Top NBA Gambling Exec Warns On Going ‘Too Far, Too Fast’ With Sports Betting

There is a curious dichotomy unfolding in gambling markets around the globe, leading one NBA executive to express a desire for caution.

Earlier this month, the NHL’s Washington Capitals became the first US pro team to put a gambling sponsorship on a jersey. But on the other side of the pond, the UK is going the opposite way. The UK government is soon expected to ban betting sponsors on soccer shirts.

UK politician Carolyn Harris told newspapers:

“Banning front-of-shirt ads is of course the right thing to do, but it just scratches the surface. We’re bombarded by gambling adverts and that has to stop. Adverts should be completely banned to protect children and prevent harm.”

To some, the UK experience is a harbinger of things to come in the US: an example of the backlash when sports betting becomes too prevalent.

But are US sports betting stakeholders paying attention? 

That was the question asked last week of Scott Kaufman-Ross, SVP and head of gaming at the NBA. 

 

Specifically, Kaufman-Ross was asked on a SportTechie webinar whether leagues were heeding the lessons from Europe as they built out their sports betting strategies.

Kaufman-Ross responded:

“Whilst there are things that might be legal or fans may want, we have to be careful not to go too, far too fast and risk the overregulation we have seen in other markets.”

“A healthy, legal sports betting industry is what we all want and we have to be prudent.”

 

For the NBA, that means not yet allowing betting sponsorships on jerseys, as the NHL did.

“We’re monitoring all that stuff [in Europe],” Kauffman-Ross added. “We didn’t think it was the right time for us to open up [jersey sponsorship].”

“Some leagues are more permissive and we don’t judge anyone. We didn’t feel it right for the NBA and we’ll see where it goes. We want to crawl before we walk, before we run.”

 

It is a subtle but interesting shift given the NBA was the first league to embrace sports betting way back in 2014. Commissioner Adam Silver famously penned an op-ed for the New York Times arguing sports betting should be taxed and regulated.

Now the NBA might be a little more cautious than its peers, especially as the NFL goes all-in on sports betting with its official partnerships.

Following those agreements, US sportsbooks spent $24 million on NFL TV ads during Week One alone.

 

The growing saturation of sports betting has also prompted warnings from other parts of the industry.

Regulators from New Jersey and Colorado said recently that operators needed to rein in marketing or risk a regulatory crackdown.

They too highlighted Europe as a cautionary tale. The warnings, it seems, are building up.

But is enough of the industry listening?

NHL investigating after wife says Evander Kane bet on his own games

The NHL said it is launching an investigation into San Jose Sharks player Evander Kane after his wife claimed that he bet on his own games.

Kane’s wife Anna alleged in a Saturday night social media post that her husband gambled on his own hockey games, writing on Instagram, “@nhl Can someone ask [NHL Commissioner] Gary Bettman how they can let a player gamble on his own games? Bet and win with bookies on his own games?”

She also wrote in a social media post, “How does the NHL let a compulsive gambling addict still play when he’s obviously throwing games to win money? Hmm maybe someone needs to address this,” according to The Associated Press.

In a separate Instagram post, Anna Kane, who is reportedly pregnant with the couple's second child, said her husband left for a vacation in Europe when “our house is being taken by the bank.” She also accused him of forcing her to sell her wedding ring while noting that she was unable to purchase formula for their 1-year-old daughter.

The NHL responded on Saturday night, writing in a tweet that it was “made aware” of the allegations and that it plans to “conduct a full investigation.”

“The integrity of our game is paramount and the League takes these allegations very seriously,” the league added.

Evander Kane reacted to the allegations on Sunday morning, posting two statements to social media that rejected the claims made by his wife.

“Unfortunately I would like to address the completely FALSE accusations that my estranged wife and soon to be ex wife has made against me,” Evander Kane wrote.

“I have NEVER gambled/bet on Hockey, NEVER gambled/bet on any of my games and NEVER thrown a hockey game,” he added.

Kane said he looks forward to “cooperating fully with the league’s investigation, having my name cleared and looking forward to this upcoming season.”

The Sharks player also addressed the allegations made against him regarding his daughter in a separate statement, accusing his wife of restricting his access.

“She has refused me to see her and has unfortunately tried to use my daughter as leverage. I will continue to always take care of my family that goes without question,” he wrote.

“I would encourage people to realize that someone who goes to this length to try and jeopardize someone's career with lies is mentally unwell. I hope this is the last time I will be publicly addressing any further misrepresentations of me as a father,” he added.

San Jose Sharks Media Relations Manager Kyle Stuetzel said the team supports a “full and transparent investigation” into the “serious allegations” made against Kane.


“The San Jose Sharks have been in contact today with the National Hockey League about the serious allegations made against Evander Kane. We support a full and transparent investigation into the situation to maintain the integrity of the game and consistency with our team values,” Stuetzel told The Hill in a statement.

“The Sharks will not be commenting further at this time,” he added.

In 2019, Kane was sued by a casino in Las Vegas that argued that the player did not pay a $500,000 gambling debt that was incurred during a playoff series against the Golden Knights, according to the AP.

Kane is three seasons into his seven-year, $49 million contract with the Sharks, the news service noted.

U.S. Sports Leagues Should Get in the Sports Betting Game While They Can

While internet wagering is on the lips of most gambling writers nowadays, sports betting is actually the topic du jour. New Jersey has passed a bill that will legalize sports betting in the state and are prepared to challenge PASPA in an effort to implement it. In fact Governor Christie is almost daring the DoJ and sports leagues to try and stop him. California also introduced a bill to legalize sports betting but will disallow wagering on California based NCAA teams or any college games that take place in the state and, like New Jersey, California is willing to take the issue as high as the Supreme Court if they need to. There’s no question that Delaware is still interested in offering single game sports betting and Nevada based American Gaming made a deal with William Hill to set up hundreds of sports betting kiosks throughout Nevada to generate more interest in sports betting as a betting option. Furthermore, reports suggest that least a dozen other states are seriously looking at introducing bills to legalize sports betting in their states and Canada is about to pass a single game sports betting bill that will allow their provincial governments to offer traditional sportsbooks in addition to the parlay lottery they have now. And not only does almost 20% of America’s population live less than a 5 hour drive from the Canadian border, but in Canada there is no tax on windfalls.

Yet despite the efforts of all the states to introduce sports as a betting option that they feel is necessary to prop up their casino and horse racing business, the sports leagues still maintain that they will vehemently challenge any efforts to introduce expanded sports betting in any state in order to “protect the integrity of the game.” However, if the leagues were smart they would give up this notion and try to figure out ways in which they could benefit from legalized sports wagering. Throughout the world sports betting is legal and sports teams have created partnerships with the bookmaking companies which have benefitted them greatly. In fact some of the most famous sports paraphernalia are from sportsbooks. Bwin, Betclic and Ladbrokes sponsor some of the most famous teams in Europe and Bet365 has deals with a couple of CFL franchises. And in Australia, almost every team is sponsored by a gambling company. It’s uncertain just how much money the leagues could make with sponsorships but a gaming conference in Montreal 8 years ago, Marc Blandford, the CEO of Sportingbet at the time said he would give $1 billion to the NFL if they would agree to allow the company to be “the official sportsbook of the NFL.” Naturally that offer was laughed off but many teams are struggling greatly and could use the influx of advertising revenue from sportsbooks if they were legalized. Without question teams like the Tampa Bay Lightning or Phoenix Coyotes in the NHL or the Buffalo Bills in the NFL would benefit greatly from sportsbook sponsorships and in NASCAR all the start and park teams could almost certainly pick up some sportsbook advertising which would allow them to run the whole race. It wasn’t that long ago when companies were lining up to sponsor race cars but the failing economy and the ban on tobacco and hard alcohol advertising has eroded that interest and consequently there is talk that the Craftsman Truck Series could end next year. It’s no longer the 1990s and companies like General Electric, General Mills and the Bank of America no longer have the resources to simply throw out money in hopes it may generate business. But the nature of bookmaking would certainly compel all legal sportsbooks to seek partnerships with teams in an effort to create awareness of their product. And like Betclic and Bwin, people would wear uniforms sporting their names and logos.

As for protecting the integrity of the game, legalized and regulated sports betting has actually been shown to be the best way to achieve that goal. Almost every famous gambling scandal in the past, including most recently the Ted Donaghy mess, was done with illegal, underground bookmakers. And it’s only after the fact when one of the cheaters makes a mistake that the truth comes out that leagues and the public are made aware of the scandal. In Europe, however, where gambling is legal, there have been quite a few betting scandals lately in horse racing, soccer, cricket and tennis, but unlike with Donaghy it was the bookmakers who notified the sports leagues about the likely cheating as a result of strange betting patterns. The unusual results in Ted Donaghy refereed games could have been spotted if the bets were made legally but because they were all conducted illegally, the sportsbooks couldn’t help. In fact Betfair, a major world gaming exchange, has initiated memoranda of understanding with over 40 leagues including horse racing boards, soccer leagues, the tennis federation and the NHL whereby any suspicious betting is reported to the leagues. With over 7 million transactions taking place on the exchange each day, all which are recorded and analyzed in real time by a designated integrity department, Betfair has been able to alert numerous leagues of suspicious betting patterns and it has led to arrests and suspensions in horse racing, soccer and tennis. And other bookmakers are following suit. In fact, Australia has it in their rules and regulations that licensed bookmakers must be on the lookout for illegal bets and report to them to the authorities immediately so that action can be taken. A major UK newspaper even stated recently “with the cooperation of the sports leagues and Betfair’s technology, cheating athletes know their days of deception are numbered.” Yet for some reason, North American sports leagues (with the exception of the NHL), have preferred to keep their head in the sand and pretend that gambling doesn’t take place on their games. Obviously they know otherwise but they would rather take the approach that what they don’t know won’t hurt them, rather than facing reality. Gambling does take place every day and some sports even rely on it. There’s absolutely no question the NFL would not be as popular as it is today if there weren’t NFL pools taking place in offices every weekend and if the point spreads weren’t posted in every major newspaper. And contrary to what the leagues may believe it’s better to learn about cheating ahead of time and be proactive rather than just reacting to the news.

Another reason the leagues should consider embracing sports betting now is because at this point they have some leverage in adopting regulations for sports betting. California, as mentioned, has put in a rule disallowing college betting on sports within the state and no doubt other states that are interested in sports betting would be willing to follow suit if it means they don’t have to go through the legal process of challenging PASPA. In fact the leagues can even put in regulations relating to who can’t bet on sports (i.e. disallow players or referees from placing bets on their sport) and can possibly even work in a percentage of the revenues from the betting to be used towards scholarships, increased minimum salaries and the like. But if the leagues choose to continue to challenge it and if the courts eventually rule against PASPA, and almost every gambling lawyer I spoke to believes PASPA will be determined to be unconstitutional at some point, the states and gambling companies will have no reason to work with the leagues to give them a share of the revenue or ask for their input. Once sports betting is declared legal, the states will say to the leagues “you had your chance and you blew it,” just as the leagues are telling New Jersey for opting out of PASPA two decades ago.

This is crunch time for sports betting in the U.S. Legalized wagering on sports will happen in every state that wants it sooner or later and there’s absolutely nothing the leagues can do about it. They may own their trademarks and patents but they don’t own the right to stop gambling on it. Sports betting has taken place in Nevada for over 70 years and it has taken place underground for far longer than that. It’s time for the leagues to face reality and work with the states to come up with a solution that they all can live with. Failing to do so will just leave the leagues on the outside looking in and when the leagues want some revenue and input into the betting the states will simply tell them “you had your chance and you blew it.”