NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Wants NBA Betting Legalised, Pave Way For More Gambling On Basketball

Just under a year into the job as the National Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner, Adam Silver is aggressive in pursuing different ventures which he thinks is better for the number one and most popular basketball league in the world. Recently, Silver wrote an opinion editorial piece for the New York Times where he stated that he wants betting on the NBA or gambling legalised not only in Nevada, where it is legal to bet on professional basketball, but for the entire United States of America.

Silver, who replaced the David Stern at the helm of the league in February 2014, started by saying that sports betting is gaining popularity over the years and it’s time to change the previous rule which disallows legally betting on the NBA games. The Congress of the Professional and Amateur Sports Act (PASPA) was passed in 1992 and the league supported it among with other pro leagues in the United States.

“There is an obvious appetite among sports fans for a safe and legal way to wager on professional sporting events. Mainstream media outlets regularly publish sports betting lines and point spreads. Voters in New Jersey overwhelmingly voiced their support for legal sports betting in a 2011 referendum. Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey recently signed a bill authorizing sports betting at local casinos and horse racetracks, a law the N.B.A. and other leagues have opposed — and a federal court has blocked — because it violates Paspa,” Silver wrote in the N.Y. Times article.

“Outside of the United States, sports betting and other forms of gambling are popular, widely legal and subject to regulation. In England, for example, a sports bet can be placed on a smartphone, at a stadium kiosk or even using a television remote control.”

For Silver, “times have changed” and it’s time to change the NBA’s stance on gambling.

“In light of these domestic and global trends, the laws on sports betting should be changed. Congress should adopt a federal framework that allows states to authorize betting on professional sports, subject to strict regulatory requirements and technological safeguards,” Silver continued.

Silver went on to say that it is important to protect the integrity of the game thus requirements and regulations are needed to ensure such like “mandatory monitoring and reporting of unusual betting-line movements”, “a minimum-age verification measures” and “education about responsible gaming”, among others.

Silver’s main contention is that the NBA should ride the growing popularity of sports betting. While it is illegal to bet on pro sports in most states in the U.S., underground offshore online sports books are thriving with millions of American members in its list.

According to americangaming.org, “Nevada’s legal sports wagering represents just less than 1 percent of all sports betting nationwide.” In the same report, the National Gambling Impact Study Commission (NGISC) has estimated that illegal wagers reach $380 billion annually.

In Europe, gambling on sports is generally accepted and legal in most countries. Even soccer clubs have gambling sites as major jersey sponsors. One of them is Real Madrid, which has the Bwin logo on their shirt as part of the $29 million sponsorship deal with the team.

"If you have a gentleman's bet or a small wager on any kind of sports contest, it makes you that much more engaged in it," Silver said via ESPN.COM in September 2014. "That's where we're going to see it pay dividends. If people are watching a game and clicking to bet on their smartphones, which is what people are doing in the United Kingdom right now, then it's much more likely you're going to stay tuned for a long time."