This week’s casino news starts off with the Cleveland Guardians and Bet365 striking a major partnership. We’ll start there as we recap the key headlines to be aware of:
Guardians Partner With UK Sportsbook
Another day, another sports franchise partnering up with a sportsbook.
The Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball have struck a deal with Bet365, which is a sportsbook from the United Kingdom, but it is one of the biggest operators in the world. It’s been reported that it’s a multi-year deal, although no financials were revealed. Both sides have already come out and elaborated how excited they are to be working with one another to make this deal a reality.
The partnership is going to be launching on January 21st and it is set to give fans a peek into some of the entertainment opportunities that they plan on implementing.
The state of Ohio has been home to 11.3 million sports betting transactions in just the first weekend of the calendar year. There is clearly a heavy demand for sports betting. For Bet365, this deal will give them top-tier exposure as DraftKings, FanDuel and MGM have snapped up so many other stadium partnerships.
Browns Fire Bernie Kosar After Sports Bet
The Cleveland Browns have parted ways with legendary quarterback Bernie Kosar after an incident regarding a charity sports bet came to light. Kosar is both a football, and now radio legend, for the franchise, but it still wasn’t enough to save him. Cleveland disposed of him after he placed a legal $19,000 bet on a sports team. Nothing about the transaction was illegal, especially considering that Ohio offers legal sports betting and the bookie he used was licensed. However, they felt like it wasn’t a good look to have someone affiliated with the franchise placing bets.
While the bet was technically legal, NFL regulations do dictate that Kosar isn’t allowed to gamble. The sportsbook took his wager regardless and they might receive some reprimand themselves from regulators. When Kosar was directly asked about the wager, he stated that all of the proceeds for his bet was supposed to be sent to charity.
Cleveland released a statement talking about how important Kosar is to the franchise’s history and the community. However, they continued by saying they had to follow NFL rules and he was in violation of them. Kosar later tweeted out, “I was informed by the Browns that my services are no longer desired or needed. I will not be doing today’s radio program. I am shocked and disappointed.”
While the NFL has to be cautious with sports betting in regards to players, coaches and those affiliated with the game, this firing was a bit silly as it was merely for a charitable cause.
New York State Police Officer Hit With Charge
One New York State police officer has been hit with some serious charges related to sports betting. It has been reported that the officer was involved in an illegal sports wagering operation.
Thomas Loewke was arrested with obstruction of a state law enforcement investigation and for those that aren’t as familiar, charges of this nature could have him face up to 20 years in prison, or they could carry a maximum of a $250,000 fine.
Evidence had come to light of his wrongdoings via text message as multiple texts were revealed regarding the investigation, individual bettors, payments of both winnings and losses, then finally, placement of bets.
Another phone call that was revealed had a different New York State trooper that went by the nickname of “TJ” reportedly tipped off one of the targets of this particular underground betting ring. Due to the information, the target shared that they would now be changing passwords, domain names and betting history to stay away from the police.
