Tuesday, April 03, 2007
More on Toeldo
Proud partisans at the University are "stunned" that a point shaving scandal could happen on their campus. I was surprised too, but for different reasons. The idea that an operator could get $100k down on a Toledo game without the line adjusting or being taken off the board -- one of you betting hounds can check the data on that -- suggests to me that online sportsbooks may have added a lot of liquidity to the point spread market in recent years.
The other interesting news today is that the perpetrators are being chased down on the basis of a tip to the FBI by Las Vegas Sports Consultants. These are the people who make the initial lines for the Vegas sports books. One thing they do is pore over the betting action, seeing which teams are developing a "following." Or something slightly different in the case of point shaving. It is intriguing that Vegas now runs to the FBI rather than a kneecapping hoodlum to keep the market straight these days.
The other interesting news today is that the perpetrators are being chased down on the basis of a tip to the FBI by Las Vegas Sports Consultants. These are the people who make the initial lines for the Vegas sports books. One thing they do is pore over the betting action, seeing which teams are developing a "following." Or something slightly different in the case of point shaving. It is intriguing that Vegas now runs to the FBI rather than a kneecapping hoodlum to keep the market straight these days.
Labels: college football, NCAA, point shaving
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Point shaving at the University of Toledo?
From the Detroit Free Press.
A running back for the University of Toledo Rockets has been charged with recruiting fellow athletes to shave points and fix games on behalf of a Macomb County gambler.Toledo? I didn't think the betting market was thick enough for crooks to fool with mid-level programs.
A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit said the player, Harvey "Scooter" McDougle Jr., 22, a senior, recruited football and basketball players to participate in the scheme spearheaded by a Sterling Heights man identified only as "Gary."
Gary’s recruitment of players allegedly included inviting the athletes to gamble and dine at Greektown Casino in Detroit.
The complaint said one player was offered $10,000 to sit out a football game. Other players received cash, groceries, merchandise and other gifts, the complaint said.
McDougle told the FBI that he received a car, telephone and other things of value from Gary, but insisted that he never changed the way he played to affect the outcome of games.
Labels: college football, NCAA, point shaving
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Paying Them What They Are Worth Improves the Integrity of Games
Stef Szymanski argues below that monopsonistic exploitation via international competition is a primary driving force behind the fixing of international matches.
We don't hear much about players throwing games/shaving points in major professional team sports in the US these days. We can't say that about past history when player salaries were controlled through monopsonistic practices.
Game fixing is more likely in US collegiate sports than in the pros, primarily men's basketball and football, because the average player receives far less than he's worth - a restriction made, it's often said, for the sake of amateurism. The most likely players to fix games in collegiate sports are those in the money sports who have little shot at a professional career. Taking what amounts to bribes to fix the outcome of games is a way for them to earn income. And while the rent seekers - coaches, athletic directors, and others take extra large slices of the football and basketball pies, the integrity of the games is put at risk
We don't hear much about players throwing games/shaving points in major professional team sports in the US these days. We can't say that about past history when player salaries were controlled through monopsonistic practices.
Game fixing is more likely in US collegiate sports than in the pros, primarily men's basketball and football, because the average player receives far less than he's worth - a restriction made, it's often said, for the sake of amateurism. The most likely players to fix games in collegiate sports are those in the money sports who have little shot at a professional career. Taking what amounts to bribes to fix the outcome of games is a way for them to earn income. And while the rent seekers - coaches, athletic directors, and others take extra large slices of the football and basketball pies, the integrity of the games is put at risk
Labels: gambling, monopsony, point shaving
