How sports books can make the most out of Barney Frank's fight to overturn UIGEA

From the CAP News page:

June 9, 2009 (CAP Newswire) -- An entertaining (and fictional) article at the comedy-oriented CrapsOnline.org website tells the tale of a trend that’s come about in the weeks since Barney Frank announced new legislation to overturn the United States’ 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).

According to the piece, sports books are making the legal fight interesting by taking bets on just what will happen in this bill’s long road. Humorously, the bets mostly concern what phrases will be used by the opposition, and how many times.

For example: One prop bet gives bettors an over/under on “how many times religious groups will use the word ‘children’ in press conferences”, according to the article. The total is 647, meaning that gamblers taking the over need religious groups to say the word ‘children’ more than 647 times during the legal process. Given what we’ve already seen from conservative groups moralizing about the bill, this one seems like an easy bet.

The word "crime" has odds set at 1046, relying on the prediction that conservatives will continue to try to tie gambling to crime rates. Another easy bet!

“There are 10/1 odds that problem gambling comes up as an issue,” continues the article, written by Nathaniel Walimar. “The easiest of all the prop bets, according to our resident degenerate gambler, Crank Carl, is whether or not Republicans will vote the issue along party lines. A gambler must risk $10,000 to win $100, if they think Republicans will vote against online gambling.”

The article ends by emphasizing that it is, indeed, a joke, not to be taken seriously. What’s really funny, though, is how credible the information seems. Click here to read it for yourself.