Major League Baseball, long a leading opponent to sports betting, is considering loosening its hard stance on the issue in the name of regulating a multibillion dollar industry that operates largely unchecked.
In a conversation with Yahoo Finance, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said Wednesday baseball may soon follow the NBA's lead in calling for the legalization of gambling on sports, acknowledging that betting "can be a form of fan engagement, it can fuel the popularity of a sport."
"There is this buzz out there in terms of people feeling that there may be an opportunity here for additional legalized sports betting,” he said. "We are reexamining our stance on gambling. It’s a conversation that’s ongoing with the owners.”
Such a change would represent a significant shift for MLB, which through its history has been wracked by a number of high-profile betting scandals involving players. Most notably, MLB all-time hits leader Pete Rose is banned for life from baseball for betting on games when he was a manager for the Reds in the 1980s.
The topic resurfaced last year as Rose made his case for reinstatement, but was denied by Manfred. Increasingly, though, professional sports leagues have dealt with the blurred lines of sports gambling with a rise in popularity of fantasy sports.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has become the most progressive public voice calling for a regulated system to be put into place. The NHL has expanded to Las Vegas for its 31st franchise.
The NFL is also considering relocating a franchise to the gambling Mecca. An estimated $4.7 billion was bet on last weekend's Super Bowl between the Patriots and Falcons, according to American Gaming Association figures — an all-time high. Yahoo noted 97 percent of bets were placed illegally.
Source: GMB / Yahoo
