I understand, the job of a pro sports league commissioner is to always be seeking ways to increase the league’s overall revenue, however the negative results of doing something like making sports betting completely accessible and legal could outweigh the positive. I’ll explain later.
At Thursday,’s Bloomberg Sports Business Summit in New York, new NBA commissioner Adam Silver took a firm stance against what his predecessor (David Stern was firmly against any legalized sports betting) believed, and made it clear he felt the NBA could benefit from the inevitable legalizing of pro sports betting:
“It’s inevitable that, if all these states are broke, that there will be legalized sports betting in more states than Nevada and we will ultimately participate in that,” said Silver, 52.
Silver, who has been with the NBA for 22 years and replaced former Commissioner David Stern in February, said that he doesn’t have any moral issue with sports betting. The league, which already allows teams to create marketing deals with casinos, would further profit from the legalization of sports wagering outside Nevada, he said.
“If you have a gentleman’s bet or a small wager on any kind of sports contest, it makes you that much more engaged in it,” Silver said. “That’s where we’re going to see it pay dividends. If people are watching a game and clicking to bet on their smartphones, which is what people are doing in the United Kingdom right now, then it’s much more likely you’re going to stay tuned for a long time.”
While what Stern says is true in essence and makes sense, how can we be sure that the athletes competing won’t be more apt to cheat, or throw games in the name of easier access to extra cash. As always, the vast majority of individuals is not the problem, I’m talking about those few who would undoubtedly tread the thin line. Legalized betting will flood our daily lives the same way fantasy football has (same situation if you ask me), only in a more potent form.
There would need to be safeguards put in place to prevent fixing, but legalized sports betting makes complete financial sense for all parties involved and I agree with the commissioner, it is definitely inevitable.
[h/t Yahoo]