The National Basketball Association is rolling in money, according to Forbes, with the average team worth $634 million, up 25 percent from 2013. The league just inked new 10-year TV deals with Turner and ESPN, and the average annual payment for TV rights is now $2.6 billion, according to The New York Times.
As the league battles for TV eyeballs, tries to fill arenas and competes with the powerhouse NFL, the NBA is searching for new income streams.
That could explain why NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is now asking, why not turn gambling into a money making enterprise not just for the bookmakers but for us?
Silver says legalized sports gambling has big potential: $400 million a year for the league. Right now it’s Nevada and the sports books of Las Vegas that get all the action.
If Silver had his way, Congress would rewrite the laws that prohibit betting on major U.S. sports leagues like the NBA, the NFL and Major League Baseball.
Silver took to the pages of The New York Times last week to make his case. “Gambling has increasingly become a popular and accepted form of entertainment in the United States,” he wrote. “Most states offer lotteries. Over half of them have legal casinos. Three have approved some form of Internet gambling, with others poised to follow. There is an obvious appetite among sports fans for a safe and legal way to wager on professional sporting events.”
Silver is out ahead of his counterparts. The commissioners of the NFL, MLB and the National Hockey League don’t support nationwide legalized gambling.
What is the status of betting on basketball right now, and would legal betting hurt Las Vegas?
How would legal wagering affect pro basketball?
Would legalized sports betting lead to more gambling addiction?
What would a smart sports gambling policy look like?
We consulted a panel of experts for the Inside Story.
Error
Sorry, your comment was not saved due to a technical problem. Please try again later or using a different browser.