Betting As A Group -- Legal?

[Pedigree Ann]

Originally Posted by joeya

Hello Everyone,

I've even heard it said that the person who makes the final decisions (every group has one) and ultimately makes the wagers is technically "booking bets" and running an "illegal gambling operation," even though he is legally making those wagers at a racetrack or legal online account wagering service.

Any thoughts?

A bookie (a person booking bets) sets odds for each horse, accepts wagers at those odds and pays out from the pot of money he collected from bettors over time. In the pari-mutuel system, odds are set by how much is bet on each horse and the payout comes from the pool that everyone has bet into. If you give a friend $10 and ask him to put it on a horse in the 5th, he is acting as your messager taking the bet to the window, something that some tracks now provide for their high rollers. If a group of friends pool their money and decide on a bet, the designated bettor is acting as a messanger for the group. If the messanger pockets the money and doesn't actually make the bet, he is in effect 'booking' the bet, since he has decided that the likelihood of it paying off is so small as to be neglible. But then he would have to face a mob of surly ex-friends if it hits, even for a conso. <grin>