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No legal betting on the Marathon, at least this year

Bill Speros reports the state Gaming Commission today blocked a bid by one of the companies now inundating the local airways and your brain with online-betting ads to let you bet on the outcome of the Marathon this year, in part because the company didn't bother to ask the BAA about it.

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Good. It felt particularly distasteful this year, with the 10th anniversary of the bombing.

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Adults shouldn't voluntarily wager among each other because a terror attack happened a number of years ago that ends in zero?

George Carlin literally points this out in his Ten Commandments bit.

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Betting on the marathon, or the marathon itself? I think the latter-- if I wanted to watch a parade out-of-towners spending way too much money and celebrating themselves, I can just go to the Seaport.

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I was gonna put it all on Rosie Ruiz to win but the way the T is these days I’m better off not betting the Marathon.

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There's an idea!

Seinfeld kind of already did it …

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You wouldn't be able to beat the house.

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I'd argue that, if you commute on the T, you're already doing that. The stakes: your job.

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Apparently some people in marketing have little respect for the solemnity of marking an anniversary of a terrible tragedy or even basic respect of the community.
What is far worse; the highly paid executives of the company thought this was appropriate. Good for the B.A.A. in protesting this callowness.

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I honestly wish they would say no to it FOREVER. They have the power to say no.

Why do we need 'sports betting' on this?

In fact, why do we need sports betting at all?

Ever since its became legal, I've been bombarded with very misleading ads E V E R Y W H E R E. Social media is the worst, you block one account, two more come up. They are ruthless at advertising this because there is big money in this.. and the ads make big promises that are false.

I voted no on this. Why? Walk into any convenience store and see shlubs spending their hard earned dollar on the 'chance' of winning KENO. Literally pissing away their money. Now you can do it on your phone. At least with the lottery you gotta go into a store to play, now you can have your money disappear right from your own living room while watching a re-run of Chronicle. All this is doing is making sure the poor and gambling addicted stay poor and addicted.

We went decades without this, we were fine with out it. We have enough addiction issues in this state, let's not pour gasoline on it.

I'll give Casinos this (and yes I voted yes for this), at least you have to go there to play in person to win. This stop gap stops a lot of people. Sports betting, not so much...

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Apparently some people in marketing have little respect for the solemnity of marking an anniversary of a terrible tragedy ...

Uh, every year is an anniversary.

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But this is the tenth anniversary of the bombing.
Not sure you knew that.

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Not sure you knew that

I'm sure they did. They just have a better grasp of what "anniversary" means than most.

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Though, a 10th anniversary means absolute nothing.

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The marathon is probably one of the most ethical things to bet on since there's no refs that can possibly be bribed.

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.

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Runners are not nearly as highly paid as professional sports players are. If you win the That's why colleges didn't want gambling (until recently): way easier to pay off someone who is eating dorm food than someone with a $3 million per year contract. 1st place is $150,000. If you win; third place is $40,000. And a top-notch marathoner can run maybe two peak races per year. (Yes, there are appearance fees and sponsorships.)

By comparison Jason Tatum makes $150,000 every 20 minutes of play, whether he's on the court or not.

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I don't understand the need to confer with the BAA on this. Is this something that has to be done with all the other sports and games that gambling is available on?
It's not a religious event. It's a road race. It's got deep pocketed sponsors; a huge media machine and it pays elite runners to compete and awards cash prizes to those who win in their respective divisions. It's been an 'amateur' event in name only for a very long time.
I don't gamble. I voted 'no' on legalizing it here in Massachusetts. But it's now legal and so be it.
One last thing. I have a pretty pronounced Boston accent. I just have to say that those commercials are pretty dreadful.

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They might have to put language in the contracts for the elite runners that would preclude them from betting on each other (and then throwing the race, etc.).

This is the problem with gambling on the performance of people. People are corruptable and money is the root of the corruption and money is what's brought to an otherwise honest event when gambling on it is introduced.

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are there to be protected.
You can't use it to put money in your pocket. Thousands of dollars in sports apparel have been confiscated in recent years with Boston Marathon for using it without clearing it first.
Same I.P. rules apply for DK.

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Magoo is very excited because this year Magoo is running the marathon. Actually, Magoo is not running the marathon, Magoo is crab walking the marathon. Magoo.

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Can't we just bet that everybody will have a good time??

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A bet between two third parties on the outcome of a race is surely no business of the organization sponsoring the race.

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...is the organizer and holder of the Boston Marathon trademark, not the sponsor.
Also the mobile betting ap owned Dk is only allowed to operate under state sanction with mutually agreed upon controls.
You can bet not using the platform all you wish.
See Tony down at the packy. He'll take yer wager.

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