Spin Town

What is Spin Town?

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is expected to send a provisional measure to Congress this week to tighten the regulations for betting in Brazil.

According to CNN Brazil, the government is considering expanding restrictions on betting advertising and banning online casino games. The idea would be to maintain only sports betting.

The decision to use a provisional measure means the restrictions can take effect immediately, less than a month before the elections. This is the clearest indication yet that the sector is being used for electoral purposes to try and secure Lula’s re-election.

What is Spin Town?

“People will lose money faster on exchanges for lots of reasons,” Marantelli says. “It inherently increases spend, volatility, lots of things. And you’re playing against a sharper audience than you’re playing against at the DraftKings sportsbook.”

He compares the effect with sportsbook cash-out features, which gave customers more apparent control over their bets but may also have encouraged greater spending. The crucial difference is that an exchange customer can be facing a specialist whose entire business is identifying inaccurately priced contracts.

Kendrick sees a warning in the history of betting exchanges. In their early growth phase, there was sufficient retail liquidity for numerous market makers to profit. As that retail pool weakened, the sharper firms increasingly found themselves trading against one another.

How to play Spin Town

AC Milan vs. Red Star Belgrade (Agg 2-2) (8pm GMT kick-off)

PSV Eindhoven vs. Olympiakos (Agg 2-4) (8pm GMT kick-off)

Roma vs. Sporting Braga (Agg 2-0) (8pm GMT kick-off)