Election Betting Now Allowed in U.S., Pete Rose Ran Betting Ring From Prison

Written by:
C Costigan
Published on:
Oct/02/2024

  • Betting company will be allowed to take wagers on US Congressional elections for now.
  • How Bet365's Denise Coates became Great Britain's richest woman.
  • Pete Rose reportedly ran betting ring from prison.
  • Bet365 selects Colorado for expansion.

4e94cd266faa35076d209799c6982eb3.gif

Politics

Court Says Betting on US Congressional Elections Can Resume, for Now

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Betting on the outcome of U.S. Congressional elections can resume, at least temporarily, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit dissolved an order it had previously issued that prevented New York startup company Kalshi from taking bets on which political party would control the House and Senate after this November’s elections.

The ruling clears the way for such betting to resume while the court further considers the underlying issues in the case.

So far, Kalshi has only offered bets on congressional races; it was not immediately clear whether they plan to expand offerings to include the presidential election.

The court said it could reconsider a ban if the commission provides new evidence of serious harm to the public interest in the coming weeks.

Yaakov Roth, an attorney for Kalshi, said the company is now free to resume taking such bets, but did not know if it had already done so.

No such markets were listed on the company’s website as of 2 p.m., and a company spokesperson did not immediately return a message seeking comment. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the government agency trying to prevent such betting, declined comment.

Kalshi is seeking government approval and regulation of political bets.

But the commission denied that approval, saying that such bets are vulnerable to manipulation, and could lessen already fragile confidence in the integrity of American elections.

A federal court last month ruled in favor of Kalshi, which took about $50,000 worth of such bets in the eight hours after the ruling, until the appeals panel issued a freeze on them.

That freeze was melted on Wednesday when the court ruled that the commission did not prove that irreparable harm was likely to result from the resumption of election betting.

Better Markets, a non-profit group advocating for the public interest in financial markets, called it “a sad and ominous day for election integrity in the United States.”

“Gambling on elections will create powerful new incentives for bad actors to interfere with our elections and sway voters outside of the democratic process,” said Stephen Hall, the group’s legal director. “The use of AI, deepfakes and social media to manipulate voters and influence election outcomes has already become all too real. Ready access to an election gambling contract such as Kalshi’s will intensify that danger with the promise of quick profits.”

Hall said that allowing bets this late in the election cycle could open the door to potentially unfixable problems.

“There is no way to undo the potential damage to the public interest of allowing bets in the final weeks of an election year,” he said. “No matter what, we have yet another reason to be concerned about the upcoming elections.”

Likewise, a U.S. senator who has introduced a bill that would ban all elections betting, called the court’s move “a bad bet for our democracy.”

“When we reduce our democracy to a horse race for the ultra-rich and huge corporations to bet on, we demolish the integrity of our democratic process and put corporate profits over people,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley, a Democrat. “Allowing big wagers with the ability to put the thumb on the scale is like allowing bets on ballgames when you also control the umpire. It is corruption, plain and simple. And it is corruption aimed at the heart of our democracy.”

Kalshi offers yes-no bets on a vast array of topics, including whether Netflix will gain a certain amount of subscribers this quarter; how many vehicles Tesla will produce this quarter, and whether singer Chappell Roan will have a No. 1 hit this year.

Amid political topics, the company was taking bets Wednesday on how high President Joe Biden’s approval rating will be by the end of this month; whether the U.S. will ban TikTok by May; and whether there will be a second or even a third presidential debate this year.

Gambling News

The Ultimate Gambler? How Denise Coates Became Britain’s Richest Woman

She is the mastermind behind Bet365, the company that made it possible to gamble online any hour of the day or night. She pays her taxes and donates to charity. But is there a wider human cost to her huge success?

Rob Davies of The Guardian profiles Denise Coates, who oversees the gambling empire Bet365.

Coates was born and bred in the Stoke area, and the seat of her family power remains here, in the shape of a sparkling, 2,400-seat headquarters proudly displaying the Bet365 name to passing traffic, as it rises from the centre of a sprawling complex that also includes a training centre.

Coates was 33 when she began building her online betting empire in 2000 from a portable building in a car park in the city. Within a few years she transformed the British gambling landscape, recognising that the future lay not in high street bookies but online – allowing users around the world to place bets at any hour of day or night, every day of the year. Perhaps her biggest coup was Bet365’s development and perfection of in-play betting, a product that invites punters to wager in real time on minute-by-minute action, such as who will win the next corner in a football match, or the next point in a game of tennis. It is now the most ubiquitous form of online gambling.

It has certainly made Coates rich. Together with her family, the 57-year-old is estimated to be worth £7.5bn, according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List.

Gambling News

Late Pete Rose Reportedly Ran Betting Ring Behind Bars

Knewz.com can exclusively reveal the man known as 'Charlie Hustle' allegedly ran a gambling ring from prison after being banished from sports for life for betting on baseball games – including some involving his own team, the Cincinnati Reds.

While serving a five-month stint for tax evasion in 1990 and 1991, sources claimed the disgraced baseball star was still breaking the law by gambling and violating prison rules by selling his autographs to fellow inmates.

The source said: "He rarely worked at his prison job as a welder—and spent his days watching TV and making bets on different sports. He even used a phone to place bets outside the prison."

Rose passed away Monday at the age of 83.

Gambling News

Bet365 Selects Colorado for Expansion

DENVER – Governor Polis and the Global Business Development Division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) announced that leading global online sports betting company bet365 has selected Denver, Colorado for expansion. The UK-based company has opened its new U.S. headquarters at One Platte, or 1701 Platte Street, and plans to hire nearly 1,000 employees.

“We are thrilled to welcome bet365 and nearly 1,000 jobs to Colorado and congratulate them on the grand opening of their new U.S. headquarters here. bet365 will create nearly 1,000 new good-paying jobs and as many as 300 this year that will help Coloradans earn a good living and support their families. We are confident they will quickly find that our great state is the best place to live, work and do business,” said Governor Polis.

The news comes following a dreadful year for the state in the sports betting industry.  Several sportsbooks have shuttered there in recent months.  bet365's British competitors Betway and BetFred are among those that have partially or fully exited the U.S. market.

bet365 is among the more established and successful companies in the space however

“Unveiling our US headquarters in beautiful downtown Denver represents a watershed moment in bet365’s North American journey. The Mile High City and its thriving business community is the ideal location to launch the next chapter in our company’s future, and we’re excited to create an industry-leading, innovative workplace in our new home,” said a bet365 spokesperson.

Within the first year, bet365 anticipates hiring over 300 employees. Positions within the new headquarters will include customer service operations, trading, software development and technology, with additional openings in marketing, legal, finance, facilities, human resources and recruitment.

"We are confident that Colorado’s nation-leading quality of life and culture of innovation will make our state a great home for bet365, and believe this expansion is a win-win, including Colorado workers. bet365 is committed to creating good-paying jobs and a culture of excellence for their employees,” said OEDIT Executive Director Eve Lieberman.

The Colorado Economic Development Commission approved up to $14,055,942 in a performance-based Job Growth Incentive Tax Credit for the company over an eight-year period. These incentives are contingent upon bet365, referred to as Project Forge throughout the OEDIT review process, meeting net new job creation and salary requirements.

“We are excited to welcome bet365 to its U.S. headquarters’ new home, the Mile High City,” said Mayor Mike Johnston. “bet365 has added 1,000 jobs to our economy and will add even more vibrancy to our downtown city center.”

"We’re thrilled to welcome bet365 and their U.S. headquarters to Downtown Denver, marking a significant milestone in our region’s economic growth. This project wouldn’t have been possible without the support and collaboration of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, the Colorado Economic Development Commission, the City and County of Denver, and Mayor Mike Johnston's Office; we thank them for their dedication in helping bring this project to life," said President of the Metro Denver EDC, Raymond H. Gonzales. "With the aid of OEDIT's incentives investment, this project will not only create up to 1,000 high-quality jobs but also solidify Denver's reputation as a hub for innovation and business. We look forward to the lasting impact this partnership will have on our community, driving both economic opportunity and vibrancy for Denver's downtown for years to come."

The company employs more than 7,000 people worldwide, including a presence in New Jersey, and currently employs approximately 50 people at the Denver office.

More News

chris-headshot.png

Gambling News

Syndicate