The offshore betting marketplace isn’t just limited to sports. In Las Vegas, the Nevada Gaming Commission doesn’t permit wagering on current events, reality TV etc, but most offshore sportsbooks accept bets on a wide variety of ‘alternative’ bets. American Idol wagering proved to be particularly attractive to US bettors, with sportsbooks accepting bets on both who would win the contest and who would be next eliminated. The Academy Awards and the Grammy’s take action every year. And, during presidential season, there is always a strong interest in betting on the outcome of the next US election.

With Barack Obama finally clinching the Democratic Party nomination this past week, going up against Republican John McCain, the betting marketplace has seen a small surge in presidential wagering. The current line has the Democrats favored in a range of -180/-190 over the Republicans for the November elections. As with many ‘proposition’ wagers, the juice (vig) on these types of bets is often high, with take-back on the Republican side anywhere from +140 to +150.

These odds have been fairly steady for months. For longtime political junkies, this is something of a surprise. Normally, the incumbent party (Republicans) faces a stiff uphill battle to win the presidency in years where the economy is faltering as it is in the 2008 election season. In addition, younger and more vibrant candidates like Obama tend to do well in presidential elections against older establishment candidates like McCain, regardless of the economic situation. Clearly, the betting marketplace is recognizing some vulnerability on the Obama side, questioning whether a guy who was sitting in the Illinois State Legislature four years ago can truly win a presidential election against the powerful Republican establishment.

When it comes to issues on gambling, there are sharp contrasts between the two candidates. We’ve seen some absolutely disastrous legislation passed during the current Republican administration’s eight year run in Washington, most notably the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act). The UIGEA, attached to a ‘must pass’ port securities bill after midnight on the final night prior to the 2006 elections by then Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, was responsible for the end of Neteller as an easy and convenient way to fund offshore accounts, and the departure of leading sportsbooks like Pinnacle and leading poker sites like Party Poker from the US marketplace.

John McCain has been an outspoken and active opponent of any sort of legalized sports betting on college athletics, both offshore and here in Nevada. He personally sponsored legislation to outlaw legal, regulated betting on ‘amateur athletics’ in Nevada casinos. From ESPN.com, we get the following crystal clear statements about McCain’s position:

"McCain wants to eliminate what he sees as the most troubling aspects of legalized gambling in the United States. He has led the fight to ban gambling on college sports, a battle the Nevada casinos have won (so far), in part by suggesting that he would make Super Bowl and NCAA pools illegal. And McCain would ban Internet gambling -- not because it’s addictive, but because players typically have no way of knowing whether they are in fair games.

"And just as important, McCain has come to see his role as skirmishing as long as it takes for public opinion to come around his way. About banning gambling on college sports, he says: "When the most respected coaches in college athletics come to me and say, ‘We want this banned because we think it can have a terrible effect on young people,’ then I’m going to react."

For McCain, though, that’s not the bottom line. "I’ll give you a little straight talk," he says. There’s going to have to be another scandal, and there probably will be." That’s McCain: waiting for the next, inevitable burst of bad news to come along, to present an opportunity not only to excoriate wrongdoers but to corral the powerful into doing right. To take another step toward saving sports."

McCain’s cohorts are even more vehement in their opposition to both online gambling and betting on college football and basketball. From the San Francisco Chronicle: To a key advocate of McCain’s bill, former California Lt. Gov. Leo T. McCarthy, the very idea of allowing legal gambling on college sports is abhorrent and counterproductive for society. "There is an important symbolism here," said McCarthy who was a member of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission in the late 1990s. The panel voted 5 to 3 to seek a ban on college sports betting.

"We should be concerned about the role model...college athletes (serve for) younger people as being extremely important. We on the commission felt very strongly it was important to maintain what college sports mean to young people," McCarthy said.

Legalizing and regulating online sports betting is not a big issue in the Obama camp, and he has not gone on record supporting our cause. That being said, at least Obama isn’t actively trying to outlaw our hobby/profession.

There are no questions about whether Barack Obama is a gambler personally, or not. Obama was a regular participant in a weekly poker game (an illegal game, by the letter of the law) while in the Illinois State Legislature. Obama supports a study of Internet gambling and supports regulation to address the worst abuses, the first step towards getting online gaming legalized and regulated, a US sports bettors dream.

Gambling expert, Professor I Nelson Rose: "When the Democrats took control of the Senate, Harry Reid, senator from Nevada, became majority leader. Therefore, land-based casinos, which want a study and law allowing them to operate internet casinos, can get those, if the President is a Democrat. If John McCain wins…nothing will change.

"Assuming Barack Obama … wins, the Democrats will keep control of Congress and there will be a change in the federal law. It might come as early as 2009. More likely, it won’t be until 2010, or even later. For political cover, there could be an objective, scientific study done first, that proves that internet gambling can be kept safe from hackers, protecting the "vulnerables" (children and compulsive gamblers), and that states that don’t want to allow can be blocked."

And that, my friends, would be good news for sports bettors all across the USA.

For more betting analysis by Teddy Covers, go to www.sportsmemo.com.