ESPN NBA

I know just about nothing about sports betting, but doesn't this seem to be an excellent idea?

TrueHoop reader Dan writes:

I came up with this idea a while ago and can't be the first. Let me preface, I have never bet on anything in my life, so perhaps this system exists already.

Take the Cavs. Let's say someone places $100 on us to win the title at the beginning of the season at 15:1. I am sure our odds are now closer to 2:1. Can someone sell their bet to someone else to lock in their profit? This would mimic commodity markets, and be very attractive to people on both sides of the transaction. I could get someone to buy my bet for $500 and I lock in a $400 return. The buyer would get something otherwise worth $750 for only $500. Both sides are happy. And, I am sure this mechanism would allow for people to hedge their bets and create a more efficient market.

Maybe casinos and bookies (or whoever one would place a bet with) do not like efficient markets ... But what if there was a 5% charge to sell your bet and the casino or bookie was able to lock in an extra few bucks for the sale as well. That would be a small price to pay for a buyer and a seller to make a deal that would benefit both.

My other thought is that legitimate casinos might love this, as a way to distinguish themselves from the massive and lucrative grey market of gambling. If MGM brokered the deal, and had insurance and all that, I'd assume it was pretty safe to trust that buying some other person's bet was a reasonably safe transaction.

But if some bookie in the corner of the bar wanted me to buy some other guy's bet, I wouldn't do it.

UPDATE: Apparentley TrueHoop reader Dan and I are the only people who have not yet read Bill Simmons' recent mailbag where he talked about this exact same thing.