{"id":7048,"date":"2015-02-18T16:58:05","date_gmt":"2015-02-18T22:58:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=7048"},"modified":"2015-02-18T16:58:05","modified_gmt":"2015-02-18T22:58:05","slug":"momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\/","title":{"rendered":"Momentum growing to legalize sports gambling"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Kulwant Saluja<\/p>\n

The notion that American sports fans could legally gamble on sporting events would have been deemed absurd even a year ago.<\/p>\n

But once a taboo subject, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver\u2019s shocking pro-gambling comments in a Nov. 13 op-ed piece in the New York Times<\/a>, has stimulated discussion on the subject, prompting other pro leagues and state legislatures to re-consider their stance on legalized sports betting.<\/p>\n

Silver wrote that \u201cIn light of domestic and global trends, the laws on sports betting should be changed. \u2026 sports betting should be brought out of the underground and into the sunlight where it can be appropriately monitored and regulated.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NBA, as well as the NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball, have opposed the legalization of sports betting since the passage of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act<\/a> in 1992.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are other reasons including the rise of daily fantasy sports, but the Silver article was the pivot point,\u201d said David Purdum who interviewed Silver for the cover story of ESPN The Magazine<\/a> earlier this month.<\/p>\n

\u201cUp until Silver\u2019s talk, you couldn\u2019t even get the leagues to say anything about gambling. But Silver spent some time overseas in places like China, the UK – places where sports betting is legalized, regulated and monitored. His perception has started to change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, promoted to the post last summer, said baseball should examine its stance on sports betting in a February interview with ESPN\u2019s Outside The Lines<\/a>.<\/p>\n

New Jersey has been at the forefront of the movement to legalize sports betting, signing it into law in 2012. But a U.S. District Judge issued a permanent injunction<\/a> preventing the state\u2019s casinos and racetracks from offering sports betting after a lawsuit by the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and NCAA two years later.<\/p>\n

The leagues said legalization of sports betting would violate the integrity of the game. The New Jersey case is scheduled to be heard by a federal appeals court next month.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy fighting this issue aggressively, New Jersey is allowing the issue to be exposed long enough where people are starting to see holes in the argument of those who oppose gambling,\u201d Purdum said.<\/p>\n

Currently, Americans can bet legally, typically by betting at Nevada sports books, or illegally via offshore casinos and local bookmakers. Bettors are choosing the latter. The American Gaming Association <\/a>predicted that as much as $3.8 billion would be bet illegally on the Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, compared to the approximately $119 million bet legally on last year\u2019s Super Bowl.<\/p>\n

\"Though<\/a>
Though exact numbers cannot be verified, illegal wagers dwarfed legal betting on this year’s Super Bowl. (American Gaming Association, Kulwant Saluja\/Medill)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThere is obviously a market,\u201d said Rep. Phyllis Kahn of Minnesota, who introduced legislation to legalize sports betting in her state in 2013, and proposed the same bill last week. \u201cSince it is happening anyway, states should regulate it, which could generate revenue. I believe people would much rather do things legally than illegally.\u201d<\/p>\n

While acknowledging it\u2019s still an uphill battle, Kahn said she felt there is a better chance to get the bill passed than in 2013.<\/p>\n

Illinois is one state that doesn\u2019t appear to have joined the pack, according to Tom Swoik, executive director of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association<\/a>, a nonprofit organization that represents eight of the 10 gaming operations in the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe state of Illinois has not taken any position on the issue and I have not heard any mention of the topic recently,\u201d Swoik said.<\/p>\n

Purdum predicted sports betting will become a reality but thinks what happens in the New Jersey case will dictate when.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of the legal experts think New Jersey has its best chance in their three-year battle,\u201d Purdum said. \u201cThey are still the underdog, but if New Jersey is able to pull off the mild upset, this issue will escalate and escalate quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Purdum said if states really want to generate revenue, they will have to make betting legal online.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they don\u2019t make sports betting [legal] online, there is just not going to be enough revenue to make it worth everyone\u2019s while,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople aren\u2019t just going to give up their [current gambling outlets] and the convenience of online, to place their bets at a brick-and-mortar place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo at top: When it comes to betting on sports legally, Nevada is one of few places to do so. But with states and professional sports leagues re-examining their stances, there may soon may be new options. (Antony Pranata\/Creative Commons)<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kulwant Saluja The notion that American sports fans could legally gamble on sporting events would have been deemed absurd even a year ago. But once a taboo subject, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver\u2019s shocking pro-gambling comments in a Nov. 13 op-ed piece in the New York Times, has stimulated discussion on the subject, prompting other […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":7068,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,31,1,243],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-sports","category-uncategorized","category-winter-2015"],"yoast_head":"\nMomentum growing to legalize sports gambling - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Momentum growing to legalize sports gambling - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Kulwant Saluja The notion that American sports fans could legally gamble on sporting events would have been deemed absurd even a year ago. But once a taboo subject, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver\u2019s shocking pro-gambling comments in a Nov. 13 op-ed piece in the New York Times, has stimulated discussion on the subject, prompting other […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-02-18T22:58:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/WP%20Media%20Folder%20-%20medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/02\/Sportsbetting2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1100\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"578\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"kulwantsaluja\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"kulwantsaluja\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\\\/chicago\\\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\\\/chicago\\\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"kulwantsaluja\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\\\/chicago\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b7e57e0521c520f59f266fef0376e018\"},\"headline\":\"Momentum growing to legalize sports gambling\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-02-18T22:58:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\\\/chicago\\\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":780,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\\\/chicago\\\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/s3.amazonaws.com\\\/medill.wordpress.offload\\\/WP%20Media%20Folder%20-%20medill-reports-chicago\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2015\\\/02\\\/Sportsbetting2.jpg\",\"articleSection\":{\"0\":\"Business\",\"1\":\"Sports\",\"3\":\"Winter 2015\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\\\/chicago\\\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\\\/chicago\\\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\\\/\",\"name\":\"Momentum growing to legalize sports gambling - Medill Reports Chicago\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\\\/chicago\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\\\/chicago\\\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\\\/chicago\\\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/s3.amazonaws.com\\\/medill.wordpress.offload\\\/WP%20Media%20Folder%20-%20medill-reports-chicago\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2015\\\/02\\\/Sportsbetting2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-02-18T22:58:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\\\/chicago\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b7e57e0521c520f59f266fef0376e018\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\\\/chicago\\\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\\\/chicago\\\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\\\/chicago\\\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/s3.amazonaws.com\\\/medill.wordpress.offload\\\/WP%20Media%20Folder%20-%20medill-reports-chicago\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2015\\\/02\\\/Sportsbetting2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/s3.amazonaws.com\\\/medill.wordpress.offload\\\/WP%20Media%20Folder%20-%20medill-reports-chicago\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2015\\\/02\\\/Sportsbetting2.jpg\",\"width\":1100,\"height\":578,\"caption\":\"When it comes to betting on sports legally, Nevada is one of few places to do so. But with states and professional sports leagues re-examining their stances, there may soon may be new options. (Antony Pranata\\\/Creative Commons)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\\\/chicago\\\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\\\/chicago\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Momentum growing to legalize sports gambling\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\\\/chicago\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\\\/chicago\\\/\",\"name\":\"Medill Reports Chicago\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\\\/chicago\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\\\/chicago\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b7e57e0521c520f59f266fef0376e018\",\"name\":\"kulwantsaluja\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/43068b6d2324b7113664973c2185cd3fb05aaae68d1ba5f1eb27c555167229a7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/43068b6d2324b7113664973c2185cd3fb05aaae68d1ba5f1eb27c555167229a7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/43068b6d2324b7113664973c2185cd3fb05aaae68d1ba5f1eb27c555167229a7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"kulwantsaluja\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\\\/chicago\\\/author\\\/kulwantsaluja\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Momentum growing to legalize sports gambling - Medill Reports Chicago","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Momentum growing to legalize sports gambling - Medill Reports Chicago","og_description":"By Kulwant Saluja The notion that American sports fans could legally gamble on sporting events would have been deemed absurd even a year ago. But once a taboo subject, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver\u2019s shocking pro-gambling comments in a Nov. 13 op-ed piece in the New York Times, has stimulated discussion on the subject, prompting other […]","og_url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\/","og_site_name":"Medill Reports Chicago","article_published_time":"2015-02-18T22:58:05+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1100,"height":578,"url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/WP%20Media%20Folder%20-%20medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/02\/Sportsbetting2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"kulwantsaluja","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"kulwantsaluja","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\/"},"author":{"name":"kulwantsaluja","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/b7e57e0521c520f59f266fef0376e018"},"headline":"Momentum growing to legalize sports gambling","datePublished":"2015-02-18T22:58:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\/"},"wordCount":780,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/WP%20Media%20Folder%20-%20medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/02\/Sportsbetting2.jpg","articleSection":{"0":"Business","1":"Sports","3":"Winter 2015"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\/","url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\/","name":"Momentum growing to legalize sports gambling - Medill Reports Chicago","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/WP%20Media%20Folder%20-%20medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/02\/Sportsbetting2.jpg","datePublished":"2015-02-18T22:58:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/b7e57e0521c520f59f266fef0376e018"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/WP%20Media%20Folder%20-%20medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/02\/Sportsbetting2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/WP%20Media%20Folder%20-%20medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/02\/Sportsbetting2.jpg","width":1100,"height":578,"caption":"When it comes to betting on sports legally, Nevada is one of few places to do so. But with states and professional sports leagues re-examining their stances, there may soon may be new options. (Antony Pranata\/Creative Commons)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/momentum-growing-to-legalize-sports-gambling\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Momentum growing to legalize sports gambling"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website","url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/","name":"Medill Reports Chicago","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/b7e57e0521c520f59f266fef0376e018","name":"kulwantsaluja","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43068b6d2324b7113664973c2185cd3fb05aaae68d1ba5f1eb27c555167229a7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43068b6d2324b7113664973c2185cd3fb05aaae68d1ba5f1eb27c555167229a7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43068b6d2324b7113664973c2185cd3fb05aaae68d1ba5f1eb27c555167229a7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"kulwantsaluja"},"url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/author\/kulwantsaluja\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/70"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7048\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}