National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver announced the need to legalize gambling. Thus, Silver officially changes the previous position of the league, advocating the withdrawal of the thriving industry from the underground, according to Bloomberg.
The NBA Commissioner’s arguments are the same as in the case of other vices like marijuana and prostitution, namely the ability to collect taxes and introduce regulatory mechanisms. And while critics of the legalization of gambling are more inclined to rely on moral arguments, against such a background it makes no sense.
Today, every professional sports league prohibits players from betting on games, and given the current level of their salaries, there is hardly any danger of a repeat of the Black Sox scandal. Moreover, as history shows, the introduction of a ban does not always succeed in defeating vice. For example, it didn’t work with alcohol.
Interestingly, last month, when New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed legislation that partially removes obstacles to sports betting in the state, his actions were met with strong rebuffs from professional leagues, including the NBA, who declared that the new state law violates federal law. Then, at the request of the leagues, an injunction was imposed.
Now the NBA representative seems to be more worried about the prospect of grabbing a piece of the $ 400 billion fat pie into the league’s treasury, which, he says, pass through the underground bookmakers every year. And in order to legalize gambling in all states, which, according to Silver, is «inevitable,» the NBA Commissioner is proposing only a slight revision of the federal law, stating that no other action will be required for this.
