NBA News Wire
Silver supports legal wagering
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Adam Silver has shown during his first year as NBA commissioner that he’s not afraid to take stands on issues and also think about the future of the sport.
So maybe it comes as no surprise that Silver wrote an op-ed piece in The New York Times advocating the legalization of regulated sports wagering throughout the United States.
The NBA recently entered a partnership with the one-day fantasy site FanDuel and now Silver wants to go a step further.
“There is an obvious appetite among sports fans for a safe and legal way to wager on professional sporting events,” he wrote. “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.”
Silver pointed to other countries such as England that allow wagering from smartphones or with a television remote control.
“In light of these domestic and global trends, the laws on sports betting should be changed,” Silver wrote. “Congress should adopt a federal framework that allows states to authorize betting on professional sports, subject to strict regulatory requirements and technological safeguards.”
Silver believes that legalized sports gambling is inevitable and that the league should get on board. He realizes that the ability to wager on an event generates more interest in the outcome.
“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. “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.”
