Each Friday, we’ll comb through as many articles, tweets and podcasts as we can find related to the world of sports betting and daily fantasy sports, and publish the good stuff here.
Stumble upon something you think we should include? Email info@bettingtalk.com.
* * *
The players unions for the four major sports leagues have banded together to say they want to have a voice with sports betting legalization legislation.
“Given the pending Supreme Court decision regarding the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) … The time has come to address not just who profits from sports gambling, but also the costs. Our unions have been discussing the potential impact of legalized gambling on players’ privacy and publicity rights, the integrity of our games and the volatility on our businesses,” the Players Associations said in a joint statement.
“Betting on sports may become widely legal, but we cannot allow those who have lobbied the hardest for sports gambling to be the only ones controlling how it would be ushered into our businesses. The athletes must also have a seat at the table to ensure that players’ rights and the integrity of our games are protected.”
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said legal sports betting would help his organization.
“You have keep in mind that betting is happening right now, with illegal black markets and offshore betting, and we don’t have any exposure to what is happening,” PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan told USA TODAY Sports in his first public comments on the issue. “If it’s legalized and regulated, you get to a point where you can better ensure the integrity of your competitions. You can provide adequate protection for consumers, which doesn’t exist today. There are commercial opportunities for us, which is one of the things we’re here to do, which is to create and maximize playing and financial opportunities for our players.
“And we believe we’d reach a much broader audience.”
The Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets entered the NBA Playoffs as favorites.
The Golden State Warriors are the reigning NBA champions and have won two titles in the past three seasons. They opened the 2017-18 season with the highest win total projection in the NBA at 67.5. And they were prohibitive minus-240 favorites against the field to win the title at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook before the season.Entering the postseason, they are still the favorites in Las Vegas, but the gap has shrunk significantly as of Thursday morning.
The Warriors are 6-5 (+120) favorites at Westgate, while the Houston Rockets are right them behind at 5-4 (+125). Houston entered the season with 12-1 odds, but the Rockets are the No. 1 seed in the West after going 65-17 in the regular season.
The Nashville Predators entered the NHL postseason as favorites to win the Stanley Cup.
The Vegas Golden Knights are the team that Las Vegas bookmakers are most worried about entering the Stanley Cup playoffs, but despite an amazing inaugural season, the Golden Knights aren’t the favorite.
That distinction belongs to the Nashville Predators, who led the NHL in regular-season points with an impressive 117. The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook opened them at 4-1 to hoist the trophy on Monday.