SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Speaking at the ‘All Markets Summit’ in New York, Major League Baseball (MLB) Chief Commissioner Rob Manfred has stated that MLB governance is currently ‘re-examining its stance on gambling’.
For a number years, MLB governance has been the most ardent supporter of the ‘Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act’ (PASPA) provisions, banning any form of wagering on US sports.
While the governances of US major leagues the NFL and NBA have stated that they would be open to discussing legalised/regulated sports betting, the MLB has been a staunch supporter of PASPA and the protection of US sports integrity.
However, following reports that approximately $8 billion (according to The American Gaming Association) was wagered on last Sunday’s Super Bowl LI final Commissioner Manfred appears to have softened his stance on betting.
“Sports betting happens,” Manfred stated to the All Markets audience
“Whether it’s legalised here or not, it’s happening out there. So I think the question for sports is real, ‘Are we better off in a world where we have a nice, strong, uniform, federal regulation of gambling that protects the integrity of sports, provides sports with the tools to ensure that there is integrity in the competition … Or are we better off closing our eyes to that and letting it go on as illegal gambling? And that’s a debatable point.”
Entering 2017, AGA President Geoff Freeman stated that President Trump could represent the gambling industry’s best chance repealing Federal laws opposing sports betting, and undertaking a needed redraft of all US gambling laws.
