{"id":262137,"date":"2023-03-02T06:48:40","date_gmt":"2023-03-02T12:48:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=262137"},"modified":"2023-03-02T09:39:22","modified_gmt":"2023-03-02T15:39:22","slug":"offshore-company-out-of-line-in-urging-college-students-to-become-bookies-opinion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/offshore-company-out-of-line-in-urging-college-students-to-become-bookies-opinion\/","title":{"rendered":"Offshore Company Out of Line in Urging College Students to Become Bookies – Opinion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Getting unsolicited emails is an occupational hazard in this profession. In most cases, they\u2019re easy to ignore.<\/p>\n

\"College<\/a>
College students milling around campus between classes. Does one of them want to become a bookie? A Costa Rica-based company certainly hopes so. (Image: Prostock-studio\/Adobe Stock Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s not as easy to ignore when your dog wakes you up at 3 am by licking your face so she can go outside. It just so happened I got an email notification as I shut the back door.<\/p>\n

There on my phone was a message titled \u201cHow To Make An Extra Income With Sports Betting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGo on,\u201d a little voice in my head, partly intrigued and mostly tired, said.<\/p>\n

\n

As it turns out, it wasn\u2019t a flack from a tout service trying to tell me about its outstanding record in college basketball over the past three weeks. No, it was from a company called BossAction, which said, \u201cIt’s possible for any individual to make an extra income on the side of their day job by becoming a sports bookie without any particular training or skills required.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Using BossAction\u2019s software to run your new sportsbook enterprise, the email continued, could generate as much as $10K a week in income for you.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s some side gig, right there.<\/p>\n

‘Beneficial for College Students’<\/h2>\n

But wait! There\u2019s more! While BossAction says anyone can be a bookie, the company claims it\u2019s an especially appealing venture for college students.<\/p>\n

The email even included this jaw-dropper of a quote from an unnamed spokesperson for the company:<\/p>\n

The start-up costs are minimal which makes it easily accessible to those that are looking for something quick and easy to get their teeth into,\u201d the BossAction spokesperson said. \u201cThis income stream can also be beneficial for college students who want to make some cash to fund their studies. On campus, it’s super common for people to place bets on college football, so these students have a huge range of potential customers that they interact with on a daily basis.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

With my mind running on fumes, I had to re-read the email and check out the website several times to ensure I wasn\u2019t getting pranked or reading something from The Onion<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>BossAction, per its website, is a Costa Rica-based company that provides \u201clegitimate data processing services\u201d for its bookmaking clients. The company does say that it\u2019s up to each individual bookie to know what the laws are where they live.<\/p>\n

Now, there are countries and jurisdictions where services like BossAction are perfectly legal. However, if, like me, you live in the US, then it\u2019s off-limits.<\/p>\n

Despite that, BossAction\u2019s blog certainly seems to target US bookies. A post (screencap, right) last month selling its services asked, \u201cWhat do the big European Sportsbooks have that individual US bookies don\u2019t have?\u201d<\/p>\n

Federal prosecutors have gone after bookies who have used offshore services to run sports betting websites. That includes the Uncle Mick gaming enterprise<\/a> in suburban Chicago. The leader of that ring received an 18-month prison sentence last year, and the judge ordered him to forfeit $3.6 million.<\/p>\n

Difference Between Bettor and Bookie<\/h2>\n

Beyond that, it\u2019s marketing the allure of being a bookie to get through college also rubs me the wrong way.<\/p>\n

Personally, I have no problem with 18-year-olds betting. I did it at that age, and if you can fight for your country or vote for president, you should be able to make a wager or two. Responsibly, of course.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But placing a bet and running a bookmaking operation are two totally different things, and it seems like Boss Action is really<\/em> interested (see screencap, below) in getting college kids to become bookies. The company\u2019s blog even dedicated an article to attracting college kids to go \u201cfrom betting to booking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks to recent reporting on the subject, sports betting on college campuses is a hot topic. Ohio<\/a> banned sportsbook advertising and promotions on college campuses, and now New York<\/a> wants to do the same. That\u2019s all good, but a college kid with a few friends or frat brothers doesn\u2019t need a billboard or stadium signage to get clients or take bets.<\/p>\n

And regardless of whether the betting age is 18 or 21, and regardless of whether legal sportsbooks can advertise on campuses, sports betting will still occur on them. The NCAA has fairly strict guidelines about promoting alcoholic beverages during college games. It hasn\u2019t stopped 19-year-olds from drinking bad beer, though.<\/p>\n

\n

While gambling will still occur on college campuses, even without Boss Action’s sales pitch, urging college kids to become bookies doesn’t promote responsible practices. Neither does the allure of making easy money to pay for their education. That’s predatory behavior.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

And, of course, it’s not just US college students at risk here. Becoming a bookie is not something I’d suggest to any college student, even if Boss Action’s services are legal in their jurisdiction.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Screencap of a BossAction blog post targeting college students.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Invites More Scrutiny on Sports Betting<\/h2>\n

I write this not because I\u2019m an evangelist for regulated sportsbooks. Some of their practices, such as limiting bettors and promoting awful same-game parlays, also need addressing in some fashion.<\/p>\n

But what companies like Boss Action are doing will inspire more US lawmakers to crusade against sports betting<\/a>, legal or otherwise. If, or perhaps when, those legislators end up succeeding, it will ultimately be to the benefit of the offshore sites and companies like Boss Action.<\/p>\n

\n

And that\u2019s where, I believe, the greatest risk for harm occurs. Say what you want about the current state of legal sports betting here in the US, but the more it\u2019s out in the open and the more it’s regulated, the better the chances are that the risks can be mitigated.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

So, thank you, Boss Action flack, for the email, if not for a now sleepless night. I would have never known your client was marketing to US college kids otherwise. Please ask them to stop.<\/p>\n

Now, if you\u2019ll excuse me, I\u2019m going back to bed and keeping the dog out of the bedroom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Getting unsolicited emails is an occupational hazard in this profession. In most cases, they\u2019re easy to ignore. It\u2019s not as easy to ignore when your dog wakes you up at 3 am by licking your face so she can go outside. It just so happened I got an email notification as I shut the back […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":262146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,1074],"tags":[85298,85297,80968],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUrging College Students to Become Bookies is Not a Good Idea<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Costa Rican company cites several reasons why college students should consider running a sports betting ring. 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