Not Fake News: Offshore Sports Betting Site Gets Unexpected Twitter Rub

Without getting too politically polarizing, it’s probably safe to say that the messaging coming out of the Nation’s Capital these days can sometimes be…ah…a tad ironic. A recent example wasn’t a statement directly made by anyone at the federal level; however, an article implicitly endorsed by the highest office in the land through one of today’s most effective forms of advertising – the all-powerful Retweet – gave an offshore, unregulated sportsbook the most prominent exposure possible:

Sure, the whole thing is good for a chuckle or two. Beyond that, the original article publicizing 2020 presidential race odds from an offshore book serves as a tangible reminder of the zeal that exists worldwide for plunking money down on anything and everything with a potential binary outcome. Oh, and the degree of free advertising a little stroking of the right folks can get you these days, too.

Unintentionally contrasting messaging from federal level

We’ve come to expect direct contradictions – within the same day, hour, hell, sometimes minute – when it comes to political issues in this day and age. Remember, the truth is no longer the truth, or so we’ve been told. This particular situation delivered handsomely in that regard. In what might have once been considered an odd mixed message at minimum — but basically qualifies as just a ho-hum “coinkidink” these days — this all unfolded mere days after Senator Orrin Hatch laid out his latest impassioned plea for federal regulation of sports betting to his colleagues in Congress. On his way out after 40-plus years in the Senate, Hatch is seemingly still smarting from the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) of 1992 — legislation he played a key role in crafting — being deemed unconstitutional by the highest court in the land last May 14. The possibility of a state-by-state legalized framework for sports betting that the eradication of PASPA engenders significantly reduces the chances of impropriety. Ironically (there’s that concept again), that’s something the Utah senator doesn’t seem to acknowledge. His push for another round of federal oversight — one that begrudgingly accepts increasingly legalized sports betting as the new reality (the “but by golly, we’re not going to make it easy for them” part is implied) — may never get off the ground anyhow. Not with upcoming time constraints related to both what remains of the 2018 legislative calendar and Hatch’s own pending retirement at the end of the year. But if it’s going to have even 500-1 odds of getting anywhere, someone should get word up the DC food chain about the optics stemming from giving those “black market” gambling guys free publicity — even when they have nice things to say about you. [i15-table-group groupid=’7915′]