NBA Commissioner Adam Silver would still like to see sports betting regulated at the federal level.
His comments to the Associated Press come nearly 10 years after his New York Times op-ed calling for legal sports betting.
“I was in favor of a federal framework for sports betting. I still am,” Silver said. While federal rules would make it easier for the league to keep a handle on sports betting, Silver said he gets the appeal why it is kept state-to-state.
“I still think that the hodgepodge of state by state, it makes it more difficult for the league to administer it,” he added. “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.”
Sports betting not about revenue
Silver saw two major benefits to legalizing sports betting, and neither concern direct revenue for the NBA.
“Widely available sports betting online” meant bettors were going to place their bets on the NBA whether it was legal in the US or not, Silver said, so legalization would help bring those activities into a regulated space.
The other win for the NBA is the engagement that sports betting brings, he said.
“As I said sort of 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,” Silver said. “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.”
DraftKings signs Shaq
DraftKings announced Wednesday that it signed Shaquille O’Neal as its latest brand ambassador.
The agreement adds a new moniker to Shaq’s ever-growing list, as he said he can be called “Mr. DraftKings” in the announcement from the DraftKings‘ Twitter account.
Elsewhere, DraftKings announced Friday that its jackpot in Michigan is now the largest US online jackpot ever at $6.46 million.
NBA, FanDuel sports betting promo returns
FanDuel announced Tuesday that it will again give a free trial of NBA League Pass as NBA betting returns.
Through Oct. 28, customers who bet $5 with FanDuel will receive a three-month subscription to NBA League Pass.
There will also be an optional “enhanced broadcast experience” that will include live odds from FanDuel during those games.
Bally Bet launches in Tennessee
Bally Bet is now live in Tennessee, its 10th live state for online sports betting. The launch is the latest since Bally’s went live in both Maryland and Massachusetts in July.
The brand is an official sports betting partner of the Nashville Predators.
Bally’s is in the middle of being acquired by Standard General, owned by Bally’s chairman and largest shareholder Soo Kim.
ESPN boasts engagement numbers
ESPN touted some of the stats from its recent fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 that read positive for ESPN Bet.
The brand saw its highest primetime television consumption levels since 2006 and its best total day since 2016. Digital averaged 112 million unique monthly visitors, up 3% from the previous record set the prior fiscal year.
ESPN Digital “bests its nearest competition by 54%” in terms of unique visitors. ESPN Social, meanwhile, saw 8.5 billion engagements for the year, up 50% from its nearest competitor.
Penn has improved the parlay product in recent months and recently cut the expected third quarter interactive loss based on improving operations.