It’s not a secret that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is a proponent of legalized sports gambling around the United States.
Back in November, Silver wrote an essay for The New York Times focusing on this subject. In that piece, the commissioner had this to say.
BETTING on professional sports is currently illegal in most of the United States outside of Nevada. I believe we need a different approach.
This statement in support of legalized sports gambling came immediately after New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed a bill into law that would have legalized gambling in his state—a bill that was then successfully challenged in federal court.
Months removed from that drama, Silver is out there lobbying commissioners of the other major North American leagues to support a turnabout in a policy that has led to the powers to be opposing legalized sports gambling under the guise of PASPA (Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992)—a piece of legislation that outlawed sports gambling outside of a select few states that it was already legalized in at that time.
“I have talked to the commissioners in the other leagues about [legalizing sports betting],” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in an exclusive interview with ESPN The Magazine in late January. “I leave it to them to make any public statements they want to make on it. I will say that certainly all of them are interested in having a better understanding of the issue, and I know have assigned people in their organizations to study intensively the issue as well.”
Sources also told ESPN that there have been other private meetings between council (lawyers) for the leagues to discuss the “pros and cons” of legalized sports gambling.
Silver’s main reasoning behind wanting to legalize sports gambling is due to his belief that it would create a more uniformed policy throughout the United States.
It’s my personal view that there should be federal legislation on this issue, in part to avoid what is happening now,” Silver said. “My greatest concern is that there will be in essence a hodgepodge of regulations controlling sports betting that will vary from state to state, jurisdiction to jurisdiction and will make it increasingly difficult to monitor betting on our very own sport.”
In response to the federal courts overruling New Jersey’s legislation to legalize sports gambling, two U.S. Congressmen, Frank LoBiondo and Frank Pallone, have introduced a federal bill to amend PASPA.
If other leagues follow Silver’s lead here, proponents of an extensive overhaul of this federal policy could have some true power players on their side. This is only magnified by the fact that three states—New York, Indiana and South Carolina—have introduced legislation to legalize sports gambling.
This goes back to Silver’s original point. If gambling is legalized in certain states, and not in others, how are the leagues expected to police it? We are trending towards acceptance of sports gambling, so an overhaul of what has to be considered archaic federal legislation may very well be in the cards. If that happens, Silver will be the lead dog in the sports community out supporting it.
Photo: CBS Sports