Sports Betting Online Poker

4/6/2022

It is another of the best sports betting pages, also very popular for its online poker rooms. Its origins date from the year 2000, however, it was not until 2010 when it began trading on the London stock exchange, due to its speed of development during those years. Any online casino will offer bettors real money gambling options on a range of games including casino table games, slots, sports betting sites and poker rooms. When choosing a casino site, find one that offers decent casino bonuses, a wide variety of games and decent odds to maximize your chances of winning real money when gambling online. Play legal, online casino games in NJ, PA and WV, including poker, roulette and slots at BetMGM. Unlike blackjack, you’re not only playing against the dealer, but also the others at the table. To say that I was a little bit skeptical over playing at an online poker site that goes by the name of “Sports Betting” is an understatement. However, having done so now, I feel it only necessary to comment on my findings and provide you with a really in-depth review of SportsBetting Poker.

Online poker players often debate about which site is the best to play on, with things like traffic, rakeback, tournaments and ‘fish’ potential all rating highly. In terms of making money from “easy-to-beat” players, it is often cited how sports betting sites that host poker are good to join, with the idea being you will get inexperienced players coming from the sportsbook (and casino) ready to lose their money to experienced ones.

But, it works both ways. Poker players will often have a dabble on a sports bet or two. In that light, one might wonder what the best sites are that offer both poker and sports betting? Where can you win on the tables, then follow up by taking advantage of a good promotion for placing horse racing or football bets? Below are some who offer the best of both worlds.

Betfred Poker

One of the most famous betting brands in the UK, Betfred has been operating for 50 years now. Interestingly, the first Betfred shop was opened with money procured by the founders, Peter and Fred Done, from a bet placed on England winning the 1966 World Cup. Incidentally, you can get great odds right now for England to win World Cup 2018 – enough to open your own betting shop?

Now in the iPoker network, Betfred’s poker site sometimes slips under the radar in the UK. It ticks all the boxes in terms of traffic, tournaments etc. But there is also a lot to be said for the lucrative Betfred offers, including free bets, which can be taken advantage of by sports bettors and poker players alike.

888poker

888 is likely the megabrand most familiar to the widest spectrum of people, i.e., they’ve got sports betting, casino games, bingo, poker, and more. 888poker, in particular, ranks among the leaders in worldwide online traffic according to Poker Scout. This outfit seems to have perfected the art of seamlessly moving from one type of gambling to another, as switching from the poker site through to the sports betting/casino sites and taking your wallet with you is as easy as pie. Moreover, some of the poker promotions they offer can be redeemed via sports/casino betting and vice versa.

The sports betting options are coming along nicely too, with all the bases covered in terms of horse racing, football and US Sports. As of late, they have been making a big push to catch up with some of the more recognised brands in sports betting, especially in areas like live betting and niche sports.

William Hill Poker

The oldest bookmaker in the UK has, at times, struggled to translate their dominance on the high street to online. They were (relatively) slow to realise that the future of betting would be on the internet and mobile, but they look like they have attempted to properly address that issue over the last few years.

Their poker site is really underrated. While it does not have the traffic of the bigger online poker rooms, they offer unique promotions and incentives for new and existing players, with a big marketing budget to back it up.

In regard to sports betting, as you might expect, William Hill is up there with the best. They also benefit from strong brand familiarity in places outside the UK, such as Canada and Australia, and use that to bring punters a wide variety of betting options.

PokerStars

You can’t conclude a post like this one without mentioning the world’s largest poker site. Poker, of course, remains their core focus but in recent years the Stars Group has branched out their offerings to spawn other brands, namely CasinoStars and BetStars.

In fact, just recently, a sports better who plunked down some money on a horse race via BetStars, ended up winning a PokerStars Platinum Pass.

Cool story here. Specifically, as a poker purist, I like how Stars is cross-promoting their different verticals.

For years I’ve only seen megabrands try to funnel poker players to casino/sports betting.

They’re getting new poker players in via horse racing betting; who knew? 👍 https://t.co/F84agR8KiT

— Robbie Strazynski (@cardplayerlife) March 20, 2018

And certainly, anyone fortunate to emerge victorious in one of PokerStars’ big Sunday tournaments can parlay those winnings into an even bigger cashout, if they decide to place some lucky bets over at BetStars. As the saying goes “gamble gamble!”

California’s gambling stakeholders

Certainly, achieving legalized sports betting won’t be easy, though, especially as various parties have skin in the game. CA’s key stakeholders in gambling are:

The tribes
The card rooms
Horse racetracks
The CA Lottery

There are more than 60 tribal casinos throughout California. The dominant tribes are controlling gaming in the state, an industry worth around $8 billion in revenue a year.

When it comes to sports betting, the tribes are opposed to having to reopen their agreements with the state. They are also against splitting the gambling market with the likes of the tracks and the card rooms.

As well as casinos, more than 70 legal card rooms of varying sizes are in California. However, individual rooms offer player-banked versions of casino games, like blackjack and baccarat.

This means players take turns to assume the role of the house, and the card room takes a cut of the action. This shrewd workaround of the law led to tensions with the tribes for years and was the subject of a recent lawsuit.

However, a trio of tribes lost the case in federal court in the summer.

Is California wagering ‘a zero-sum game’?

While the resolution to this dispute gives the prospect of sports betting and online poker a slight boost, we are still a long way off the main stakeholders seeing eye to eye.

RichardSchuetz, who spent four years as commissioner for the California Gambling Control Commission, said, “The three industrial actors (tribal casinos, card rooms and tracks) basically treat any expansion of wagering as a zero-sum game.

“That is, if one benefits, it hurts the others. And then there is always a challenge as to what the constitution and the tribal compacts allow, and that often becomes confused by the different actors.”

Meanwhile, Roberts said, “The addition of a new form of gambling raises complicated questions, such as who will be allowed to offer it: state lottery, card rooms or tribes. And whether it impacts any exclusivity, compacts or authorized forms of gambling.

“I don’t see (legislation) going anywhere until these key stakeholders can come to an agreement.”

What needs to happen for California sports betting to pass?

For sports betting to become a reality, California needs to pass a constitutional amendment.

The first step to kickstart that process began in June. For the second year running, AssemblymanAdamGray and state Sen. Bill Dodd introduced an amendment in their respective chambers.

Legislative rules mean bills with tax implications need a two-thirds majority to pass in both the Assembly and the Senate. California voters also have to give the green light to the amendment by a straightforward majority.

The earliest an amendment could be put on the ballot would be in November 2020. Issues relating to the cost of licenses, tax rates and who could offer sports betting would be decided later.

That means we would likely be looking at sports betting launching in California in late 2021 at the earliest.

That would be three-and-a-half years after PASPA’s repeal. And even then, it would also probably be restricted to land-based venues, at least at first.

However, Jim Ryan, CEO of the online arm of California’s Pala Band of Mission Indians, which is behind PalaCasino.com in New Jersey, remains skeptical.

“There needs to be a constitutional amendment, which the residents of California need to vote on in a ballot. I just don’t see the will to do that at this point in time based on the discussions we have had with the various tribes in the state.”

Schuetz is equally pessimistic about progress in 2020. “My guess is you will see some lobbyists, lawyers and legislators make money by making some noise about sports wagering, but at the end of the day, nothing will pass. It will mainly just be a dance that seems to happen year after year after year.”

But what about California online poker?

Efforts to legalize online poker in California have been going on for more than a decade.

Alas, lawmakers have failed to pass a bill in all those years, while key stakeholders struggled to agree on the framework for online poker.

Although no constitutional amendment is required, there still needs to be a two-thirds majority for it to be given the go-ahead. However, hopes are fading for Californians ever being able to play regulated online poker.

“I would make online poker a huge underdog for legalization in 2020,” Schuetz said. “It is an election year, and the conventional wisdom is that this is never a good time to make an effort to pass gambling-related legislation.

“Moreover, there just isn’t much energy behind poker anymore, partially because it has been upstaged by sports wagering. And, secondly, because it has been something of a non-event where it is legal.”

That non-event he referred to is poker’s struggling fortunes in other states. In the only meaningful US market where regulated online poker exists, New Jersey, revenues continue to disappoint.

The Garden State’s poker sites generated revenue of $1.7 million in August, which was down 9.5% on a year earlier. Poker was dwarfed by online casino’s revenue of $39.4 million for the same month, meaning poker accounted for a paltry 4.1% of total gaming revenue.

The right ingredients for California online poker to thrive

What California isn’t lacking is liquidity to make a success of online poker. To illustrate this point, the state’s population is more than four times greater than New Jersey’s.

There is also a real appetite for the game, backed up by the vibrant land-based poker scene. California was even thought to be one of the world’s largest online poker markets before Black Friday in 2011.

California’s population likely has an appetite to sustain three or four large poker sites. And that’s even without compacting with other states to increase player pools.

But despite all this, Ryan said the wrangling and subsequent impasse has all but killed poker’s chances.

“I think everybody got exhausted by it, and I just don’t think anybody has the will to try to make poker happen. Right now, if anything is going to happen, people will be focused on sports betting.

“I think it is a larger market opportunity and is a product that doesn’t exist. Many of the tribal casinos would welcome that in their properties, whereas poker does exist in a land-based environment today.”

Using online poker to acquire players

Regulated online operators in markets like New Jersey and the UK use poker as a low-cost customer acquisition tool and cross-sell players into casino and sports betting.

But there won’t be online casinos, and possibly not online sportsbooks, in California. Without these other products, online poker loses much of its appeal from a revenue generation standpoint.

Summing up online poker’s chances, Schuetz sounds even more downbeat than Ryan.

“From all of my experience in California, I would be startled if online poker ever became a reality in the state.

“Back when I was in the middle of this debate, the operators would say there are millions and millions of dollars to be made. But in a state the size of California, it was basically budget dust. It is just too contentious between the different industrial actors and not enough money in it for the state to take much of an interest.”

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A gloomy outlook for sports betting, poker in California

In conclusion, things don’t look too good for the prospect of sports betting, and especially online poker.

While sports betting does appear to have the greatest chance of being legalized, much rests with the politically influential tribes. They hold all the aces.

Sports Betting Online Poker Sites

So, it’s a frustrating wait if you’re a Californian who is itching to play regulated online poker or place a legal sports wager in a regulated environment.

H2 Gambling Capital estimates that Californians gamble around $200 million a year on offshore casino and poker sites. The research firm suggests another $200 million is bet annually with offshore sportsbooks.

Sports Betting Online Poker Odds

That’s hundreds of millions of dollars bettors are wagering via unregulated channels and the state is missing out on taxes.

Ryan said, “If the government is unwilling to present them with a regulated product, they are simply betting with offshore books. All you need to do is go to a sporting event in California and you will see a number of people around you betting on their mobile devices.

“The horse has already left the barn, but the question is, do you want to regulate it, tax it, create jobs and protect the consumers? That is what state governors need to wrap their heads around.”

Sports Betting Online Poker Tournaments

We say, don’t hold your breath.

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