SUPREME COURTS DECISION WILL CHANGE LANDSCAPE FOR MOB, SORTA.

Sports Gambling has always had a seedy past.  It not only has bankrupted people, but it's also made people insanely wealthy, especially the mafia.  It's always been one of the major money making markets the mob has employed for a long long time.  Now, with the Supreme Court on Monday in a 6-3 vote, allowing states to decide if they want to legally allow sports betting.

The vote strikes down a 1992 federal law that has prohibited most states from authorizing sports betting.  New Jersey especially wanted to change the law.  The court said that "the federal law violated constitutional principles limiting the federal government from controlling state policy, unconstitutionally forcing states to prohibit sports betting under their own laws."  The decision basically allows the states to decide their own fate. 

For a long time Nevada had a monopoly on sports betting, but it appears now that many other states who want to capitalize on revenue and money can jump right in the deep end with the rest.  Where this gets iffy is whether congress will jump in and make a declaration and allow states to make the decision on their own, or if they will ena
ct federal regulations on sports betting.   It's my opinion if they enact regulations, believe me the mob will move in, so from a street perspective that's great news, but if left up to the states to decide, then it could cripple the seedy back room deals for betting.

If anything this is a win win for organized crime. If anyone thinks, on a basic level that this deal kills organized crimes involvement into the sports book industry your completely wrong.  If anything this almost makes it easier in a million different ways.  The MLB, NHL, NFL, and other sports leagues oppose this idea because they are afraid the integrity of the the game will be in dire straits.  The NHL moved a team to Vegas, so I really don't want to hear shit they have to say on the matter when you consider tickets for NHL games are outrageous.    For the MLB to worry about it's integrity, let me point to you all the GHB and cheating that's gone on there for decades.  What they really fear isn't games being rigged, but it's losing money.  None of these leagues want to lose money.  That's the real argument here, not some morality questions.


From a criminal perspective, and I won't go into the deep end with details because I'm not going to teach some internet goofball how to run book, but there are ways to get around everything.  From odds, to different style bets, believe me there are a million ways to get around any ruling by the states or the government.  What will be interesting is to how this ruling effects criminal charges.  If the government allows it, and the states allow it, I can see a huge argument coming about someone who gets pinched for bookmaking. The mob has used bookmaking to make millions, and if you think companies like Bovada, Oddshark, Bettfair, are going to keep monopolizing the market you'd be wrong.  If this stays the course, mob guys can simply open their own book shop online, but the problem is, mob guys don't want to pay taxes.  I'm a firm believer in where there is a will there is a way, and sure one can make a half assed argument about this ruling crippling back room bookies, but it doesn't.  In fact, I think it will have the complete opposite effect.  

In comparison, look at how the legality of Marijuana in Colorado and California has changed the climate.  Both states made huge money, forgetaboutit type of money. The state gets a kickback, has a huge surplus of cash, criminal arrests for marijuana have gone down in droves, so it's a win win. It allowed small companies to become millionaires overnight.  Same thing here. That's if you want to pay taxes. Just as we mention marijuana, I mention bookmaking.  Just because it's been made legal doesn't mean marijuana isn't still coming over the border.  It is, perhaps even more than before.  Many of these shops get marijuana not from farmers, but from well, NARCO distributors, which in some cases deflated and inflated prices.  In some cases it's advantageous to go to a distributor
over the farmer because the prices are lower which means more profit, and in the long run distributors sell more product.  It's commerce no matter how you look at it.  So if you think the state legalizing it, is going to change the end game for the mob and other criminal groups you'd be wrong.