Are Football-Contest Proxy Services Legal?

I saw an ad for KellyinVegas, a proxy service for the "three major Las Vegas handicapping contests." Is this legal, please, and if it is, why is it?

Yes, proxy services for sports-betting contests are legal.

Why? For one, it's enshrined in Nevada gaming law. Contestants have a choice: They can turn in their own weekly picks or assign a substitute to act on their behalf.

For another, it's very good for business. If it weren't for proxy services, the contests would be limited to locals and very frequent visitors, a small market compared to how big it can be with proxies in the mix. We've seen estimates that up to half of football-contest entries are submitted by proxies. And from what we understand, proxies have been around since the first SuperContest, which debuted in 1989 at the then-Hilton sports book (though we didn't reference them in LVA until 2005).

Proxy services were once very common in Asia and they extended far beyond sports-book beards. In Macau, for example, a proxy placed a bet at a table game for a gambler who wasn't in the casino. The gambler might have been in another jurisdiction, perhaps where gambling is prohibited, but told the proxy how to place bets in a Macau casino via mobile phone. Indeed, it was a profitable adjunct for junketeers, who helped video the pits so the bettors, wherever they were, could see their proxied action for themselves.

In May 2016, Macau regulators banned the use of mobile phones by players at gaming tables in the city’s casinos, specifically to put an end to proxy gambling. Prior to the new regulation, upwards of 10% of Macau's VIP gaming revenue was derived from proxy betting at the table games. But gaming regulators cracked down in favor of know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering policies.

All that's a side story to the question at hand. Proxy services in Las Vegas for the football contests are big business both for the services and sports books and are completely legal. The fees are $200-$300 per contest, with discounts for playing multiple contests. A percentage of any win is sometimes included, but that's less common today and you shouldn't work with a proxy that requires that. KellyinVegas is well-known to us and reputable. Another we can endorse is Larry K, who is used and recommended by Logan Fields, author of our new book 20/20 Sports Betting.

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Comments

Kevin Lewis Oct-10-2020

A job opportunity in these troubling times

I was thinking of all those jobless people in Vegas, many of whom are/were casino workers...and proxy betting doesn't exactly require any skills. I wonder if enterprising people have set themselves up and quietly advertised themselves as proxies--not just for football contests, but also for clients who live in places where sports betting isn't legal and want to place bets.

rokgpsman Oct-10-2020

Trust factor

Do the folks (the "proxies") that make the bets for others have any kind of bonding insurance or other assurance that the bet money or winnings won't be kept by the proxy? Looks like you could paypal me $5000 to bet on the Raiders game and I could keep the money and not answer your calls? How do they make this safe for out of town bettors, especially those that like to make several large bets? Once the bet is made at the casino and the proxy has the sports book ticket he has legal ownership of it, it belongs to whoever is in possession, right?

Jxs Oct-10-2020

I don’t think the proxy handles your cash

I could be wrong, but I think the initial registration for these contests has to be done in person by the actual gambler. They bring the cash to the book and sign up. After they do that and go home they can have the proxy service submit their weekly picks, but no cash is exchanged at that point, so there isn’t really any risk, except maybe if they get too drunk the night before and miss the deadline.

Question of the Day - 10 October 2020

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