|
Most Recent Online Casino News
Biggest Bet of the Year
Twenty bucks says it's heads.
Two Sundays from now, hearts across the country will pound as the
Super Bowl's opening coin toss tumbles in the air.
Besides 80 million-plus U.S. viewers, Super Bowl Sunday also draws
billions of dollars in bets. People will gamble on most everything
related to the game, including whether the toss lands heads or tails.
The game draws more wagering than any other in sports gambling, a
behemoth industry that stretches from Las Vegas casinos to backroom
bookies at the local bar to Internet sports books based in the
Caribbean.
Gamblers will risk an estimated $20 billion on the game pitting the
Carolina Panthers against the New England Patriots; that's more than
McDonald's earns in a year at its restaurants.
. But if you're in the Carolinas, you can't legally bet on sports,
even if it's over the Internet.
Purists deride gambling, saying the game's athleticism and
competition alone are enough to get adrenaline going. In the worst case,
gamblers can become so addicted they lose their savings, alienate
families or even take their lives. Experts believe 1 percent to 2
percent of the population is addicted to gambling.
The sports gambling industry pulls in about $200 billion a year, most
of it through illegal bets, experts believe.
About 89 percent of that goes through the local bookie, co-workers,
friends and neighbors, said Koleman Strumpf, a UNC Chapel Hill economics
professor and expert on gambling.
Read the
entire article at:
The Charlotte Observer
2004 Online Casino News Archive
| 
