Sportsviews a Weak Legal Alternative to Online Sports Gambling
The online poker industry saw a few sites emerge as would-be legal alternatives to Internet gambling sites, using a social network format, only to see most of the sites unable to sustain themselves. Now Sportsviews.com is trying to feature a totally legal concept to draw sports gambling patrons, but the result is just not that appealing.
Sportsviews charges no fees from members, avoiding the "consideration" factor in many states' definitions of illegal gambling. The site allows players to accumulate SV points, based on winning challenges, or bets.
But, unlike other social networks that try to find legal loopholes to host gambling, Sportsviews doesn't offer merchandise or prizes in exchange for points. Instead, the site allows bidders to use points to acquire "ownership' of favorite teams and players.
Sportsview does offer free game tickets to the three top SV point performers each month. Members are allowed to choose games offered at scalping concern StubHub, and SportsvIiews will purchase the tickets.
But all this leaves gamblers cold next to the excitement of having a real wager on a game. Until the US becomes more comfortable with allowing its citizens personal freedoms countries such as Great Britain take for granted, sports gamblers with have to settle for playing at Internet sportsbooks, finding a neighborhood bookie, or traveling to Las Vegas casinos to place a wager.
