Today’s indictments are the result of a multi-year investigation by the Department of Justice, the FBI and the IRS.

The indictment alleges Bartice Alan King, 42, of Spring, Texas, worked with others to set up an illegal bookmaking operation in San Jose, Costa Rica before moving the operation to Panama City. The company, known since 2003 as Legendz Sports, took wagers online and through bookies located throughout the United States.  According to the DOJ, Legendz (and its affiliate companies) handled more than $1 billion in sports bets since 2003.

Jim Finch, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office, said “individuals cannot skirt the laws of the United States by setting up illegal internet gambling operations in a foreign country, while living in the United States and enjoying all the benefits of U.S. citizens.”

In addition to Bartice King, Spiros Athanas was indicated. The founder of TheGreek.com, Athanas is alleged to have loaned between $1.5 and $3.5 million to Luke King (another person indicted) to build a call center for Legendz Sports in Panama. For nearly two decades, Athanas has been considered one of the sharpest and most well-respected offshore bookmakers. It’s unclear how this indictment will impact TheGreek’s remaining operation which now only handles bets from non-US customers.

The indictment calls for the forfeiture of assets held by all 34 defendants which, combined, total over $ 1 billion. Now, something doesn’t add up. If this group facilitated $1 billion in wagers over a 9 year period, they likely ‘won’ somewhere $50 million handling all those bets (the average hold rate for Nevada sports books has been 5% over the past decade). And that $50 million is gross profit so it doesn’t account for the cost of running an offshore sports book: call centers, IT infrastructure, marketing, agent commissions, etc. If this group only handled $1 billion in sports bets, there is no possible way they could have amassed $1 billion in assets from this gambling enterprise. So, one of two key points in this indictment are incorrect: either the group handled far more than $1 billion in bets or the group has nowhere near $1 billion in assets.

Some other interesting notes from the indictment:

* Assets listed to be forfeited include dozens of properties in Texas (specifically, in The Woodlands) and New Hampshire

* Other assets include banks accounts at a number of large institutions including Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, TD Bank, and Wachovia. Vehicles tagged for seizure include a 2009 Maserati Quattroporte and a 1969 Ford Mustang.

* One of the indicted purchased a $1.65M condo in Sarasota, Florida in 2008 and used $400,000 in gold coins as partial payment.

* The domains that were used by Legendz (and its affiliates) include Legendz.com, betlegends.eu, betwalrus.com, mvpplay.com, betjamaica.com, olympicsports.com and others.

* Nicknames, always the most colorful part of sports gambling indictments, include “Bubbles,” “Gooch,” “Fat Mikey,” “Frank the Bank,” “Big Dog,” “Top Cat,” “Big Lou,” and “ROLLTIDE.”

* Between March 31, 2008 and October 31, 2012, Spiros Athanas is alleged to have transferred $3,349,650 from a bank account in Jamaica to a bank account in New Hampshire.

In order to see the data for each matchup, simply click on a game and the information will hover open to show you everything you need to know. It should be noted that the play-in games will be added once completed and that all futures will be loaded once we have them from 5Dimes.

Head on over to our NCAA Basketball Betting Guide to see everything you need to know.

It’s the date that marks what may well be the worst beat in the history of college basketball.

Iona was a 4 point favorite over the Manhattan Jaspers. With :28 left, Iona made two free throws to take a 6 point lead. Manhattan came back down the floor and missed a jumper. Iona gets the rebound, throws it down the floor and David Laury dunks it to put the Gaels up by 8 with just :06 left on the clock.

If you had Iona -4, you’re already spending the money. But then something happened.

Manhattan inbounds the ball from under their own basket with :06 remaining. They race up the court and Shane Richards is able to get off a three point shot. He makes it with :01 left. Manhattan loses by 5 and Iona covers, right? Well, not so fast.

The Iona bench celebrated the certain victory by rushing onto the court. But the clock hadn’t fully expired. There was 1/10th of one second left. So, in a fit of absurd officiousness, the referee calls a technical on the Iona bench.

Donovan Kate of the Jaspers steps to the line and sinks the first free throw. Iona is now up just 4. Then he sinks the second ‘meaningless’ free throw. Iona “wins” by 3 and loses the cover. So, to recap, Manhattan, a 4 point underdog and trailing by 8, scored 5 points in the final 1 second of the game to cover.

Yep, this is among the worst bad beats in the history of college basketball.

And you don’t need to tell @thislawthatlaw. This poor guy had a 6 team parlay. He risked $40 to win $1,600. He won the first 5. The sixth? Iona -4.

That is a gruesome way to miss out on a $1,600 payday. And it’s one of the most gruesome beats in college hoops history. It was so gruesome that ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt captured it perfectly with a horror movie reference:

As is common, the foursome set up a $5 Nassau bet. Obama and Woods teamed up to play against Kirk and Crane. With a Nassau bet, there’s $5 riding on the front 9, $5 riding on the back 9 and $5 riding on the 18 hole match. And get this: Obama and Woods swept the bets. The prize? A cool $15.

End of story, right? Well, not quite.

A friendly golf wager is illegal in the state of Florida, it turns out. The issue was first raised by former LVH SuperContest champion Richard Stand. Then, Florida State Law Professor Ryan Rodenberg researched the matter. And, according to his analysis, the relevant Florida statute is F.S. Section 849.14:

849.14 Unlawful to bet on result of trial or contest of skill, etc.—Whoever stakes, bets or wagers any money or other thing of value upon the result of any trial or contest of skill, speed or power or endurance of human or beast, or whoever receives in any manner whatsoever any money or other thing of value staked, bet or wagered, or offered for the purpose of being staked, bet or wagered, by or for any other person upon any such result, or whoever knowingly becomes the custodian or depositary of any money or other thing of value so staked, bet, or wagered upon any such result, or whoever aids, or assists, or abets in any manner in any of such acts all of which are hereby forbidden, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s.775.082 or s. 775.083.

Bookies in Taiwan are now setting odds and taking bets on when terminally ill cancer patients will die.

They gather details on a patient’s condition. They visit the hospital. They talk with the family. And they set a line. Before you bet, you can also visit the patient in the hospital.

Generally, here’s how the betting works:  If the patient dies within a month, the bettor loses. If the patient dies between 1 and 6 months, the bettor is paid 3x their wager. If the patient dies after 6 months, the payout is decreased and if the patient lives a year or more, the bettor loses the entire bet.

And yes, you can even parlay multiple cancer patients. 

This must be some sick novelty offered by one or two bookies, you’re probably thinking. Well, it’s bigger than that. According to the Daily Mirror’s investigation, there is an estimated 130-160 cancer bookies who handle $60-$70 million in betting action. Bets are as small as $60 and as big as $325,000.

In conversations with reporters, one cancer bookie shared some details on who is making bets on terminally ill patients:

In a bizarre twist, he revealed sufferers’ families receive 10 per cent of returns on all winning bets to ease the punters’ consciences.

Ho claimed his customers included victims’ relatives, ­police and doctors.

He said: “Originally, we brought them in for expert opinion on how ­people’s cancer was progressing.

“But once they realised how much they could make, they started betting themselves.”

Life insurance agents are also involved, recommending the names of policy holders who have fallen ill.

Of course, this sort of betting seems susceptible to the worst imaginable kind of manipulation: doctors profiting from the death of their patients. And, according to one report, “doctors have been accused of cashing in by placing bets on their own patients then withdrawing treatment to “fix” deaths.” 

Reportedly, Taiwanese police are investigating this growing cancer betting industry.

We immediately pointed out how that article was dead wrong citing Nevada Gaming Commission reports through the end November. But today, the Gaming Commission released December data so now we can look at the the results for the entire 2012 calendar year.

And guess what? Yes, Nevada sports books did very well booking football bets. In fact, they made $68.4M in profit from handling football wagers. That’s the most they’ve made since 2007 and a 22% increase over their 10 year average football profits of $55M.

Nevada books won (or held) 4.37% of all the money bet on football during 2012. That hold rate is slightly below their long-term football hold rate of 4.54%. Of course, the hold rate indicates just how well (or badly) bettors did for the year: in 2012, football bettors were about as mediocre as they always are. For every $1,000 they bet, they lost $43.70.

So what drove such healthy football profits for Nevada sports books? Lots and lots of betting action.  

For the year, Nevada books took $1,566,498,856 in football bets. That’s the most the state’s sports books have ever handled since sports betting was legalized. It’s also a 16% increase over what was a record 2011 when bettors risked $1.34 billion and a 37% increase over the 10 year average of $1.14 billion. 

Below is a table showing Nevada football betting results since 1992.  

But there’s a new record.

Nevada sports books handled $98.9M in bets on Super Bowl XLVII between the Ravens and the 49ers. That makes the game the most heavily bet Super Bowl ever and, as a result, the most heavily bet NFL game in the history of legalized sports betting in Nevada.

There were reports, like this one by Bloomberg, that sports books would take a loss as a result of the Ravens victory and the over cashing. But, not surprisingly, those reports were inaccurate.

Nevada books won $7.2M on the $98.9M in Super Bowl bets for a 7.2% win rate. That’s the highest win rate for books since the 2010 Super Bowl when New Orleans beat Indianapolis and books won 8.3% on all bets placed. And the $7.2M in gross winnings is the biggest win for Nevada books since 2007.

Keep in mind, the Super Bowl betting volume includes straight wagers, teasers and parlays. Sports books traditionally have a much higher win rate on parlays (it’s averaged 30% over past decade) and since the Super Bowl draws a lot of parlay action from recreational bettors, Nevada books generally have a higher win rate on the Super Bowl than on a typical NFL game.

Sports books have now won money in 21 of the past 23 Super Bowls.

Last year, we highlighted the 21 strangest Super Bowl prop bets which included madness like: will Kelly Clarkson show her belly button (she didn’t) and will Madonna wear fishnet stockings (she did)?

We’ve scoured all the online sports books to find the weirdest 22 Super Bowl prop bets for this year’s match-up between the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens. And yes, some of the strange prop bets includes the coaches (John and Jim Harbaugh are brothers, in case you haven’t heard).

Players Arrested Bet

Think anyone will pull a Eugene Robinson this year?

Via Bovada

Presidential Pick Bet

During the Super Bowl last year (an election year) President Obama couldn’t make a call as it was “too close.” His previous picks were the Saints in 2009 and rooted for the Steelers in 2010.

Via Bovada

Anthem Time Length Bet

Ahh, the time honored tradition of betting on the national anthem. Each year gamblers around the country watch hours of anthem videos in an attempt to find out just how long the song will go. Early money is on the over. But, before you rush out to bet the over at Bovada, the line at Sportsbook.com is just 2 minutes and 5 seconds.

Via Bovada

Improvised National Anthem Bet

Always a tricky wager as grading this bet can be iffy. One point to note is that Keys isn’t an academic slouch; she graduated as valedictorian of her class at the Professional Performing Arts School. So, you know, she should be able to remember the song. But she has promised to “make it her own” so she may add a verbal flourish or two.

Via Bovada

Will Fans Boo Bet

If it were available, we’d say hammer the no.

Via Bovada

Coaching Hat Bet

If one of the brothers were to go hatless, we’d guess it’s John. But it may well be that the NFL’s new hat sponsor, New Era, requires coaches were hats in the big game so we’ll pass on this bet.

Via BetOnline

Cross Sports Bet

Who doesn’t love a good cross sport wager? While these are fairly common, this Ovechkin minutes vs FG length really caught our eye for being creative. Keep in mind, Ovechkin is averaging about 22 minutes per game (and Sunday’s game is very likely to be in the 20-24 minute range).

Via Bovada

Harbowl Bet

Not sick of the term yet? Bovada thinks you’ll hear it about two and a half more times.

Via Bovada

“Harbaugh” Word Count Bet

It’s not a name you can shorten, and it’s the main storyline heading into the game. With Jack, Jackie, Jim and John there’ll be a real handful of Harbaughs to talk about. So will Jim Nantz and Phil Simms say “Harbaugh” more than 20.5 times during the game? That’s only 5 Harbaughs per quarter. We’ll take the over.

Via Bovada

Beyonce Recording Device Bet

What device will Beyonce be using when starting the halftime show? If “tape player” were available, we’d be all in. But given the Super Bowl is all about extravagant performances and Beyonce is going to come out of the gates singing (of course). . . and dancing so that means headset is the play.

Via Bovada

Beyonce Hairstyle Bet

Odds are leaning towards a curl/crimped flavor. We’ve consulting with sharpest closest women and there’s a near-universal consensus: Beyonce’s hair will not be straight. Yes, we think there’s real value in the curly/crimped option at just -140.

Via BetOnline

Wardrobe Malfunction Bet

This won’t happen, and betting on it isn’t going to make it happen. So don’t be tempted by the 20 to 1 odds and your prurient desires: don’t bet this.

Via William Hill

Beyonce Cleavage Bet

Since the Janet Jackson malfunction, Super Bowl entertainers have been a bit more covered up. Need evidence? Look at Fergie two years ago and Madonna last year. And Beyonce sometimes opts for the full body leotard that accentuates her legs (and the area where her legs end), so we think there’s some value at the ‘no’ at +300.

Via BetOnline

Parental Style Bet

The Harbaughs are not the Griswolds. Jack isn’t going to wearing a 49ers hat while Jackie snuggles up in her Ravens hoodie. They’ll be decked out in non-logo business casual style apparel and we’ll take the ‘no’ at -500. 

Via Bovada

Jay-Z Bet

You can bet on whether Mr. Beyonce, also known as Jay Z, will be shown on television during the game. If he’s shown just once, the over hits. And here’s the thing: he’s (arguably) the coolest guy in America so of course he’s going to be shown at least one time. Hell, he was shown about a dozen times at the presidential inauguration where his wife performed so there’s simply no way he isn’t shown one time during the Super Bowl. The over is our best bet.

Via Bovada

Har-dad Bet

Just how many times will we see Harbaugh Sr? Currently there is (well-warranted) heavy juice on over 2 appearances. We’re going to stay away from this as the fact that the world is clearly feeling Harbaugh fatigue may lead the CBS production crew to take notice: and keep the cameras off the non-coaching Harbaughs.

Via Bovada

Hugs & Handshakes Bet

This isn’t the first Harbaugh handshake you could bet on. However, it is the first (and hopefully the last ) betable Harbaugh hug. 7.5 seconds may not sound like a long time but it is. Go ahead, try to shake the nearest person’s hand for 7.5 seconds, we’ll wait. . . . that was awkard, wasn’t it? If we had to bet this, we’d bet the under. But this prop is rife with subjective interpretation problems with the sports book so we’ll stay away.

Via Bovada

Gatorade Color Bet

While the clearcut favorite is .. well clear … last year the first ever purple shower appeared as Tom Coughlin was covered in Riptide Rush.

Via Bovada

MVP Thanks Bet

Protip: If you bet on Ray Lewis to win MVP, don’t forget to take the “God” option here.

Via BetOnline

Ray Lewis & Religion Bet

We’d have likely set this line in the double digits. Remember, when Ray starts riffing on his savior, he tends to go on and on and on. If they leave the microphone in front of him long enough, the over is easy. A word of caution, though: sometimes Ray goes with the “Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” line. That doesn’t appear to count in this prop bet as he has to say “God” or “Lord.” That makes it much tougher to bet the over.

Via Bovada

Super Bowl Tweets Per Second Bet

Last year the Super Bowl hit 12,233 tweets per second. With nearly double the active users in 2013, look for this to go well over, especially if it’s a close game. Indeed, this over may be one of the better bets on the board.

Via Bovada

Nevada Super Bowl Handle Bet

Attention degenerates: As Xzibit would say: “YO DAWG I HEARD YOU LIKE BETS SO WE MADE A BET ON YOUR BETS SO YOU CAN BET WHILE YOU BET.” We track the Vegas betting scene quite closely and, overall, 2012 betting volumes were substantially higher than those in 2011. Last year, Vegas took in $94M in Super Bowl bets. The over – even at -155 – offers value.

Via BetOnline

While we don’t unfortunately offer these prop bets on our website, we do offer free bet tracking software that allows you to make fantasy sports betting picks. Sign up for an account in under 10 seconds and start competing against the avid WagerMinds handicapping community.

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But, let’s not overlook Dan Dibley. He’s still mathematically alive, though he’ll need some help. He needs to pick the winner and both Vernon and Wilkening need to pick the loser for him to pull out a miracle comeback.

Overall, contestants had a mediocre divisional round going 3-3-2 (50% win rate.) The current leaderboard:

You can always check out the live leaderboard and all past results. Good luck to both Chris Vernon & Mike Wilkening as they battle it out for the first ever WagerMinds Media Championship.

After the 49ers beat the Atlanta Falcons and the Ravens upset the Patriots as 8 point underdogs, Super Bowl XLVII is set: it’s San Francisco vs. Baltimore. This is the first time since 1997 that both road teams won the conference championship games. 

Pinnacle, the largest offshore sports book, opened the line at SF -3.5 with a total of 50. The Greek  opened SF as 4.5 point favorites. But money immediately came in on the 49ers and the line was bet up to SF -5.5 at both offshore books.

Since then, the line has settled back to San Francisco -5 at both Pinnacle and The Greek. The Wynn was the first Vegas book to post a Super Bowl line and they opened the line at 49ers -5 with a total of 50.

The Harbaugh brothers met last year in a Thursday night game at Baltimore. The Ravens won 16-6 as Alex Smith couldn’t get his team into the endzone.