NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Favors Legalized Sports Betting

If you’re anything like me, you think it’s incredibly lame that sports bettors in the United States have to overcome so many obstacles. And, you probably think the NBA’s new commissioner Adam Silver is doing a fantastic job in just his first full season on the job. Soon after he replaced David Stern, Silver did the right thing by banning Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling from the NBA for being a disgusting racist.

Now, he’s getting up on his soapbox to promote legalized sports betting. Silver believes the current sports betting regulations in the United States encourage underground shady operations, and the sports world would benefit from legalizing sports betting. And he has a point.

The NBA supported the Professional and Amateur Sports Act of 1992 (PASPA), banning sports betting outside the state of Nevada. However, Silver recently said that times have changed and that it’s time to reevaluate the PASPA act. He’s spot on. Times have changed and it’s time to enact laws that are more conducive to the current times, not 1992.

People are going to bet anyway

Adam Silver made an excellent point when he said that people are going to bet regardless of whether or not sports betting is legalized. That’s 100% accurate. Gambling is part of our culture. Not just in America, but all over the world. Whether or not sports betting is legal, people nearly everywhere are going to bet on sports. So why bother making it illegal?

According to Silver in a recent New York Times article, “sports betting should be brought out of the underground and into the sunlight where it can be regulated appropriately”. I couldn’t have said it better myself. There’s absolutely no reason why sports betting shouldn’t be legalized nationally.

My opinion…

I have never understood why sports betting isn’t legalized throughout the United States. It simply doesn’t make sense. People are going to bet regardless of the law. It’s so easy for anyone in any city to place a wager. There are dozens of online sportsbooks that will accept bets from US players.

If the US government was to actually enforce their law that citizens outside Nevada cannot bet on sports, they would have to arrest half the country. That’s about the percentage of people that bet on sports in the United States. They can’t arrest everyone or event prevent people from betting on sports. Just legalize sports betting, once and for all.

A big part of the reason sports betting hasn’t become legalized throughout the US is because the professional sports leagues have advocated against it. They have a big say. But now that Adam Silver has come out in favor of legalizing sports betting, there could be some changes made in the near future. I knew it would take a major sports league to speak out in favor of legalized sports betting in order for changes to be made. Now that this has happened, I expect good things to come in the near future.