Wall Street Bond House Expands Its Vegas Sports Gambling Operation

The New York Times, bless its soul, published a story in its Christmas Eve edition about a Wall Street firm and its links to legitimate gambling.

The firm in question is Cantor Fitzgerald, one of The Street's major bond players. The firm is a very important provider of market data; Bloomberg Radio, for instance, reports Cantor's Treasury market data. Cantor is also known for its tragic 9/11 legacy, when much of its World Trade Center workforce was wiped out.

Cantor's connection to gambling over a decade ago in the United Kingdom. The firm's Las Vegas initiative began in 2005, according to the Times piece, when Cantor approached Nevada gaming authorities to approve mobile gambling anywhere within the state. Player participation requires that clients maintain accounts with certain designated casinos which have agreements with Cantor Gaming, as the enterprise is known.

If Cantor succeeds in its mobile gambling wager, the firm could land a bonanza. Connect that fact with the marketing allure of smartphones, and Cantor would be able to provide the consumer world's version of the Tree of Knowledge. The combination would be both irresistible and tragic for clients as well as for Cantor.

A Cantor spokesperson noted in the Times story that the bond market bid-ask schemes and sports point spreads are conceptually similar. What went unsaid was the breakdown of the division between investing and speculation that have turned equity, bond, and other financial markets into thinly disguised casinos. More and more Wall Street analysts and executives openly characterize putting money into the financial markets as "betting."

Not so long ago, investing money required financially qualified customers, suitable risk management, and realistic goals. It wasn't for everyone. That notion changed in the past couple of decades. Now, everyone's a player.

Here's an example of what's different. A diner near my office has two televisions. One broadcasts sports programming. The other shows a financial TV network. Both get plenty of attention, from players with a range of skills and smarts. The allure of the Tree of Knowledge is on display at the diner. Cantor and its Las Vegas allies know this, and intend to profit from it. And rule #1 of the casino is that the house always wins in the end.

The image shows a flyer featuring the late Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry warning against legalized gambling.