Adam Silver Says Legalized Sports Gambling Is Inevitable Which Is A Big Deal Coming From His Mouth
(source) NBA commissioner Adam Silver believes expanded legalized sports betting in the United States is “inevitable,” and the league is open to participating in it. Speaking at the Bloomberg Sports Business Summit on Thursday in New York, Silver said that he understood that cash-strapped states will pursue legalized sports betting and that the NBA can benefit from it. commissioner Adam Silver says he thinks sports betting is “inevitable” in cash-strapped states.
“It’s inevitable that, if all these states are broke, that there will be legalized sports betting in more states than Nevada,” Silver said, per Bloomberg.com. “We will ultimately participate in that.” It’s a change in tune for the NBA, which in 2012 joined the NCAA, NFL, MLB and NHL in suing New Jersey over its efforts to bring legalized sports betting to its casinos and race tracks. During deposition testimony in the New Jersey case, former NBA commissioner David Stern scolded Gov. Chris Christie for his efforts. “The one thing I’m certain of is New Jersey has no idea what it’s doing and doesn’t care because all it’s interested in is making a buck or two,” Stern said in November 2012, according to court documents. “They don’t care that it’s at our potential loss.”
The sports leagues, who were joined by the Department of Justice, ultimately prevailed over New Jersey with a majority decision by Third Circuit Court of Appeals. New Jersey, however, is continuing its pursuit of sports betting. Stern retired in February, giving way to Silver and his openness to sports betting. “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.” More than $3.6 billion was wagered on sports at Nevada sports books in 2013. The American Gaming Association, citing the National Gambling Impact Study, estimates that as much as $380 billion is wagered illegally in the U.S. annually.
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Well this is a huge deal. Why? Because everyone in the world has had to pretend like sports gambling doesn’t exist outside of Las Vegas since forever. Adam Silver coming out and admitting that not only is it coming but that the NBA would love to be a part of it is great news. This is how it starts. You need someone like this to get out in front of it. To say it’s time to talk. Not a bunch of no comments and “that’s outside of what we do here” type of quotes. Adam Silver is being brutally honest, if you bet on a game you’ll be more interested and if fans are more interested then they’ll consume more games. I know your gut says big deal, everyone knows this, but that’s missing the entire point here. Of course everyone knows it, it’s that no one in his shoes has ever said it. That’s monumental. Think about a couple years ago. David Stern basically spent his career pretending like the average degenerate didn’t exist. He hated gambling, especially after the Donaghy scandal. Adam Silver realizes that there is an entire group of people out there than can further his league. That’s what smart business people do, they embrace as many audiences as possible. So Good on you Adam Silver even if you do scare the ever living shit out of me.
