With good reason. The deal announced with such fanfare Tuesday is arguably little more than a branding exercise – at least for now – and a chance to take baby steps into a sports betting partnership that would have been almost scandalous only a few years ago.
Still Tony Romo Jersey , the NBA is now officially all in on sports betting. Other leagues will soon, undoubtedly, follow.
And sports may never be the same again.
Forget the image of a shadowy figure in a back room somewhere taking bets over the phone. Indeed, if the bookie you’ve used to make illegal bets over the years hasn’t made plans yet to get into another profession, you might suggest that it’s time.
Things figure to change in Las Vegas, too, if not all that much. Books in this gambling city have already expanded their offerings in recent years to include the in-game betting that the NBA believes will prove the need for its official data.
But the official seal of approval apparently means something, at least to MGM. So, too, might the official data the league provides at some point in the future.
And now that MGM has a deal with the NBA, surely the NFL and Major League Baseball are going to want in on the action.
Credit NBA commissioner Adam Silver for inking a deal he called ”a leap of faith on both sides.” Silver realized early on that legalized sports betting was an opportunity for the league, not something to fear.
And when his idea of an ”integrity fee” paid to the leagues out of sports betting revenue failed to gain traction in the early adopting states, Silver pivoted to find another way to get a piece of what figures to be a huge revenue stream.
He quickly found the perfect partner in MGM Willie Young Jersey , which might have some ulterior motives of its own. The company wants an NBA team for its new arena on the Las Vegas Strip, and there’s no better way to curry favor with the NBA than ink a deal with the league.
According to Silver and MGM officials, the casino company is buying data. And the party line is that it’s important, despite the fact Vegas bookies have prospered for decades without any need for official league statistics.
”I know the value of data,” MGM chairman and CEO James Murren said at a New York press conference with Silver. ”To be able to have the official NBA data for sports bettors around the world is very valuable. I was willing to, and I’ve paid for that.”
The money MGM paid isn’t much in the grand scheme of things, a few million a year over three years, according to reports. But if the NBA can convince other sports betting operations to sign up it could turn into a steady chunk of extra income for the league.
Not exactly the 1 percent of gross income the NBA was seeking from states considering legalizing sports betting, but that effort was going nowhere. In signing a deal to provide unspecified data to casinos, the league gets to profit from betting without getting hands terribly soiled with the actual messiness of it.
And new money is new money.
”This is a whole new world for us,” Silver said.
It’s hard to imagine that it was just a dozen or so years ago when the NFL refused to run an ad promoting Las Vegas on the Super Bowl, using the farcical argument that any association with gambling could ruin the league.
With the Supreme Court decision in May opening the door for legalized sports betting across the country, though Pat McAfee Jersey , all bets are off. Instead of treating sports books like threats, the leagues are looking at them to boost profits.
What they see should have been apparent years ago: Americans want to be able to place a wager or two on their favorite teams, and they don’t feel there’s anything immoral about it.
In a perfect world, the bookies would go at it alone. They wouldn’t partner with the leagues that spent years trying to destroy them.
But for MGM, at least, it’s a marriage of convenience. The casino giant is betting the NBA will help spread its brand, and maybe even pave the way for an NBA team in Las Vegas in the near future.
And that’s a bet that just might pay off.
—
Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg(at)ap.org or The prospect of legal sports betting throughout the United States has prompted a flurry of deals among gambling and technology firms who want a foothold in the billion-dollar industry.
Casinos, race tracks, daily fantasy sports companies and others are itching to offer bets in person and online after the Supreme Court ruled Monday that states could begin allowing wagers. That’s led companies all over the world to seek ways to team up.
Some casinos need mobile apps or someone to set lines and run sports books that operate much differently than slot machines and table games. Many tech firms, daily fantasy sports companies and others need gambling licenses and experience with significant regulation. Other companies that handle data security and payment processing are also joining the fray.
The industry is preparing for most of the betting to happen on smartphones, just like in Europe. That would also be new for most U.S. states, as internet gambling has been limited to just three states in recent years.
NEW YORK (AP) – The NCAA is opening a door for states with legalized sports gambling to host NCAA championship events and officials in Nevada are already set to get in the game as soon as they can.
The governing body for college sports announced a ”temporary” lifting of a ban that prevented events like college basketball’s NCAA Tournament from being hosted in states that accept wagers on single games. The move comes three days after the Supreme Court overturned a federal law that barred most states from allowing gambling on professional and college sporting events.
NCAA President Mark Emmert said the board of governors will consider permanently revising its policy at future meetings. But the NCAA said it will not change its rules that prohibit gambling on sports by athletes and all athletic department employees, including coaches.
Emmert also is calling for federal regulations of sports gambling Alfred Blue Jersey , joining the NFL, NBA and other leagues.
NHL
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Tampa Bay Lightning won Game 4 of the Eastern Conference final despite going the equivalent of more than a period without a shot on goal.
They won despite falling behind about 4 1/2 minutes into the game.
They won despite being called for three penalties – one right after the other – late in the first period, allowing Alex Ovechkin and the rest of the Washington Capitals’ prolific power play to get all that time to operate.
And they did it, mainly, thanks to Andrei Vasilevskiy, who made 36 saves and kept things close until Alex Killorn scored the tiebreaker with about 8 minutes left, lifting Tampa Bay to a 4-2 victory and evening the series at two games apiece.
NBA
MILWAUKEE (AP) – The Milwaukee Bucks officially announced the hiring of Mike Budenholzer as their new coach.
A person familiar with the search had told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the Milwaukee Bucks had reached an agreement with Budenholzer, the former Atlanta Hawks coach. The Bucks made the official announcement a day later.
”The tremendously supportive fans in Milwaukee and throughout Wisconsin are waiting and ready,” Budenholzer said in a statement released by the team. ”Now it’s up to us to put all the pieces together, and I can’t wait to get started.”
Budenholzer replaces Joe Prunty, the former assistant who went 21-16 in the regular season after replacing the fired Jason Kidd in late January. The Bucks lost to Boston in seven games in the first round of the playoffs.
GOLF
DALLAS (AP) – Marc Leishman shot a 10-under 61 on the new links-style Trinity Forest course to take the first-round lead in the AT&T Byron Nelson.
Jordan Spieth was eight shots back in his hometown event, which returned to Dallas after 35 years at the TPC Four Seasons in suburban Irving. Defending champion Billy Horschel shot 68.
Leishman opened with an eagle, started the back nine with three straight birdies and reached 9 under with another eagle at the 14th.
The 34-year-old Australian Ndamukong Suh Jersey , a three-time PGA Tour winner, had chances to go lower but settled for a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-3 17th for the lowest round of his PGA Tour career. He was a stroke shy of the Nelson record.
J.J. Spaun and Texan Jimmy Walker shot 64.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) – Miguel Angel Jimenez matched the course record with an 8-under 64 to take the first-round lead in the Regions Tradition, the first of the PGA Tour Champions’ five major championships.
Jimenez birdied the first four holes and broke the front-nine record at 6-under 30 at Greystone Golf & Country Club. The Spaniard took the outright lead with a short birdie putt on No. 13 after a rain delay of 1 hour, 17 minutes.
Jimenez tied the course record set by Kenny Perry in the first round in 2016 and matched by Bernhard Langer in the final round a year ago. Jimenez also opened with a 64 in the Chubb Classic before finishing ninth.
Gene Sauers, Wes Short Jr., Jerry Kelly and Joe Durant were second at 66.
Two-time defending champion Langer closed with a birdie for a 70.
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (AP) – Annie Park turned a blistering stretch on the back nine into a mistake-free 6-under 65 and a share of the first-round lead on a crowded leaderboard at the Kingsmill Championship.
Jessica Korda, Azahara Munoz, In Gee Chun and Jaye Marie Green also shot 65. Park, Korda and Munoz played morning rounds in mild conditions, while Chun and Green played in rain that is expected to also be a factor Friday and Saturday on the resort’s already-soggy River Course.
TENNIS
ROME (AP) – Seven-time champion Rafael Nadal methodically wore do Womens Nathan Shepherd Jersey
