Attorney: Gambling, NBA at the Start of Long Process

As a top attorney for the NBA, Dan Spillane took his seat on the dais and faced an unlikely audience — a convention of gambling industry executives.

“We have a lot to learn,” he said.

It was just last fall Spillane’s boss, Commissioner Adam Silver, surprised the sports world by coming out in support of legalized betting on games nationwide. Pro sports in America have traditionally held gambling at arm’s length, in large part because of costly point-shaving scandals. Industry consultant Marc Ganis of Sportscorp Ltd. suggests any future affiliation with gaming “has the potential to kill the golden goose.”

That raises a reasonable doubt about whether the other three leagues will join in Silver’s campaign. And no one seems to know when or whether Congress will act on the issue.Speaking at the recent GiGse convention for Internet gaming, Spillane preached patience.

“We’re at the beginning of what I think is a long process,” he said. “But you have to start somewhere.”

via David Wharton of the Los Angeles Times