NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has in the past made it clear that he believes gambling on the Association should be legal. At that point, there were a whole heck of a lot of hoops to jump through in order for this to come to fruition.
Though, the league is now making its stance on gambling official in the public eye. NBA attorney Dan Spillane testified in front of a New York State Senate committee on Wednesday, making it perfectly clear where the Association stands on this matter.
“The NBA wants 1 percent of every bet made on its games in addition to other regulations, a request that could create massive revenue for the NBA and other sports leagues in the future,” ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported.
Spillane also noted that the NBA wants more widespread access for its fans to legalized gambling, including making it available on smartphone apps and kiosks around the league.
To say that this would have widespread financial implications around the NBA world would be a major understatement. The gambling industry in Nevada and other states in which it’s legal is already a multi-billion dollar industry. Giving access to gaming for all of the Association’s fans would be a financial boon for the NBA.
It would also be a seminal moment for the sports world in general. While the NFL and MLB are not necessarily as free-thinking as the NBA when it comes to this, their own bottom lines might suggest a need to fall in line should this come to fruition.