Fansided

NBA commissioner Adam Silver on gambling: ‘It’s good for business’

By Patrick Schmidt

Feb 14, 2015; New York, NY, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks at a press conference at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 14, 2015; New York, NY, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks at a press conference at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

NBA commissioner Adam Silver isn’t shying away from gambling being a part of the league and how beneficial it can be from a business standpoint.

Adam Silver isn’t backing down from the impact that gambling can have on the NBA and other professional sports leagues. Silver was a guest on Boomer & Carton on Monday and talked about the financial impact sports betting can have and how the league will be able to monitor the action.

More from NBA

Silver said he has spoken with commissioners of the other leagues and gotten a mixed reaction. In the past commissioners wouldn’t have touched the subject to avoid a Pete Rose-like scandal, point-shaving incidents or crooked referees altering the outcome of games, but this is a new era and Silver isn’t backing away from the positives it can provide.

“I did speak to all the other commissioners,” Silver said, via CBSSports.com. “There was a range of reactions. Some were, ‘What are you doing?’ Others were, ‘Let’s study it, seems like an interesting idea.’ And that is not that we’re necessarily out there promoting sports betting, but the latest estimate is there’s somewhere between $300 and $400 billion a year being bet on sports in this country.”

With that much money being bet on sports in the country, wouldn’t it be difficult to monitor everything to ensure everything is on the up-and-up? The last thing the NBA needs is a player being arrested or another referee going to jail for a betting scandal.

“Because they have all that data, they’re able to monitor it,” Silver said. “And if there’s any irregular activity whatsoever, it’s like tracking insider trading on the New York Stock Exchange. If there’s a blip, if there’s unusual activity, they know to investigate. So first the issue for us is if all this betting is going to go on anyway, we should be able to monitor it. And then, No. 2, if all this betting activity is going to go on anyway, make it legal.

“It’s good for business, I don’t want to hide from that,” he continued. “Putting aside whether or not we’re actually actively involved in any of the betting, it creates more engagement. We all know as fans if you have, even like a gentleman’s bet or a $5 bet with your friend on a game, all of a sudden you’re a lot more interested.”

The last point Silver makes about fan engagement is the most important. The NBA is an exciting league that moves quickly and there’s a number of highlight-reel plays from every game on every night, but getting the fans engaged and excited is something that should always be on the forefront of his mind.

Just think how exciting playing fantasy sports is for the common fan. You may never have watched a particular game but because you have a player on your fantasy from that team or are going against a player that night, you’re going to tune in and be as engaged as if it was Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

The NCAA Tournament is a prime example of the engagement the NBA wants and with the low-level gambling that is filling out a bracket, just imagine if you could be at an NBA arena and place a $10 bet on your team winning that night or a player scoring more than 30 points or the margin of victory.

If there was an app you could use on your smartphone to place a wager, then it’s even easier and you’re raising the excitement level for the sports, that is if you win.

This is very much in the infancy stages, but do you think the NBA and other leagues should embrace the role that sports betting plays in professional sports or is it something they should avoid at all costs?

More from FanSided

Home/NBA