Ten years after writing an op-ed supporting the legalization of sports betting, Adam Silver says he has no regrets about making a major change in the position of North America’s major sports leagues. The NBA currently has more than 20 business relationships with gaming companies.
“When it comes to sports betting, I have never regretted writing that op-ed and supporting the legalization of sports betting,” Silver said. “I don’t think we can turn back the clock yet. I think, as I said at the time, the advent of the internet has made sports betting widely available online…We are dealing directly with technology. We had to realize that if we didn’t legalize sports betting, people would find a way to do it illegally.”
Silver also believes gambling should be regulated at the federal level rather than the current state-by-state model.
“I was in favor of a federal framework for sports betting, and I still am,” Silver said. “I still think the state-by-state patchwork makes it more difficult to run a league. I think there’s going to be competition between states, of course. New York, New Jersey, Consider a situation like this: They can compete for the same customers on tax rates and other matters, as well as on regulatory frameworks.
“The downside of sports betting does exist and I think we need to pay a lot of attention to it. As we hear this story across multiple categories, certainly incidents of gambling by minors. I think you’re going to see that. We have to pay a lot of attention to what’s going on on college campuses, and certainly people are betting recklessly.”
Silver went on to say that the NBA’s interest in gambling is more focused on increasing engagement than direct revenue.
“We take this matter very seriously,” Silver said. “As I said on day one, it’s not a big business for us in terms of a revenue stream for the league, but it makes a big difference in engagement. It’s something that people clearly enjoy doing. I don’t mean to criminalize them by putting them in the category of things like that, but on the other hand, they need to be heavily regulated because without guardrails people will clash and cause problems and create problems for themselves. We also think that potentially for their families and for activities like ours.”
