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Pro bettors create organization to give bettors a “Voice”
American Bettors’ Voice is a non-profit made by bettors, for bettors, to fight for fairness in sports betting.
Billy Walters is one of the most prominent sports bettors of all time. Alongside Gadoon “Spanky” Kyrollos, Walters has formed a non-profit organization called American Bettors’ Voice. The organization, based out of Nevada, was announced last week.
In a rapidly growing legal online sports betting market, there’s concern that legislators aren’t well-versed on the ins and outs of being a sports bettor. Some bettors are also concerned that operators may not care about the players as long as they can increase revenue. American Bettors’ Voice was created to give sports bettors a seat at the table alongside operators and lawmakers.
Walters and Kyrollos both believe sports bettors should have their voices heard as the industry continues to grow. The duo feels that the sustainability of the industry depends on treating bettors fairly.
Limiting winning bettors a major concern
Ever since sports betting became legal across the country, one point of concern has been how operators treat bettors that have proven they are capable of winning.
Sportsbooks use software to identify bettors that consistently get the best odds on their bets and generate positive closing line value — in short, identifying potential “sharp” bettors.
The founders of American Bettors’ Voice say that in the old days, sportsbooks handled sharp bettors much differently. Operators would accept bets from sharp bettors and viewed it as a way to collect data. After accepting a bet, they could decide if they wanted to adjust the line based on the action they just received.
Currently, a number of online sportsbooks simply ban a player who has shown the ability to win on a consistent basis. If they don’t ban them, they slash their betting limits to a fraction of what the player actually wants to bet. Kyrollos has called this “lazy bookmaking.”
Most states have ignored this issue, though Massachusetts is in the process of looking into the practice of banning or limiting winning bettors.
Same rules for all, other concerns
American Bettors’ Voice’s main objective is for all bettors to be treated equally and fairly.
“There should be posted limits, treating everyone equally. In this country, we all have the right to be treated equally as long as we’re all playing by the rules. If you don’t have the expertise to treat everyone equally, maybe you shouldn’t be operating a sportsbook,” Walters told iGaming Business.
In the non-profit’s mission statements, the founders raised concerns about ethics and potential exploitation tactics leading to problem gambling. If a winning bettor is limited to $50 on a market, but the operator is willing to accept a $5,000 bet on the same market from a bettor who has proven to be less sharp, that is exploitative, according to the organization. Operators should be in a position where they are willing to accept the same action from any bettor. Those limits should be posted and they should not change based on a bettor’s perceived skill level, according to American Bettors’ Voice’s founders.
The non-profit organization has said they’ll release position papers on other topics such as transparency in odds, the timely resolution of disputes, less withdrawal friction and developing meaningful and intelligible terms of conditions.