NBA commissioner says legalize sports betting

NEW YORK - NBA commissioner Adam Silver has come out in favor of allowing betting on professional sports, according to an op-ed published in The New York Times Thursday evening.

Silver, who officially took over the league in February, said that although his and other pro sports organizations have staunchly opposed placing bets on games, the practice is still widespread and should be legalized and regulated.

Currently, Nevada is the only state with has legal sports betting.

"It is a thriving underground business that operates free from regulation or oversight," Silver wrote. "Because there are few legal options available, those who wish to bet resort to illicit bookmaking operations and shady offshore websites."

He cited an estimate that said as much as $400 million is waged on sporting contests each year, and also pointed out that states offer various forms of gambling anyway ranging from lotteries to casinos.

As Silver points out, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie just signed a bill into law authorizing sports betting at casinos in that state.

"I am a strong proponent of legalized sports wagering in New Jersey," Christie said last month at the bill signing. "But given earlier decisions by federal courts, it was critical that we follow a correct and appropriate path to curtail new court challenges and expensive litigation."

The NBA and other leagues have opposed such measures because they would violate the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, also known as the "Bradley Act." But Silver says times have changed since then.

Instead, he says, Congress should adopt a "framework" to authorize betting that would fall under federal guidelines, similar to other countries that allow sports wagering.

"These requirements would include: mandatory monitoring and reporting of unusual betting-line movements; a licensing protocol to ensure betting operators are legitimate; minimum-age verification measures; geo-blocking technology to ensure betting is available only where it is legal; mechanisms to identify and exclude people with gambling problems; and education about responsible gaming," Silver wrote.

Silver insists that his priority would still be to protect the integrity of basketball if betting were legalized.

"But I believe that sports betting should be brought out of the underground and into the sunlight where it can be appropriately monitored and regulated."