Would gambling help MLS?

I'm not sure it would help at all. For one, the odds, or spreads, or whatever, wouldn't be very interesting. There simply is never an underdog in this league. At one point in the middle of the 2004 season, the team in last place in the league beat the league leaders by 5 goals, and it wasn't even all that surprising.

 

the hard core gamblers that bet on cockfights, awards shows, and anything else would already be betting on MLS games.

Gambling would not help MLS (in regards to making it popular). If there were to be a big pickup in gambling on MLS, it would mean that MLS would have already reached that sought after level of populartiy. Gambling will reflect the success of the league, not the other way around.

However by the the 3rd or 4th regular season match between LA and Chivas, there will be plenty of unofficial bets all over LA. But I'm guessing beer will probably be the terms of the bet. And of course bragging rights and the right to humiliate the loser at every chance.

 

There are so many threads on helping MLS and increasing attendance and somehow, so few are based on making the product better and more interesting to watch. Peoples ideas seem to make a B-line right towards the gimmics. ​

Bizzare..​

 

It's in part because the question of how to make the product better and more interesting to watch has already been solved. Continue to spend more on players and player development. But it's how to get the dollars to do that that is more important right now, and the only way to do that is to make the game more popular.

So, how do we continue to make going to and watching the product more popular so we can increase revenue and ultimately the quality of the product? Gambling is one idea.

 

So what's the over/under on timing for the Metrostars new stadium?

 

....not soon enough...

 

500-1 odds of getting our stadium.

 

I don't think gambling and soccer mix very well. Most games don't have over 3 goals scored by either team so you're looking at a 1-point spread almost every time. It's not like the polar opposite, basketball, where 100 is scored often in NBA games so you can have a widely varying point spread.

 

Not that I gamble..... but I am ALL FOR gambline and MLS. Ladbrokes baby !!

 

Not that I gamble..... but I am ALL FOR gambling and MLS. Ladbrokes baby !!

 

Gambling is not going to make MLS more popular. Making this league more watchable, interesting and exciting is.​

The qulaity of the player and to a lesser degree, player development is important, but it's only one piece of a the puzzle.​

Offering gambling to a league that barely anyone over the age of 12 watches, isn't going to gain it fans. Be a little visionary. Look around to other leagues successes and what makes them good and you will find out how to make MLS more popular. The gambling angle is just more gimicky schtick.. MLS has enough of that already. ​

 

Point spread and over/unders aren't the only way to do sports gambling of course. All you have to do is get bettors to spread their money evenly so the losses cancel out the winnings and the house keeps the vig.

Now, MLS could use every revenue source it can get its hands on, but for a family-centric league like MLS, I doubt the negative publicity is worth the extra change.

 

There IS gambling on MLS, and the lines are often crazy IMO; DCU was almost a 3-1 underdog in MLS Cup, i made about $1500 off of it

 

Gambling is hardly a gimic. It’s a huge part of sports all over the world.

And betting works great for soccer. It’s surely the most bet on sport in the world, give that it’s legal just about everywhere. And all the major bookmakers cover MLS. Just check their websites. It amazes me how many people are surprised you can bet (results, handicap, total goals, etc. depending on the bookmaker) on every MLS match, or even soccer in general. Hell, I’ve seen lines for the Norwegian women’s league before, you think there aren’t lines for MLS everywhere?

On one hand it’s a very difficult league to bet due to parity. On the other hand, the bookmakers know next to nothing about the league and therefore don’t often take into account things like player absences and injuries. They typically just punch some numbers into a computer (records home away, goal differential) and get lines.

I’ve been AWOL from the wagering forum here for quite a wile due to time constraints, but when I was there it always surprised me how few people here seemed interested, or even aware, that MLS, like every sport on Earth practically, can be bet on and is bet on. The international gambling industry isn’t just about the US “big 4”.

 

I think it would all be pretty interresting and exciting as an MLS fan. I say this for myself of course, Im not so sure if it will attract new fans and so forth.

There are so many categories in which to place bets it would get very interresting. Bet on certain players scoring, assists, yellow/red cards in a game, starts or come off the bench. We could even cross certain stats with Euro leagues. Something like, will Esky score more/less than half the goals of the Golden Boot Winner of the EPL during the MLS regular season.

I think these bets would keep fans interrested and we would be able to watch even those terrible boring games MLS offers sometimes.

I dont see how betting on MLS can do fans or the league any harm. To say we will get bad press and a negative reputation makes no sense to me. College basketball has one of the most popular sports books in Vegas and these are just students representing schools, to say it is not right for pro soccer players to be in the gambling arena as well makes no sense whatsoever.

PLUS, if we do get some negative press, heck, we could even use that, because at this point ANY press is good press for MLS since not alot of people even know we exist. Let such a thing stirr up some contraversy and maybe this will be reason for SportsCenter to show SOMETHIN about MLS.

 

In soccer, you bet on a home win, draw, or away win.

 

There are numerous variations. That's just the basic standard. For MLS there often aren't many other options, due to the low level of interest compared with other soccer leagues.

I don't quite get whether people here are saying we should be able to bet on MLS or we should publicize betting on MLS more. You've *always* been able to bet on MLS. As for publicizing the fact, I do think, for example, MLSnet should show us the lines, just as nfl.com does for football. Maybe one of our esteemed soccer writers could stick there neck out and make "for fun only" picks each week based on the typical prices online.

 

I guess there are two ways of looking at this.

1. Gambling as a means to create interest
As you say, you were always able to gamble on MLS if you were in Vegas or Atlantic City (or illegally almost everywhere else). But the connection between gambling and popularity has always been a chicken/egg question.
Why is March Madness such a big deal? Because of gamblers. Why does March Madness draw gamblers? Because it's a big deal.

No, gambling made what was already big bigger. March Madness wasn't the gambling property it is now because of the at-large teams, first round upsets, the Thursda-Sunday format and television. Yes, the bracket helped make the tournament what it is now, but think about it - you can do the same exact thing with women's basketball yet it doesn't draw nearly the same kind of attention.

2. Gambling as revenue source - I have no idea how this would work. We should keep in mind that internet sports gambling is illegal in the United States. And how would MLS-licensed gambling appeal more than non-licensed gambling? I do not know.

 

Well, I was thinking *exclusively* of internet gambling, which is by far the most common form of gambling in the US, apart from bets between friends. I really don’t know if you can bet on MLS in Vegas or Atlantic City. Maybe not.

However, Internet gambling is illegal in the way jaywalking is illegal if you know what I mean. And it’s very important to the big US sports leagues, even if they don’t say so. Actually, I’m not certain the legality/illegality is even that clear. If someone makes a bet through an Australian bookmaker, the transaction technically takes place in Australia. Anyway, I’ve frequented numerous US-based sports gambling message boards, and the legality rarely comes up.

I don’t think MLS is somehow going to make lots of money off gambling. I do know, however, that there are some people who right now know nothing about MLS, who would bet on matches if they saw the lines next to the NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA and NHL lines in their paper. Maybe the total number of people is not significant, but they do exist. More importantly, it makes those dull mid season matches lot more interesting, especially for the neutral MLS fan!

Right now I’d say most who bet on MLS are Europeans who either are addicts or come home drunk from the pub late at night when MLS matches are about to start local time and bet for the hell of it.

 

To be honest, you should really go for anything that would get MLS more coverage and fans. The attendance ratings for some sides seem to be okay though, which is strange. You guys definitely need more coverage anyway, I've been the bloke who flips the tv on at 1am and watches it a few times and I know more about it than a lot of americans I've talked to on the the internet, which is slightly disappointing for the league.

 

And when you flip the TV on, are you impressed with what you see?

 

It deserves more credit than a lot of people here give it - the games vary a lot in quality and at their best are roughly as good as a first division (second level) game. The worst was at best third division standard. Although to be fair, I've not seen very many games, as I don't understand my video recorder's timer! (does anyone?)

 

MLS needs a lot of things to happen to help it grow. I'm not against gambling...I've bet on the ponies and in casinos...but I don't think I would bet on soccer. I think that it would kinda spoil the the way that I look at and love the game. However, I DO think that if gambling on MLS games became more prevalent that it could boost (to some degree) TV viewship. There seem to be a lot of younger people I know that will watch NFL games more than they normally would just because they are in a prediction league or they bet on the games. I think gambling would attract more young adults males who played soccer in high school and college to watch MLS more frequently since there would be something at stake. As others have said here, this is only part of the puzzle to grow MLS. It is certainly not the biggest piece of the puzzle, but it would help.