NBA commissioner calls for vigilance on underage betting
Adam Silver reflects on his 2014 New York Times article on legalizing sports wagering as regulators urged to watch out for young people “betting over their heads”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has called on regulators and operators to pay more attention to the downsides of sports betting, making reference to underage betting in particular.
Speaking to the Associated Press, the sports chief reflected on the upcoming 10-year anniversary of his New York Times op-ed, “Legalize and Regulate Sports Betting.”
While reiterating his support for legalized sports betting across the US, Silver didn’t shy away from acknowledging the issues related to the sector.
He said: “I think that on the downsides of sports betting, they certainly exist, and I think we have to pay a lot of attention to that. I think where we’re hearing it in multiple categories, certainly you see incidents of underaged people betting.
“We have to pay a lot of attention to that, what’s potentially going on at college campuses, certainly people betting over their heads.”
Silver added that the fluctuation of sports betting legislation between states makes it harder for the NBA to come up with a universal framework to regulate it.
He continued: “I was in favor of a federal framework for sports betting. I still am. I still think that the hodgepodge of state by state, it makes it more difficult for the league to administer it.
“I think it creates competition, understandably, among states to get — just think New York, New Jersey or a situation like that where you’re both competing for the same customer so you can compete on tax rates and other things and a regulatory framework.”
Back in April, Toronto Raptors player Jay Porter was suspended by the NBA after becoming embroiled in a sports betting scandal.
An investigation by the league found the 24-year-old was supplying bettors with information about his health, giving them an unfair advantage when it came to placing prop bets concerning Porter.
When asked about the impact of the scandal, Silver said: “We take this very seriously. As I said [on] day one, it’s not a huge business for us in terms of a revenue stream into the league, but it makes a big difference in engagement. It’s something that people clearly enjoy doing.
“I’d put it in the category of other things in society that I wouldn’t criminalize them, but on the other hand that you have to heavily regulate them because if there’s not guardrails, people will run afoul and create issues, problems for themselves, potentially for their families or for operations like us.”
Silver concluded by saying that the introduction of sports betting was natural given the way that technology was evolving.
He added: “I’d say when it comes to sports betting, I certainly don’t regret writing that op-ed piece and being in favor of legalized sports betting. I still think you can’t turn the clock back.
“As I said at the time, with the advent of the internet and widely available sports betting online, we had to deal directly with technology and recognize that if we don’t legalize sports betting, people are going to find ways to do it illegally.”