Adam Silver’s price for gambling? One percent of the take.
American sports leagues and politicians are wagering that the Supreme Court of the United States will sometime in the near future overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act that New Jersey is challenging. That will allow individual states to open sportsbooks and take action on Major League Baseball, NFL, MLS, NBA, NHL and NCAA games just like Nevada. Under the 1992 law just Nevada, Montana, Oregon and Delaware can offer a form of sports betting. Nevada is the only one of those states to have a sportsbook. Delaware was blocked by a court from implementing a full sports book. Nevada sportsbooks took in $158.6 million in bets for the Philadelphia-New England Super Bowl an increase of $20 million compared to 2017 figures. States and sports leagues want a slice of that money.
Indiana, Iowa and Missouri are attempting to set up an apparatus to get in the betting game if the Supreme Court rules that New Jersey can open a sportsbook. National Basketball Association attorney Dan Spillane told a New York State legislative committee the NBA would no problem if New York got into the sportsbook game as long as the league got one percent of the action. Iowa politicians are not open to sharing the pot with the NBA or Major League Baseball for that matter and that is a problem, just in case the Supreme Court opens the door for sports betting. The NBA and Major League Baseball want a cut, but Iowa politicians claim they cannot afford to pay the leagues and pay an integrity fee, because it just would not make sense for Iowa sportsbooks economically. The bills in Illinois and Missouri have not been fully written. All of the posturing is in anticipation of something that may not happen, getting the green light to operate sportsbooks. The leagues and politicians want the same thing. Money.
MLB is on board with gambling.
