I have seen it referenced by several people on the SBR boards in the last few weeks, so thought it was worth discussing.
I think we need to start by answering the question of if there is really a difference between someone who bets everyday at a 2% edge vs someone who bets one day at 12% edge. Clearly the person betting at the 2% edge everyday would be "stealing" more money than the person playing at 12% for one day. Only a moron would contend otherwise. Both have virtually no risk, so that is not an argument.
So then we need to look at the EV of every bet. Rarely would both sides have exactly equal value. Does this mean that whichever side has the positive EV is "stealing" ? Of course not, unless you assume the casino is stealing on every slot machine or that one of the two parties ( player or casino ) is stealing on every sports bet.
So then we have to look at intent of the two parties. Do both parties need to know the EV before the bet is made? Does the fact that the player does not know the EV of a slot machine, or the fact that a casino does not know the EV of their own VP machine, or the fact that one or both parties doesn't know the EV of a sports bet matter? If one side knows and the other does not, is the side that knows stealing?