The shocker fight – the fight of Mike Tyson against YouTuber boxer Jake Paul scheduled for November 15 in Arlington, Texas, has everyone talking-and, more so, polarizing. While some people are excited about this unlikely confrontation, many are letting Nevada know they do not want to see their states allowing wagers. Thus, New York, Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Vermont are examples of states that have agreed to leave this type of wagering unauthorized.
The fights did not conform to patterns for official boxing contests in Pennsylvania. “I’m pretty sure if it had been down in Atlantic City, they would have loved it,” said Richard McGarvey from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board going on to say, “We just said, ‘Not in Pennsylvania.’” Pennsylvania’s stance is typical of the state regulators who are not keen on going to war with giant non-standard broads and lesser standard fighters.
The New York State Gaming Commission’s Brad Maione shared the same sentiments. He said this means that, as it is an exhibition that includes ‘a former professional fighter,’ the fight cannot be legally wagered on in New York. The commission tends to disallow betting on contests that involve non-commercial sports performers or performers whose performances are purely demonstrative, and Tyson vs. Paul is a match of that description.
However, the TDLR has legalised the fight anticipated as a professional bout but has conceded to some strange conditions – the fight shall be of two minutes as opposed to the usual three and the fighters shall wear 14-ounce gloves as opposed to the regular 10-ounce gloves. These changes have been made following the request of the fight promoter Bryce Holden, representing Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) owned by Paul with Netflix intending to livestream the fight.
Some of the of the rules used in standard form ensure that betting gets out of key states.
Similar concerns have been raised by Colorado authorities with reference to the fight’s organisation, and according to Derek Kuhn from the Department of Revenue, the fight “does not meet minimums for industry in the state”. Like the rules in Pennsylvania this bout doesn’t meet, Colorado’s boxing rules are aligned with the Association of Boxing Commissions and have rules that Tyson-Paul contest lacks. Vermont also pointed at the two-minute rounds and wearing of heavier gloves as the major issues that were causing failure.
Johnny Avello of DraftKings pointed out that a total of six states will not be allowing wagers on this match, asked, “Will people still be watching the fight? Maybe so, but I suppose enrollment would be much higher if they could get a wager on it.
McGarvey of Pennsylvania noted that he understands that it is not novel for them to deny authorisation of bets on unconventional matches. He provided the example of the bout between Evander Holyfield and Vitor Belfort in October 2021 in which betting was prohibited for similar causes.
