Gaming Interview with ESPN's David Purdum: Sports Betting

A traditional newspaper journalist, David Purdum has covered the gaming industry, with a focus on sports betting, for the past seven years. He has followed New Jersey’s court battles with the sports leagues closely and covered the case for ESPN.com, The Linemakers on Sporting News, Sports Business Journal and other outlets. He has appeared on ESPN’s Outside the Lines and was a panelist on “US and European Methods to Combat Corruption and Match-Fixing in Sports” at the Sports Lawyers Association’s annual conference in 2013. He currently covers the industry for ESPN.com’s new sports betting site, ESPN Chalk.

In addition to his gaming coverage, Purdum also covers professional, college and high school sports for the Sports Xchange and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

I follow David on Twitter and look forward to his updates. He is the leading gaming industry report
                                                                     for ESPN.

David is on top of the pulse of the online betting conversation as shown by his participation in I Gaming North America conference. He is part of the panel discussion on the progress report on the legalization of Sports Betting. I was able to get David to share some of his views prior to his session.

1). The NBA and MLB commissioners are receptive to the prospect of Sports Betting. What is the stance of the other major professional leagues?

The NFL and NCAA, at least publicly, have not softened their opposition to sports betting legalization. I believe--and NBA commissioner Adam Silver affirmed it--all the leagues are taking a close look at the benefits of legalization. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has acknowledged the need to take another look at sports betting, but has not been nearly as publicly supportive of legalization as either Silver or new baseball commissioner Rob Manfred.

Notice the two leagues that have come on board with legalization have new commissioners in Silver and Manfred. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s contract is not up until 2019.

 

2). What would the buy in be for each league to sanction Sports Betting? 

There are several models that have been considered. In Australia, for example, the leagues receive a commission off the amount of money won by the books on the specific sports. In that model, the leagues, indeed, would have a stake in who covers the spread. Obviously, that would not help the public’s perception of the games’ integrity. But it should. In Australia, if gambling-related corruption is discovered, the leagues are subject to losing their cut of the profits. It’s on the leagues to protect their sport’s integrity.

Two New Jersey politicians offered the NBA a .25 percent cut off the top of every wager. The problem with this model is that the margins on bookmaking are very slim. Giving another party a cut off the top will put a strain on the books to offer competitive odds and remain profitable. Australia experimented with giving a cut to the leagues off every wager and found that the books simply quit taking big wagers and pushed parlays and bad odds on customers.

If part of the goal of legalization is to bring the billions be wagered in the offshore market to a regulated environment, the legal books must be able to offer competitive odds.

Mark Cuban also mentioned charging the bookmakers licensing fees to use their data. In January, Silver said the NBA was not ready to announce which model they’re leaning toward.

 

 

3). Fantasy Sports Betting is growing at an alarming rate. Would a Sport Betting initiative slow that?

Not at all. Fantasy sports is embraced by the sports leagues, who helped get a carve-out in the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, keeping fantasy sports legal. The legalization of traditional sports betting won’t have any direct impact on fantasy sports, in my opinion.

 

 

4). The UK and other European nations currently have sport wagering. Are they similar to what we have in Nevada?

Yes. In fact, several of the UK’s biggest sports books have entered or are trying to enter the Nevada market. William Hill was the first. It received its Nevada gaming license three years ago. Ladbrokes and Irish sports book giant Paddy Power have expressed interest.

 

5).Do you feel that a national sport betting referendum would impact Las Vegas? They currently have the monopoly on the market.

I do, but I think it will be mild. However, Vegas bookmakers and casino execs have been adamant that expansion would only benefit them. Some of the books have mentioned the willingness to expand outside of Nevada. So while it might not necessarily impact some of the casino companies, I can’t help but think some people who travel to Vegas for big events, like the Super Bowl, would consider other locations where sports betting is legal.

6). The consensus indicates that Sports Betting is coming, just a matter of when. If you were a betting man, what time frame would you give?

The over/under has been set at 4.5 years until we see expanded legalized sport betting in the U.S. To me, it’s all on the NFL. I’ve really learned just how powerful the league is. When it softens its stance, I believe we will see rapid movement toward legalization. I don’t think it is anywhere close to that point yet, though. Remember, Goodell’s contract is up in 2019.

 

 I would suggest you follow David on Twitter at @DavidPurdum. He is informative and connected to the beat of sports and gaming. His panel discussion at  I Gaming North America starts at 3:05PM -PDT. This event is being held at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas on 4/16/15. State Senator Lesniak is also a participant on this round table. As for me,

 

 

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