By: Jack Meyer
New NBA commissioner Adam Silver made headlines recently when he wrote in a New York Times op-ed piece that he was in favor of the legalization of sports gambling.[1] This came as a surprise to some NBA fans, as this is the same sport that was previously rocked by a points shaving scandal involving former referee Tim Donaghey. Silver’s essential thesis was that since sports gambling is already widespread despite its illegality, a push toward legalization is long overdue. Though little hard data exists, some estimates suggest that nearly $400 billion is illegally wagered on sports each year,[2] including $9 billion wagered on the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament alone.[3] With the emergence of the internet and fantasy sports, sports betting has perhaps never been more widespread and Silver’s call for legalization certainly does not fall on deaf ears. Proponents of sports gambling have called … Read the rest