Raise your hand if you’ve been to a casino.
Raise your hand if you’ve laid money on a specific color in a casino.
Raise your hand if you’ve lost money betting on that specific color.
That’s not illegal, nor should it be. I have no issues with the casino industry. I surely have no problems with the operations in the fine city of Tunica.
Here’s where I have a problem: How much skill does it take to put your money on a color and hope some random human spins the wheel in a favorable fashion for you?
I’ll take less than zero skill for 500, Alex.
Sure, I guess playing blackjack takes some skill. You have to be able to count (Always stay on 16, by the way), and you probably need to know when to split your cards and double your bet. Sure.
Neither of those should be illegal. They’re fun. They’re gaming. They’re enjoyable. They’re gambling.
What is illegal and utterly ridiculous, however, is the fact that I put $25 on Oklahoma 20-1 to win the NCAA tournament.
The NCAA tournament is prime sports betting season. You have games all day until midnight. The first weekend featured 48 games, and I’d venture to say I bet on at least 35 of them.
Some of them went well (UCONN); some of them didn’t (I’m looking you, Gonzaga), but the issue here is that it’s illegal, for some reason, in Mississippi.
I would have to use a backwoods site with servers in Costa Rica if I’m going to place bets in the state of Mississippi. I would have to go through loops and holes to get any cash that I win. That makes sense.
That doesn’t even cover Daily Fantasy sports that Mississippi just made illegal. The reason: Some old bogus law that says you can’t place wagers on events relating to athletic events.
Essentially, the state of Mississippi is asking me to watch the entirety of the MLB season without placing bets on the outcomes of games, or playing daily fantasy. I’ll let you decide who’s being the criminal there.
To be fair, sports wagering is only allowed in four states in America (Nevada, Montana, Oregon and Delaware). However, Daily Fantasy is allowed in 42 states currently.
It’s just weird to me. It’s weird that the state of Mississippi essentially says, “Yeah, you can walk in our casinos, and put your salary on a color. That’s fine.”
Then say, “No, you’re not allowed to do research and place bets regarding the research that you do to give you a better chance to win said bet.”
Sure, it should be regulated. I get that, but I just don’t comprehend the logic behind sports betting lack of legality and the legality that a casino contains.
I’m not sure how that isn’t hypocritical. I’m not sure how there’s nothing that can be done about that. I’m not sure at all.
– Collin Brister
