Ryan Rodenberg, Legal Sports Report
The NBA formally set forth its “50-state solution” for sports betting regulation last week.
Describing Nevada as having a “small but long-standing regulated sports betting market,” the NBA lawyer who presented the league’s new policy stance to the New York Senate advocated for a national blueprint.
“[W]e support the passage of a comprehensive sports betting bill that would serve as a model for a 50-state solution—whether that happens in Congress or on a state-by-state basis,” wrote the NBA in a formal statement. The NBA’s statement was verbally read into the record by NBA attorney Dan Spillane, who appeared before the state’s Senate Committee on Racing, Gaming and Wagering on Jan. 24.
Left unsaid were the implications such an approach could have for Nevada.
And the potential implications — particularly if they come to fruition — conjure up memories of two other times within the past 20 years when possible intrusions into the Nevada sports betting regulatory apparatus were successfully repelled by Nevada. That includes one instance where the NBA sought to control the satellite feeds of games to licensed sportsbooks and a United States senator sent a letter to the NBA to help resolve the dispute.
What comprises the ‘50-state solution?’
As set forth last week, the NBA’s model includes “five key components.” Here they are briefly:
- Integrity line monitoring;
- A one percent fee off handle payable to individual sports leagues;
- The right to restrict certain wagering;
- Various consumer protection requirements; and
- Authorization for online betting platforms
Some of these suggested components are already implemented in Nevada. Others are not.
For example, current Nevada regulations allow a sports league to request that certain wagers be barred. But the ability to request such a restriction differs markedly from the NBA’s suggestion that leagues would possess the right to unilaterally “approve the types of wagering that are offered.” Nevada authorities decide whether to approve or reject such requests on a case-by-case basis.
Whether Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval and other government officials support the NBA’s platform remains an open question. Neither Gov. Sandoval nor any Nevada regulators have publicly commented on the NBA’s model for sports betting legislation. It seems unlikely, however, that the state — and its licensed sportsbooks — would acquiesce to a one percent fee based on handle payable directly to the NBA and sports leagues.
Indeed, Nevada has successfully fended off NBA-led policy stances before.
Rest is here…
