Legalizing Sports Betting
Sports betting is not exactly the giant animal in the room; it’s more like “The Guy on The Couch” from the Hollywood movie Half Baked who just keeps a low profile. Sports and sports betting is no longer that forbidden topic that people don’t talk about, as confirmed by NBA Commissioner David Stern’s recent announcement that he wouldn’t mind if the proposal was legalized. The issue is in low profile as of now, but it will eventually come up and have a bigger presence.
Stern, who has always been one of the more pioneering commissioners among the other four main sports, has softened his attitude towards sports betting recently and he may be the person to change it from a prospect to a reality.
While some people are still confused why Stern would be supporting this cause – and why now – there are several theories for the timing. For one, by discussing about publicly legalizing gambling, it definitely softens the impact of the Tim Donaghy’s scandal, which was a huge sports gambling incident. Secondly, we know that wagering can help accumulate interest in a sports activity and with the NBA now chasing behind the NHL for attendance, commencing the counter for a different type of ticketing purchase could also enhance the NBA’s seat sales.
In addition, the NBA has for long been considered the “cool” sport among the four big ones and if they could be the leaders in this aspect as well, they would receive better reputation among the new fans. It would look like the only dad on the block who still wears hoodies and doesn’t have a problem with his son’s partying. Now what would this mean for the rest of the sports wagering world?
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