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Crunch time
The Little League Baseball World Series (LLWS) is down to the semifinal stage with three US teams eying the trophy.
The manager of contender South Carolina has, however, echoed the sentiments of many other US Little League managers, essentially stating that offshore betting on the LLWS was not good for the game.
just not appropriate, it feels dirty, quite honestly.”
While Dave Brogan admitted to visiting Las Vegas twice a year, the South Carolina manager stated offshore betting on the LLWS was “just not appropriate, it feels dirty, quite honestly.”
Brogan’s team takes on Las Vegas (Mountain Region) in one of the last two semifinal matchups set for Thursday at 7pm. While Vegas boss TJ Fechser will be hoping to see off South Carolina and progress to a US Championship clash with Fairfield, Connecticut on Saturday, he’s on the same page as Brogan regarding black market betting.
As reported by Reuters on Wednesday, Fechser said that while major US sportsbooks don’t currently take bets on the LLWS, if that were to change “we have to really look into ourselves. Is this appropriate?”
“I’m not the decider on this, but I don’t want to see it being standardized,” he added.
Little League weighs in
Gerald Oda, Little League manager of Hawaii, was more passionate about keeping gambling away from the youth tournament, stating it tarnishes the “beauty” of the LLWS.
Oda described the LLWS as a unique tournament because teams are representing their local communities. “It’s that innocence, that pureness that these kids show on the field,” he stated, adding:
Gambling is here to stay, but I am thankful that Little League is very protective of what they have.”
Players at the LLWS cannot be over 12 years of age, a point Little League International made in a statement last week condemning sports betting. The body stated the League was a “trusted place” where kids learned important life and sports competition lessons while “having fun, celebrating teamwork, and playing with integrity.”
It warned: “No one should be exploiting the success and failures of children playing the game they love for their own personal gain.”
Costa Rica-based Bovada and Panama-headquartered BetOnline are, according to Reuters, two of the offshore sites taking daily bets on the LLWS.
Wider concerns
Project Play Community Impact Director Jon Solomon pointed to a 2018 Alabama survey he said revealed the negative effects of sports betting on young players.
“Kids are already facing a lot of pressure in youth sports these days. It is a highly commercialized industry with a lot of people already making a lot of money.”
Solomon also referred to the rising levels of harassment directed by gamblers at pro and college athletes as a warning note.
they should seriously seek help
“Imagine the stakes for a more impressionable child […] or teenager? It’s so unhealthy and so unneeded, and I think if anyone is betting on youth sports, they should seriously seek help because you have a serious addiction most likely.”
The remaining LLWS matchups from the international bracket are Venezuela against Aruba with the winner facing Taipei on Saturday. Whoever emerges victorious will face a US side on Sunday for the 2025 LLWS title.
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