One month ago the Supreme Court decided to get rid of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which was passed in 1992. This act was brought forward to prevent legal gambling on sporting events. One of its major advocates was Bill Bradley, a New Jersey Democrat, who had played college basketball. He argues that gambling on sporting events has an impact on the integrity of the game. Placing sports wagers has however been legal in Las Vegas casinos, drawing large crowds during popular sporting events such as March Madness or Floyd Mayweather fights.
Casinos have not been performing well this year. In Atlantic City specifically, year over year revenues have dropped nearly 5%. This means that the revenues from 2017 were 5 percent higher than the current year. The new bill that was signed yesterday by New Jersey Governor Philip D. Murphy allows for sports gambling in New Jersey. This gives Atlantic City casinos the opportunity to tap into the estimated $400 billion that is illegally gambled in the United States each year. The average profit margin on sports gambling in Las Vegas is around 5.3%. If Atlantic City casinos expect similar numbers, this major source of revenue can help these struggling casinos continue to grow.
A major issue that must be dealt with is the issue of integrity which was brought up earlier. In order to oversee betting transactions and prevent the "fixing" of games, all major sporting associations are requesting an "integrity fee". It is essential that sporting bets are monitored in order to ensure the integrity of the games being played. The National Basketball Association as well as the Major League of Baseball have also stated that they deserve a cut of all wagers that are placed because the casinos are profiting off their brand. This is an interesting dilemma because if the major sports associations get a cut of these profits, it is uncertain where this money will truly end up. Athletes will most likely not see this money entering their contracts, therefore, the destination is unknown. A counter argument on the side of the casinos, is that the margins are small to being with an by giving a portion of the 5 percent to these leagues, they are potentially losing billions of dollars.
Some say that sports gambling ruins the game itself. Viewers will be more concerned about the point spreads and whether or not that garbage time basket goes in or not. This may not necessarily be such a bad thing for sports. The increase in attention as well as excitement in moments that may not be important to determine who wins and loses the game, can cause viewership to increase and allow for larger profits for the television stations and sports providers. People may now find interest in sports and other events that they can gamble on knowing that there is something in it for them other than the entertainment of watching as a spectator. Rising popularity can increase profits in areas such as fan attendance as well as memorabilia and jersey sales.
Legalized sports gambling will make an immediate impact on the world of sports and the ways that spectators view the sport. It is uncertain how long it will take to know whether or not this move was the right one and if the sporting world can sustain integrity. The moving force in this new legal action was certainly the potential profits that could be taken form illegal offshore books and effectively taxed to benefit the community as well.
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