Future of sports betting: the marketplace
The Market
Capitol Hill, the paths and states to legalization
The mainstream acceptance of sports gambling is peaking. Cash-strapped states have started to see sports betting a potential source of revenue over a detriment to society. The point spread and gambling actions in Las Vegas have become popular storylines for every large game, also for the very first time, a commissioner of a significant professional sports team has come out in support of sports gambling betting. There simply has never been this much momentum to legalize sports betting outside of Nevada.
But momentum and authoritative results are two quite different things. As of now, state-sponsored gaming is prohibited outside of a handful of countries, with single-game wagering allowed only in Nevada.
Some from the U.S. government feel it is time for a change and the current federal gambling laws –most notably the skilled and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA), Wire Act of 1961 and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 — aren’t appropriate anymore and need updating.
“The legislation need a wholesale review to learn how they can actually work together and make a fairer playing field for all types of gaming, both online and offline, such as sports gambling and daily dream sports,” U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., of New Jersey told ESPN. “At precisely the exact same time, we must ensure the laws are in fact creating an environment of integrity and responsibility, and include strong consumer protections.
“I intend to continue discussions with the key stakeholders and then will introduce comprehensive legislation to finally update these outdated laws.” In addition, lobbying efforts directed by the American Gaming Association are set to start in 2017. “The next [U.S.] president will have that problem of legalizing sports betting on their own desk,” AGA CEO and president Geoff Freeman has said.
But most of the sports aren’t on board. They are, nevertheless, strategically positioning themselves to get widespread legal sports wagering. The NCAA and NFL stay compared to legalization. The NHL and Major League Baseball, while demonstrating signs of a softening stance, have stopped short of coming out in full support. Even the NBA, undoubtedly the most outspoken proponent of legalization among the sports leagues, has repeatedly said it is not ready to bring about lead lobbying efforts.
“We have been supportive of legalized sports betting, and we’ll continue to be supportive,” NBA senior vice president and assistant general counsel Dan Spillane told ESPN. “If someone in Congress were to ask our view on a bill that’s proposed, then I am sure we’d be delighted to take part and weigh in.” The leagues have financial stakes in daily fantasy sports websites and a sudden interest in vegas, and also have struck deals with information firms that fuel the worldwide sports betting market.
The NFL, NBA and NHL have prices with Sportradar, a Switzerland-based conglomerate that’s the parent company of Betradar, a major player in the global sports gambling sector, and Major League Baseball has partnered with Genius Sports, a multi-faceted gambling data firm situated in London. The NCAA has a commercial affiliation with Sportradar, with the Pac-12 conference Employing the Help of CG Analytics, a subsidiary of a prominent Nevada sportsbook.
These partnerships represent a deep shift from the leagues’ place online monitoring, the job of monitoring gambling data in an attempt to recognize odd moves or unnatural money. As recently as 2007, representatives of the NBA, NCAA, NHL, MLB, and NFL sent a letter to Congress ignoring the value online monitoring.
In addition, game ethics concerns — often cited as a reason to battle controlled sports betting — are now increasingly being used as a reason to encourage legalized sports wagering, given the ability to monitor statistical information.
While the leagues’ stances are changing gradually, pros say sports betting of the authorized variety remains years away from arriving at your local casino or on your cell phone.
“My heart says it ought to be one to three [years],” former NBA commissioner David Stern told ESPN in September. “My mind says it is between five and 10.”
Individual states may not wait that long.
New Jersey has spent millions of dollars in legal fees while combating the sport leagues and challenging PASPA (the federal prohibition on state-sponsored sports gambling ) in its continuing case that began back in 2012. In October, New Jersey filed its second appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court on this issue.
This summer, Pennsylvania passed a resolution urging Congress to”raise the Federal ban on sports gambling and to allow countries that authorize, permit and regulate casino gaming, including the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, to legalize sports gambling through its licensed facilities.” And New York Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow is currently planning a 2017 legal struggle to PASPA.
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