NBA lawyer in favor of sports betting

The official said that sports betting in the United States should be legal and regulated.

NBA VP and assistant general counsel Dan Spillane said during a panel at the Sports Betting USA Conference in New York that the NBA has plans to lobby Congress for federal changes and regulations to betting law regardless of the outcome of New Jersey’s case that seeks the repeal of the PASPA Act.

“Our general position on sports betting is that it should be legal and regulated, pursuant to a federal framework that has minimum safeguards,” said Spillane, and commented that the NBA has advisors in DC: “We have legislation that we’ve been pulling together, talking with other stakeholders in this area. It’s a slow process.”

The lawyer said that the situation of sports betting wasn’t a practical discussion to have when all the sports leagues were unanimously opposed to it. “I think that there will be a little bit more clarity, and people will be more open, especially members of Congress, to talking about potential legislation once the [NJ] case is resolved one way or another.” he added.

New Jersey’s case is primarily centered around the fact that there is a US$150 billion illegal sports betting market in the United States each year. PASPA, a sports protection act that was passed in 1992, prevents states from offering gambling lines on sports. Nevada, Oregon, Delaware, and Montana were granted special exemptions, as all four of those states were offering some variation of sports lotteries back in 1992.

Spillane explained that whilst the NBA is against New Jersey in the December 4 hearings, the league and the state are both on the same side: “Our view has been that if it’s illegal [at the federal level], that’s not the right way to start off legal sports betting in the United States — under a cloud, doing it in violation of federal law. At the same time, we agree with New Jersey on the ultimate policy outcome: that having legal, regulated sports betting in the United States is the best place to end up. The disagreement is just on how to get there.”