By Adam Candee, Legal Sports Report
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman stopped short of fully embracing federal sports betting legislation and integrity fees Monday during media availability at Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals in Las Vegas.
Bettman certainly did not sound opposed to either, though. He asserted the NHL’s position on sports betting in much clearer terms than the league’s equivocating initial post-PASPA statement.
The quick takeaway: Look for the NHL to take a hybrid position melding parts of what the NFL and NBA want.
Bettman calls for a level legal playing field
Asked if he supports Congress acting on federal sports betting legislation, Bettman mostly endorsed the idea:
“We’re looking for consistency,” Bettman said. “Whether that can be done federally — which would make it easier to make sure (of) the rules of the game, the types of bets that are being placed, how things are being conducted — we’d like consistency and we’d like not to have it vary state-by-state.
“Now if all the states want to come together and do the same thing, that would be the equivalent of federal legislation and that’s something that we’re focused on.”
That places the NHL somewhere in-between its fellow leagues. The NFL called for Congress to pass a new law to replace PASPA in setting nationwide rules for sports betting. The NBA shifted last week from a firm call for federal legislation to advocating a “50-state solution” either in Congress or through state legislatures.
Rest is here…https://www.legalsportsreport.com/20787/nhl-joins-nba-nfl-in-national-sports-betting-rules/
