Hot Seven

What is Hot Seven?

The NFL referenced a comparable incarnation of the platform in a letter this summer to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission on prediction markets. The league was one of several that submitted public comments to the CFTC in regards to the agency’s proposed rules on event contracts.

The comment period opened shortly after several members of a Senate subcommittee alluded to the rise of prediction markets and the subsequent risk of a spike in harassment cases at a May federal sports betting hearing. The hearing, commenced by a US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation subcommittee, was held at the Russell Senate Building during the heart of the NBA and NHL Playoffs.

Cruz, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, also co-authored the aforementioned Protect College Sports Act with Washington Senator Maria Cantwell. As cloture motion for floor debate of the act began this week, Cruz has expressed optimism that the bill will be signed into law.

About Hot Seven

Despite taking the top spot on the charts on Bodog this past weekend, NCAA games didn’t prove overly enticing to gamblers. The NBA captured almost all of the top-ten most-wagered events, with only one NCAA game making it to the list. Sports gamblers liked betting on the LA Clippers a lot, as the team’s games against the Utah Jazz and the Brooklyn Nets picked up 13.85% and 11.51%, respectively. In a surprise victory, the Clippers beat the Jazz on Friday, but couldn’t keep the run going and lost to the Nets on Sunday.

The Genesis Invitational, which Max Homa took down after a shoot-off with Tony Finau, attracted 10.79% of the wagers on Bodog this past weekend. Homa is intimately familiar with the course where the tournament is played, the Riviera Country Club, and has been a regular on the greens since he was two years old. With his Genesis win, Homa joins Bubba Watson as the only two players to take a Riviera victory with a bogey-free final round since 1990.

The NBA action returned to Bodog’s list next, with three games getting more than 10% of the wagers. Next, the NCAA’s Michigan vs. Ohio State game was popular with gamblers, as 9.07% of the bets on Bodog were placed on this game. Third-place Michigan handed fourth-place Ohio State a loss, walking away with a 92-87 win to improve to 16-1. Novak Djokovic vs. Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open attracted 8.58% of the bets as Djokovic swept three sets. The last of the top-ten events on Bodog flipped back to the NBA, with the Sacramento Kings/Milwaukee Bucks and the Golden State Warriors/Charlotte Hornets games getting 7.63% and 7.5%, respectively.

About Hot Seven

Sports betting is billed by the gaming industry as a form of entertainment, but for a growing proportion of the betting public, covering the spread is key to covering the rent.

A new survey from U.S. News is sounding the alarm over Americans increasingly turning to high-risk endeavors, including sports betting, to help make ends meet and pay their monthly household bills.

U.S. News surveyed 1,200 Americans who placed a sports wager within the last 12 months. The media organization found that more than half of respondents (51%) placed a sports bet to help pay household bills, while 21% wagered specifically to cover their rent or mortgage payment.