In the US, legal sports betting has now rolled out to 29 states and Washington DC. Some states require in-person registration, while others allow customers to download apps and place bets online or over the phone. Several sportsbooks are available, including DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars, BetMGM and more. In the first year of legal sports betting, there were an estimated 3.2 million bets placed. That number is expected to grow as states regulate and operators invest more.
The NBA prohibits players, coaches, team officials and trainers from placing bets on its own events. This includes the league’s NBA Summer League, WNBA and Basketball Africa League. However, players can place bets on other sports as long as it is not in their own league or team facilities. Athletes are required to sign a statement acknowledging gambling rules in their contracts.
Athletes and other league personnel are also barred from betting on their own games or competitions while in uniform or on the road with their teams. They are also banned from placing bets in the presence of teammates, team staff or managers, and must sign a waiver to bet on a game while on duty. The NBA says it will investigate any allegations of prohibited activities in this regard.
Legal sports betting has opened up many opportunities for fans, but it also has led to controversy. In May, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was criticized for letting players off the hook after two players were suspended indefinitely last season over suspected betting activity. This season, a number of college and professional athletes have been disciplined for their betting behavior, including Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere and Indiana Colts cornerback Isaiah Rodgers.
Despite the high profile cases, most bettors do not engage in illegal or unethical betting. But the rise of legal sports betting has led to an increased focus on integrity in the industry, particularly in the US, where a majority of wagers are made.
David Purdum, an ESPN reporter who covers the gambling industry, says that the Supreme Court ruling has changed everything for both sports and sports betting.
In the US, legal sports betting has been on the rise since the Supreme Court’s decision in 2018. The number of sportsbooks has grown rapidly, and sports leagues have embraced the new opportunity to generate revenue. This has included beefing up security, partnering with sportsbooks and working to improve integrity in the betting market.
A key issue has been the question of whether or not official data should be mandatory in legal sports betting. Some states have passed laws requiring sportsbooks to use official data, but the idea is unlikely to catch on elsewhere. The utility and reliability of official data has yet to be proven, and mandates for its use are viewed by the industry as unnecessary. The major US sports leagues have agreements with real-time data providers Sportradar and Genius Sports, but these do not include a handle-based fee.