Commentary
Pro Sports In Vegas: Gambling Or Strong Bet?
- by Barry Janoff , Columnist, June 22, 2010
Of all the things that are forbidden in pro sports -- no spitting in the opposing player's eye, no running with scissors on the base paths, no hitting below the belt (except in mixed martial arts) --
perhaps the strictest taboo has been association with and/or links to gambling.
There …
At what point will American sports embrace nationwide sports gambling?
I think US sports leagues are only skimming the surface of the potential revenue in gambling. If you look at European football clubs, they not only embrace gambling advertising dollars, but have booths in their stadiums for fans to place bets and ads touting the latest odds on their club's websites with links to place a bet online.
If the estimates of illegal gambling revenue are accurate, I'm surprised sports leagues haven't pushed harder to legalize and regulate sports gambling nationwide so they can get a piece of this revenue that's generated from their games.
The NFL already fines teams for miss/not reporting player injuries. Does anyone know the reason the NFL is so strict about this other than producing a fair market for handicappers and gamblers?