After the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision May 14 rendering the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) unconstitutional and repealing its federal ban on sports betting, Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, predicted before a TV reporter that the legalization of sports betting “doubled the value of the professional sports franchises in a second.”
Last week, editor Bill Burt the Eagle Tribune of North Andover, Massachusetts tried to gauge whether or not the owners of the storied local sports franchises, the NFL’s New England Patriots and MLB’s Boston Red Sox, felt the same way about sports betting.
The answer from both was that legal betting is going to give a big boost to all professional sports—although not going as far as the Mavericks’ Cuban.
“I don’t know how he got to doubled,” Kraft told the newspaper. “I know that’s been part of the discussion, the windfall for sports owners and franchises. But I believe the real benefit won’t necessarily be the large amount of cash infusion in the short term and long term.
“We believe long term that there will be a lot of benefits that could happen from gambling in sports. The increased engagement with fans and our sports is what excites us. That can only help our sport and others, like baseball.”
Red Sox President Sam Kennedy emphasized that the integrity of the game “always will be our No. 1 priority,” but pointed to other legal sports markets around the world as evidence of the positive effect legal wagering can have on a sport.
“I’ve been to Liverpool and seen the betting go on, and it’s been a positive thing over there,“ Kennedy said. “You can not only bet in betting parlors all over, but inside the stadium, there are kiosks where fans can bet on the outcomes. It’s part of their culture. We will definitely be looking at how other countries have dealt with it, and the government’s guidelines and regulations.”
Kraft agreed. “I’ve been in a European football stadium and watched people making bets inside the venue,” he said. “And I don’t recall of any real scandal, which is something you obviously are concerned about. I’ve been to Wimbledon where the odds are posted each night on the Jumbrotron. It’s just normal over there.
“I think it will be here, too. And with a lot of work, it can help make sports more exciting in our country. I’m all for that.”
