Twice weekly, we’ll comb through as many articles, tweets and podcasts as we can find related to the world of sports betting and daily fantasy sports, and publish the good stuff here.
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Las Vegas was awarded an NHL expansion team earlier this week. The team will be the first from any major professional sports league to make the gambling capital of America its home. The NHL has until 30 days before the Las Vegas team’s inaugural season to petition to ban betting on the local team.
“I haven’t had any conversations with the NHL, and it would certainly be out of the ordinary if that were to occur,” Chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board A.G. Burnett said Tuesday. “It seems to me that a lot of the sports leagues are seeing that professional sports can thrive without any issues in a well-regulated betting environment.”
“I don’t think this would have happened five or six years ago,” said Jay Kornegay, executive director of the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook. “But the climate has changed dramatically, and I believe it’s a case of education.”
All of the state’s nearly 200 sports books currently would be allowed to take action on a Las Vegas team, including ones run by MGM Resorts International, which co-owns T-Mobile Arena, where the team will play, according to Burnett.
But the NHL still has more than a year to object. A gaming control board regulation grants the league of any game or series contested in Nevada — such as the NHL season — the opportunity to petition gambling availability within 30 days of the event starting.
Many see this as a step forward for the path to legalized sports betting across the country, including a columnist and the American Gaming Association’s president and CEO, Geoff Freeman.
Some years from now, when we look back on the history of legalized sports betting in this country, we’ll remember the NHL expansion into Las Vegas as a milestone.
“It’s time for a new approach to sports betting that eliminates the federal prohibition and recognizes what the NHL, NBA and others have acknowledged through the rise of daily fantasy sports — today’s fans are seeking greater engagement with the sports, teams and players they enjoy,” Freeman said. “A regulated and transparent market is the best approach for ensuring integrity in the sports.”
An article published by the New York Daily News says that legalized sports betting is gaining support.
Sports gambling is at a crossroads in America. At one time, pro leagues distanced themselves from betting like they were walking past a beehive, but in recent years, some have lightened their stance. This week, reports indicate the NHL will have an expansion team play in Las Vegas, while NBA commissioner Adam Silver has endorsed the legalization of sports betting for some time now. The NFL remains hard against any association with gambling, though the Oakland Raiders have expressed interest in relocating to Las Vegas, where sports betting is legal.
Jim Kelly and Vinny Testaverde, former NFL quarterbacks who played in New York, pledged their support to pass a bill that would legalize and regulate daily fantasy sports in the state.
“New York is home to 11 pro sports teams, headquarters of every professional sports league and is the sports capital of the world,” Testaverde said. “New York should be the fantasy sports capital of the work – not only for fans, but for the industry as well.”
Both athletes were paid for their efforts, but both said they have family and friends who are huge fans.
“I see what fantasy sports has done to my friends-how excited they get, how crazy they get,” Kelly said. “I’d say about 85 percent of my friends play.”
New Jersey is also making a push to legalize and regulate daily fantasy sports, which could then weaken the opposition to legalized sports betting.
N.J. legislation allowing and regulating daily fantasy, sponsored by Sen. Jim Whelan and fellow Atlantic County Democrat Assemblyman Vincent Mazzeo, was approved by a Senate committee this month and sent to the full Senate. Amendments since its debut last year have resulted in a bill with good protections for the public that also should work for daily fantasy companies and casinos.
Leicester City might repeat as English Premier League champions, but bettors won’t be offered 5,000-to-1 odds on them this time around.
Leicester City opened with the seventh-best odds to win next year’s Prem title — 25-1 at William Hill and 20-1 at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.
The National Fantasy Football convention was postponed for the second straight year.
In an announcement via Twitter, the convention put the blame squarely on the NFL, saying the league’s “blatant and continued interference has fractured beyond recovery our capacity to deliver the unique opportunities the NFFC had intended to provide.”