The ‘Legal Sports Report’ (LSR) invited NFL reporter Brad Allen on the show to discuss a CBS affiliate promoting an offshore sportsbook.  

Allen initiated the discussion between him and hosts Matt Brown and Adam Candee, with the leading topic of the latest episode being the legal differences between offshore and regulated sportsbooks.

Something that came to the attention of Allen is how CBS sports insider Josina Anderson has been tagging Bovada, an offshore book, in her recent tweets. He said: “We’ve noticed that she started tagging @BovadaOfficial at the bottom of standard news tweets. Then, she was doing a show called ‘Bovada Live’ with Adrian Peterson. Obviously, this stood out a little bit because it’s sort of interspersed – here’s my work at CBS, and here’s Bovada.”

Pointing out that CBS already has a partnership deal with Caesars/William Hill, Allen said: “Essentially, it looks like CBS talent is promoting offshore sportsbooks. And that’s been one of the biggest complaints over the last couple of years from regulated books – people just simply do not know the difference.”

Homing in on the situation, Matt Brown observed that, no matter if a person is directly employed by a company or is affiliated with it in a different manner, there is an unspoken onus to that company, especially when certain actions can upset current partners.

Noting the confusion that offshore sportsbooks have brought, co-host Adam Candee added: “You’re absolutely right that the problem is multifaceted, and I think it goes back to what Brad said at the jump, that there is still massive confusion – not just among bettors, but among media – with what’s offshore, what’s legal.

“Because in the 25-year void between PASPA being enacted and PASPA falling, the offshore sportsbooks did a fantastic job of marketing themselves and going after big reporters, getting their odds into the national consciousness.”

The end of the podcast saw Candee doing a states’ round-up of the current bills in progress. Speaking on Minnesota, he said: “Minnesota, which was a state I didn’t have high hopes for, got farther than I expected. The bill made it through the house.

“The tribes in Minnesota have major influence over gaming. They had supported the house version of the bill, which gave them some level of exclusivity. The senate came along and included horse racing tracks, and then everything kind of came to a screeching halt.”

Continuing to Massachusetts, Candee explained “We’re still in conference in Massachusetts. There are of course enormous gaps to bridge when it comes to the two different versions from the house and senate.

“The house version – a lot more industry-friendly than the senate version, which includes a total ban on college betting and what appears to be a wholly unenforceable ban on sportsbook advertising in certain situations. So, a long way to go in Massachusetts as their session goes on for a bit.”

And finally, moving over to North Carolina, Candee concluded: “We’re waiting, they’re back in session. Committee hearing could happen as soon as early next week after Memorial Day. Remember, that bill has passed the chamber, so we’re already off to a running start there.”

In-between the first and the final topics, the trio also went over DraftKings and the new player on the betting horizon, Fanatics, which can all be listened to in the featured video.