Basic HTML Version
BY TIMOTHY MOTTRAM
TOUCHLINE
FEATURE
AMERICA’S GAMBLE ON
SPORTS BETT ING
O
ne of the best episodes of the popular HBO TV
series Boardwalk Empire was centred on the day
prohibition came into law. The main character,
Nucky Thompson, was surrounded by friends and fellow
criminals and counted down the seconds just as though it
were New Years’ Eve. The party that followed was designed
to celebrate the fact that the government of the USA had
just passed the entire liquor industry into the hands of
organised crime.
In the USA, sports gambling is like
modern prohibition: it is taking
place, but who is making the
money?
Currently, the USA is indulging in
a dialogue over sports gambling.
Illegal in all but four of the States,
the move to legalise gambling is
gaining momentum and credibility.
The impossibility of policing illegal
gambling, the inexorable rise of
online betting and the revenue that
will come from legalising it all make
a compelling case for regulating
the industry.
But there will inevitably be blow back. Not only are large
portions of the community against the move for ethical
or moral reasons, there are also logistical problems to
consider. Legalising sports gambling will not lead to fans
linking hands and singing in the street.
The argument for legalising sports gambling has been
building for years, but this year it f inally became part of
the national debate. With the advent of online gambling
companies and proxy servers, it is almost impossible
to control sports betting. High-prof ile Republican Chris
Christie – future presidential hopeful and current Governor
of New Jersey - has started making the case for legalising
sports gambling in his state. Atlantic City is losing money
fast and unless he comes up with a plan to rake in some
cash, it could end up like Detroit. As the setting for
Boardwalk Empire, gambling was how the city got its start.
Then Adam Silver, National Basketball
Commissioner, wrote an op-ed
piece, calling for the legalisation of
basketball betting. He appealed to the
logic of the move.
“One of my concerns is that I will be
portrayed as pro sports betting,” he
says. “But I view myself more as pro
transparency. And someone who’s a
realist in the business. The best way
for the league to monitor our integrity
is for that betting action to move
toward legal betting organizations,
where it can be tracked. That ’s the
pragmatic approach.”
The pragmatic approach is also the logical one. The fact
is that bets will be placed regardless of whether gambling
is legal. Although impossible to accurately gauge, illegal
gambling is worth $500 billion. According to Reuters “the
global International Centre for Sport Security reported
last year that 80 percent of global sport betting is illegally
transacted, and therefore invisible to authorities. It said
$140 billion is laundered annually through sport betting.”
SPORTS BETT ING HAS
BEEN NORMAL I SED TO
SUCH AN EXTENT THAT
FOR MANY I T HAS BECOME
AS MUCH A PART OF THE
GAME AS MEAT P I ES AND
L INES OUTS IDE
THE TOI LETS .
TOUCHLINE
ISSUE 20 | MARCH 2015 |
31