\nNevada\u2019s virtual monopoly on legalized sports wagering could be in danger.<\/p>\n
\tBut is that bad for business?<\/p>\n
\tIn a New York Times op-ed piece last Thursday, National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver wrote the league should reconsider its stance against the expansion of legal sports gambling.<\/p>\n
\tSilver, who became NBA commissioner in February, is the first head of a major professional league to soften that opinion.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI believe we need a different approach,\u201d Silver said of the estimated $400 billion annually wagered illegally on sports outside of Nevada. \u201c(Sports wagering) is a thriving underground business that operates free from regulation or oversight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tSilver said that sports betting should be brought into \u201cthe sunlight where it can be appropriately monitored and regulated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe gaming community pounced on those words.<\/p>\n
\tAmerican Gaming Association CEO Geoff Freeman said the Washington, D.C.-based trade organization would help \u201cidentify the size and scope\u201d of the U.S. illegal gambling market and offered to partner with the NBA and other leagues.<\/p>\n
\tWilliam Hill U.S. CEO Joe Asher, whose European-based race and sports book company stands to benefit if legal wagering expands in America, agreed with Silver\u2019s contention that a regulated sports betting industry protects consumers.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cSports betting is widespread throughout the U.S. today,\u201d Asher said. \u201cUnfortunately, it is mostly illegal, unregulated and untaxed. That serves to benefit the criminals who serve that market today.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tIn the days following publication of Silver\u2019s commentary, Las Vegas-based sports handicapper R.J. Bell became a popular person with national media outlets.<\/p>\n
\tBell\u2019s message in multiple interviews about Silver\u2019s remarks was expanded sports wagering is good for Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
\tThe growth of casinos nationwide created markets that were in some ways a scaled-down version of Las Vegas. Bell said legal sports books across the country will have the same historical result as casinos \u2014 breeding new gamblers who want to visit the Strip.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThey will be a lesser version of what we do here,\u201d Bell said. \u201cThey will create a farm system for Las Vegas and Nevada.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tBell speculated that pro sports leagues or teams might even partner with large casino companies.<\/p>\n
\tPartnerships were created in January between the NBA\u2019s Philadelphia 76ers and the National Hockey League\u2019s New Jersey Devils with bwin.party, the Internet gaming arm of Atlantic City\u2019s Borgata. Sports betting is not part of the online package.<\/p>\n
\tAll this discussion is preliminary. If the debate on legal sports betting nationally is compared to a baseball game, the fans would still be entering the stadium to watch batting practice. The contest hasn\u2019t even begun.<\/p>\n
\tOn Thursday, U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp will hear arguments on New Jersey\u2019s latest effort to legalize sports wagering. The state wants to allow sports books to open in racetracks and is opposed by the four major sports leagues and the NCAA.<\/p>\n
\tShipp issued an injunction last month, preventing New Jersey from offering sports bets.<\/p>\n
\tLast year, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals tossed out a state legislative push to implement sports wagering in Atlantic City casinos. New Jersey voters, however, approved sports betting in 2011.<\/p>\n
\tSilver said the NBA is part of the lawsuit because of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, or PAPSA. The 1992 congressional action prohibits sports wagering everywhere but Nevada, Oregon, Delaware and Montana. Only Nevada has sports books.<\/p>\n
\tPAPSA can only be rescinded by Congress or declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. If either takes place, all bets are off.<\/p>\n
\tSilver wrote he would support Congress adopting a federal framework for sports wagering that includes strict regulatory and technological safeguards protecting the integrity of the game.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWithout a comprehensive federal solution, state measures such as New Jersey\u2019s recent initiative will be both unlawful and bad public policy,\u201d Silver said.<\/p>\n
\tFor now, Silver stands alone. His counterparts in the National Football League and Major League Baseball have been silent. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was noncommittal.<\/p>\n
\t\u201c(The) issue of legalized sports betting needs a lot more discussion before any decisions about government legalization and regulation can be made,\u201d Bettman told Canada\u2019s Globe and Mail.<\/p>\n
\tNevada is protective of its sports wagering industry, which saw $3.62 billion in wagers and revenue of $202.8 million in 2013. Both figures were records. Through September, wagering is up 7.4 percent and revenue is up 24.4 percent.<\/p>\n
\tFreeman said a regulated industry protects consumers and integrity of the games.<\/p>\n
\tBell said the best example is the 1994 points shaving scandal involving players on the Arizona State University basketball team. Las Vegas sports book operators noticed unusually heavy wagering on four games involving the Sun Devils. They tipped off law enforcement in Phoenix and the FBI busted the operation.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe gaming industry is committed to thwarting illegal gambling wherever it occurs,\u201d Freeman said.<\/p>\n
No replies were posted for this topic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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