Chicago Cubs Invest In Offshore Betting Data Provider

CHICAGO – The Action Network – a new sports betting data and software provider – has raised approximately $17.5 million in their Series B round of funding. One of the notable investors to back the company is the Chicago Cubs. This has some industry insiders scratching their heads. 

The Action Network was founded in 2017 as the climate for legal US sports betting was reaching a fever pitch, and the timing couldn’t have been better. The company produces a host of sports betting content, with a well-reviewed iPhone and Android app that boasts all the freshest sports news and can track all your wagers at offshore sports betting sites. 

That latter aspect is what has some US sports betting pundits crying foul. 

This is primarily because many industry insiders and US sports betting activists characterize offshore sportsbooks as “illegal” or claim that they serve American customers “illegally.” As such, the Cubs are setting a bad – and perhaps even dangerous – precedent by backing the young brand.

Conflict Of Interest? 

Do these folks have a valid complaint? At the very least, it’s easy to see how the Cubs’ investment in The Action Network might be viewed as hypocritical. For one, Major League Baseball (MLB) claimed throughout the Supreme Court review of PASPA (the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992) that “unregulated” sports betting would cause “irreparable harm” to their league. 

After PASPA was overturned, the MLB started lobbying both the federal and state congresses to install “integrity fees” to fund and promote proper league oversight of betting irregularities. Additionally, the MLB has been vocal about the importance of regulated sports wagering markets displacing unregulated ones. 

From this perspective, the Cubs and The Action Network might seem to make strange bedfellows. It might seem like a bad look for the MLB, especially considering its various past statements about sports wagering regulations being critical to the preservation of the integrity of the game. Or it might not. 

Offshore Sports Betting Misrepresented In The Media

One of the most important things to mention here is that what such insiders and pundits call “illegal” isn’t. None of the offshore sports betting sites that The Action Network pulls data from are doing business in America unlawfully. Indeed, many media personalities with US-based betting interests use and promote these same offshore sites. 

In the argument about sports wagering legalization, it has been popular in the mainstream media to conflate black market and gray market sports betting. If you have an unregulated local bookie with whom you place wagers, that bookie is operating illegally. He or she is breaking the law. This is black market sports betting.

However, offshore sportsbooks operate completely legally. There are no state or federal laws of any kind that prevent them from offering their products to residents of the US. These books are unregulated in America, but they are regulated (and licensed and pay taxes) in their home nations. This is gray market sports betting. 

A Smart Investment

The Chicago Cubs investing in The Action Network is a good move. In fact, it’s one of the Cubs’ best trades in years. The Action Network sports app – and its subscription Edge service within the app – is a slick, refined product that offers the public exactly what it wants: sports betting data. 

You cannot use The Action Network’s services to directly place wagers, send money to overseas betting sites, claim bonuses, or initiate payouts. 

With the Cubs’ investment in The Action Network, there is no conflict of interest. Sports betting is a global phenomenon, and The Action Network provides compelling news and information about the industry. They’ve even got a content partnership with ESPN. Any implications of impropriety are unfounded, and any characterizations of offshore sports betting sites as “illegal” should be dismissed.