me.
17:09Greg, thanks so much for having me.
Be the first to comment