Players unions join legal sports betting debate
The players’ associations from the biggest sports leagues in the United States have released a joint statement regarding the potential legalisation of sports betting.
US.- The Players Associations for the MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL announced on Thursday that they collectively want to be another voice in the debate to legalise sports betting in the US. The associations said that they cannot allow those who have lobbied the hardest to be the only ones who control the business.
“The time has come to address not just who profits from sports gambling but also the costs. Our unions have been discussing the potential impact of legalized gambling on players’ privacy and publicity rights, the integrity of our games and the volatility on our businesses,” said the joint statement.
“Betting on sports may become widely legal, but we cannot allow those who have lobbied the hardest for sports gambling to be the only ones controlling how it would be ushered into our businesses. The athletes must also have a seat at the table to ensure that players’ rights and the integrity of our games are protected.”
The next potential date for the Supreme Court to offer an opinion on the sports betting case is April 30th. PASPA, a sports protection act that was passed in 1992, prevents states from offering gambling lines on sports. Nevada, Oregon, Delaware, and Montana were granted special exemptions, as all four of those states were offering some variation of sports lotteries back in 1992. As New Jersey has taken the demand to the Court, a national approval of sports betting is a serious possibility.
Last week, representatives from the NBA, MLB and the PGA Tour testified during a session in Illinois that they support the regulation of sports betting in a responsible way. Dan Spillane, representing the National Basketball Association (NBA) said that while the NBA had previously opposed the expansion of sports betting in the United States, the entity studied the issue and that “the time has come for sports fans to bet in a safe way.”
