In related news, as expected Delaware Governor Jack Markell has signed legislation legalizing sports betting in that state. Neighboring state New Jersey’s press and lawmakers were quick to react.

Parlayhelp – This guy does a good job of updating regularly and giving you the lowdown on how various handicappers did with their picks from the previous day. Seems useful if you use any of these handicapping services. Also he lets you know about free picks, deals, etc..

SonnyVt – This video channel is not updated regularly any more, but seems to have a decent archive. This guy has his own style and is extremely funny. He also has a number of sports betting related clips on his site (two for the money, rounders, etc..).

SuperDannyD – Super Danny D doesn’t seem to be selling anything which is nice. He has a bit of a dry delivery, but seems to be somewhat knowledgeable and unbiased with his picks.

cfbplacedotcom – Updated regularly with a long history. This guy runs a website and spends a good portion of his videos promoting it. It seems that they will let anyone do a video of their picks and post it on their channel, though I didn’t see any at first glance. Eventually, he does give you some picks and seems to have done his research.

These are just a few of the many video blogs out there, I encourage you to go out and find some more good ones and post the links in the comment section here. Also, if you have a sports betting blog (video or otherwise) you’d like to see reviewed on this site, please send me an email at bob {@} ibet.pro. Thanks!

I found this interesting post by the author of the best-selling book Freakonomics. In it he discusses a recent editorial in the New York Times by noted economist Justin Wolfers in which he seems to suggest that one way to combat the problem of corrupt sports officials is to legalize sports gambling.

It seems that one of the reason that sports betting can easily be fixed is due to the lack of regulation. Increase regulation (presumably by legalizing it) and you reduce the ability of corrupt referees to alter the outcome of games. It seems to me that a determined ref could still alter the outcome of a game with a bad call or two, but I’ll defer to these two brilliant economists on this one.

Jeffers writes on the subject:

The competitive advantage conferred by regulation may also channel problem gamblers into the legal sector. If policymakers build in sufficient safeguards, we can direct victims of compulsive gambling into treatment. Instead, today’s problem gamblers are channeled by illegal bookmakers into ever-higher losses, and their mounting financial pressures sometimes lead to criminal conduct.

Point-shaving is a crime of opportunity, and the opportunity comes from the structure of sports betting markets. The commissioners of the major sports need to address these systemic issues. A transparent and well-regulated gambling sector could easily out-compete the unregulated offshore bookmakers and the illegal onshore ones. More important, it would reduce the number of betting scandals we’re likely to see in the future.

As noted in the Freakonomics blog, Jeffers also offers a link to a paper by a Stanford economist who makes the case that point shaving in the NBA is a regular occurrence.

The folks at bettingmarket.com really got me with their April Fool’s Day post. I call no fair posting this on April the 3rd, but nevetheless I have to give them credit for a hilariously believable yet just slightly absurd post about the “arrest” of Bodog founder Calvin Ayre.

Bodog founder hunted down in Tora Bora

Only three days after the arrest of Betonsport’s Gary Kaplan, news is breaking that the Department of Justice have finally got their hands on their number one target, Calvin Ayre of Bodog. The arrest allegedly occured at 3am GMT in eastern Afghanistan.

As yet unconfirmed reports, suggest that Ayre had gone to Afghanistan to check out the possibility of relocating his company Bodog toTora Bora, an area located in the White Mountains in eastern Afghanistan, southeast of Kabul and southwest of Jalalabad, near the Pakistan border.

Continued at Bettingmarket.com

NETELLER released a statement yesterday declaring that a deal with the U.S. Attorney General’s office had been made that will allow the money to be returned, and that a plan will be revealed within 75 days.

It’s a relief to finally here something positive coming from Neteller. The previous silence was starting to be disheartening.

On an unrelated note, I started a new website I think a lot of you will appreciate. The site is called FIGHTER.PRO and it’s a social network (ala Myspace) for Mixed Martial Arts fans and professional fighters to interact. There are already a few fighters signed up and tons of videos, photos and other good stuff loaded on the site. If you like this blog, please take a second to go over and check it out!

My new favorite blog Neteller Watch reports that Congressman Barney Frank could be working on a bill that would repeal the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and also that charges may be dropped against the recently arrested Neteller directors.

I grew up in Barney’s district and I’m glad to see him taking action on this issue. He’s a smart guy with a lot of years in Congress and I wouldn’t be suprised to see him pull this off. If you happen to live in the 4th Congressional district in Massachusetts and support what he’s doing here, why not take a minute to let him know how you feel?

I just watched an interesting video blog on the European Union’s reaction to the recent clampdown by the U.S. on online gaming companies. Apparently our friends across the pond are sick and tired of their executives being harrassed and arrested and are starting to fight back against draconian U.S. legislation using the power of the W.T.O. It’s good to see somebody taking some action to deal with this lunacy.

I must commend the creators of the video – it’s pretty well done and definitely informative. One interesting thing they mention is that Neteller is now saying that funds won’t be returned to U.S. customers for another six months. Here is the video for your viewing pleasure:

Some links to releated news articles:
EU mulls legal challenge to US internet gaming clampdown

McCreevy Labels US Gaming Rules ‘Protectionist’

Antigua seeks EU Support on WTO case against US Online Gambling Laws

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