Showtime announced a new four-part documentary series titled Action that will explore the impact legalized sports betting has had on the gambling community over the past year. The series will premiere Sunday, Mar. 24 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime.
Action documents the lives of professional gamblers, bookies, and oddsmakers throughout the 2018 NFL season. This past season was the first since the Supreme Court’s landmark decision removed the federal ban on sports gambling in May 2018. The main characters of the series will include pro-gambler Bill “Krack” Krackomberger, sports handicapper Kelly Stewart, and sports betting consultant Dave “Vegas Dave” Oancea. Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, bookmaker Jimmy Vaccaro, broadcaster Brent Musburger, and comedian Cal Lacono will also appear as guests.
“The chorus of human stories we present in Action will resonate far beyond the world of sports and gambling,” said Action director Luke Korem in a press release. “This is a sub-culture that reflects to an extreme the risk, reward and uncertainty we find in our everyday lives. I’m thrilled that Showtime is allowing us to capture these stories at such a unique moment in history.”
Action’s series finale focuses on the Super Bowl between the Patriots and Rams. The NFL’s title game is the biggest sports betting event of the year in the U.S.
The network says in its press release that the show’s character-driven narrative will aim to document the effects of sports gambling legalization through each character’s viewpoint.
“Through the lens of industry professionals and real-life gamblers within every virtual layer of the business—both legal and illegal—Action delivers a one-of-a-kind look as sports gambling enters a brave new world,” said Stephen Espinoza, President, Sports and Event Programming at Showtime Networks Inc, in the press release.
SportTechie Takeaway
Showtime, a subsidiary of CBS Corporation, estimates that $400-500 billion is wagered on sports betting annually in the United States. With the NFL recently appointing Caesars Entertainment as the league’s first-ever casino partner, all signs point to the NFL eventually passing legislation to embrace sports gambling. The NFL, which is the main story plot of Action, could see its revenue increase by $2.3 billion per year in the event of wide-scale, regulated sports betting in the U.S., according to Nielsen.