Brian Windhorst, ESPN
A little before 1 a.m. on Feb. 10, 2017, an analyst working the night shift on the third floor of a stately stone building in central London saw his computer light up with alerts.
There was a sudden influx of unusual betting in sportsbooks from the Caribbean to Asia. One of the largest underdogs in the NBA that night (at 12 points) was getting unexpected action to win. Within moments the monitors at Sportradar AG — a large European-based gambling services company that has a contract with the NBA to watch more than 550 international sportsbooks — had flagged it as possible match fixing.
The target was the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The analyst went to work and within a minute or two found what he believed to be the source, a tweet from ESPN reporter Royce Young revealing that LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love were all going to play that night in Oklahoma City after Cavs coach Tyronn Lue had previously announced they’d all skip the game to rest. Sportradar issued an all clear, and casinos around the globe scrambled to reset the lines. Within 10 minutes, the game was a pick ’em.
Moments like these have been part of an intense legislative battle across the nation over the past six months. Mostly behind the scenes but occasionally in open sessions, the NBA and Major League Baseball have partnered in a fight that neither could’ve even dreamed about over the past few decades: a battle to protect their leagues’ integrity while also getting their hands on a piece of what could be a new ocean of gambling money in the United States.
The Supreme Court ruling Monday opened the door for states outside Nevada to legalize widespread sports gambling, an action that is expected to lead to billions of dollars moving from illegal sportsbooks to new or expanded legal operations.
Since last June when the court agreed to hear the case, more than 20 states have taken up versions of bills aimed at taking advantage of a favorable ruling. Four states — New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Mississippi and West Virginia — have passed bills that could see them begin taking bets in a short time.
The NBA and MLB have been on the ground in all of these states as they combine resources to lobby to get language that would assure them of a gambling revenue stream for years to come. They’ve hired high-priced lobbying firms, submitted written statements and sent executives to testify in statehouses.
All the pro sports leagues, including the PGA Tour and the NCAA, have been involved, but it has been the NBA and MLB that have been the tip of the spear. And first in the firing line for those pushing back and the desire for a cut of the new proceeds.
In January, NBA vice president Dan Spillane started an uproar when he appeared before the New York state legislature and asked for leagues to get a 1 percent cut off the top from all sports wagers were it to be legalized. Spillane said the NBA would be deserving of the money because it would have to pay for “integrity” services — like the arrangement the league has with Sportradar — to watch for match fixing or other betting irregularities that could threaten the game.
In the months since, Spillane and his counterpart at MLB, vice president Bryan Seeley, have crisscrossed the country to pitch similar language to legislatures.
Rest is here…
