Sopranos Betting Lucrative for Gambling911Though Gambling911.com does not take bets or even post odds, the website benefited from exposure brought on by this past week's Sopranos finale betting odds being offered on such things as Who Would be the First Whacked During the Finale and Would Silvio Wake Up From His Coma.
The website covered Sopranos betting odds trends throughout the week including dramatic line changes for both the Tony Soprano and Phil Leotardo whacking options. In the end, Tony was a big favorite to live while Phil was a big favorite to die.
The odds went all the way to -400 at bookmakers like Bodog.com that Tony would survive the Sopranos finale. Phil Leotardo, meanwhile, was a huge underdog at +300 to survive.
"The amount of interest in this (Sopranos betting) was massive," commented Gambling911.com Senior Editor, Payton O'Brien. "We witnessed heavy traffic throughout the week for the Sopranos betting news but Sunday in particular was one of our biggest traffic surges in the site's nearly 7 year history."
For online betting shops, the Sopranos gambling opportunities meant some of the most extensive press time for Internet gambling establishments this year with both Bodog.com and
BetUS.com (two of the only sites offering such odds at very low maximum bets) becoming the biggest beneficiaries.
Gambling911.com was featured on CNN, ABC News, Bloomberg and the San Francisco Chronicle discussing the Sopranos trading options.
"It is good that people know these types of fun bets are available to them so that fans can actually enjoy an interactive experience during one of television's most highly anticipated finales."
Gambling911.com cautioned that a handful of US states do consider online gambling misdemeanors while at least two others - Washington and Louisiana - have gotten more aggressive in recent times. Washington State in particular has made Sopranos betting and other forms of online gambling a Class C felony, which includes a prison sentence similar to that of a child molester or repeat drunk driving offender.
The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act passed last October (and currently being fought in the Courts) prohibits online gambling establishments from operating physically in the US and puts the onus of monitoring these types of wagers on banking institutions. Gamblers themselves are not held liable under this draconian - and some would argue "unconstitutional" law (hence, the courts are now reviewing it).
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Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com
Originally published June 11, 2007 9:50 am ET
